In the first quarter (Q1) of the Fiscal Year 2021, Pakistan exported $444 million worth of telecommunications, computer and information (ICT) services in the most recent statistics released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) (FY21).
For October 2021, exports of ICT services were reported at $151 million, which is down 4.45 percent from September 2021, where exports amounted to $158 million. For the first four months of FY21 (July-Oct), exports of ICT services stood at $595 million, a rise of 35.8 percent from the same period last year. Exports in the same time last year were $438 million.
From $1.192 billion in FY19 to $1.439 billion in FY20, total ICT exports increased 21 percent annually. Exports of telecommunications services rose from $25.2 million in October 2019 to $31.3 million in October 2020 by 23.9 percent. Computer service exports rose from 97.5 million dollars in October 2019 to 119.3 million dollars in October 2020. In September 2020, however, computer services exports were $124.6 million.
Pakistan has continuously made further efforts to increase its IT and ICT exports by promoting the software industry through software parks and incubators and moving towards a digital economy. Export figures seem to reflect the efforts being made, but they are declining again as the country is struck by the second wave of COVID-19.
