Doing business in Pakistan 34% more expensive than in regional peers

Rising costs and red tape pushing workers away from entrepreneurship

Workers sew while others sort sheets of fabric at a stitching unit of a textile manufacturer in Karachi on  Aug. 2, 2025. © Reuters

ADNAN AAMIR

February 4, 2026 12:01 JST

ISLAMABAD -- The cost of doing business in Pakistan is about one-third higher than in regional peers and the gap appears to be discouraging entrepreneurship and quietly pushing more people toward salaried employment instead of pursuing their own startups, recent private research shows