Pakistan’s annual headline inflation rate stood at 5.6% in September 2025, significantly higher than the Finance Ministry’s forecast of 3.5% to 4.5%. The figures were released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday. In comparison, inflation was recorded at 3% in August 2025, while in September 2024 it stood at 6.9%. On a monthly basis, inflation rose by 2% in September 2025, whereas August saw a decline of 0.6% and September 2024 registered a decline of 0.5%.
Looking at urban and rural areas separately, inflation in urban regions was recorded at 5.5% year-on-year (compared to 3.4% in August 2025 and 9.3% in September 2024), with a monthly increase of 1.5%. In rural areas, annual inflation stood at 5.8% (compared to 2.4% in August 2025 and 3.6% in September 2024), while monthly inflation surged by 2.8%.
The Finance Ministry, in its monthly economic report, had projected inflation between 3.5% and 4.5% for September, attributing the expected rise mainly to the severe monsoon floods that began in late June and intensified through September. These floods particularly devastated densely populated regions such as Punjab, disrupting supply chains and driving up prices of essential commodities. The ministry had stated that the inflationary spike would be temporary and remain within the projected range, but the latest PBS data shows the actual inflation rate was considerably higher than expected.
