Pakistan is accelerating digital growth, with an improvement in E-Government, pioneering 5G and CBDC initiatives, and gaining global recognition as an emerging telecom market.
- In the E-Government Development Index of 2022, Pakistan achieved a score of 0.423, securing the 150th rank, marking an 18.8% growth from 2018. The Republic of Korea leads the region with a score of 0.952. || Source: UN
- The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has enacted legislation for Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs), non-bank entities providing digital payment tools, ensuring timely issuance of a CBDC by 2025. || Source: State Bank of Pakistan
+ Furthermore, Pakistan has leapt to an “Advanced” level of 5th Generation (G5) regulator in the ITU’s 2022 regulators’ ranking. The GSMA has also rated Pakistan as an “emerging” telecom market. || Source: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority - In 2021, the Pakistan government launched the “5G Strategic Plan & Policy Guidelines,” a roadmap for 5G technology adoption, keeping in view the aspects of Spectrum Management, Infrastructure Development, Review of Telecom Regulations and 5G applications/use cases. || Source: Ministry of Telecommunications
+ The initiation of the 5G network, originally set for 2023, faces a delay to 2024 due to concerns about the unavailability of crucial spectrum at 2500 MHz. The government aims to boost GDP per capita by 3 to 5% through digitalization in the next three years. || Source: GSMA
