Pakistan Spent Rs530 Billion on Imported Mobile Phones in FY2026, Up 27% in One Year
Pakistan mobile phone imports bill reached Rs530.49 billion in fiscal year 2025-26, a 27.24 percent increase from the Rs416.94 billion recorded the previous year, reflecting strong consumer demand for smartphones even as local assembly continues to expand.
The full-year figure represents one of the largest annual mobile phone import bills Pakistan has recorded and arrives at a time when the government has been actively pushing local manufacturing through the Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy to reduce import dependence.
The Numbers
Full-year mobile phone imports for FY2025-26 stood at Rs530.49 billion, compared with Rs416.94 billion in FY2024-25, a year-on-year increase of Rs113.55 billion.
In June 2026 alone, Pakistan imported Rs39.45 billion worth of mobile phones, up 11.73 percent from Rs35.31 billion in May 2026 on a month-on-month basis, and marginally higher than the Rs39.04 billion recorded in June 2025 on a year-on-year basis, reflecting a 1.07 percent annual increase for the month.
| Period | Import Value |
|---|---|
| FY2024-25 (Full Year) | Rs416.94 billion |
| FY2025-26 (Full Year) | Rs530.49 billion |
| May 2026 | Rs35.31 billion |
| June 2026 | Rs39.45 billion |
| June 2025 | Rs39.04 billion |
What the Numbers Mean
The 27 percent jump in annual mobile phone imports is significant for two reasons that pull in opposite directions.
On the demand side, it signals continued and growing consumer appetite for smartphones in Pakistan, a positive indicator for digital adoption, given that smartphone penetration is directly tied to mobile internet access, digital payments, and the broader digital economy that Pakistan’s IT export success depends on.
On the trade side, Rs530 billion in mobile phone imports is a meaningful contribution to Pakistan’s import bill at a time when the country is managing a tight current account position under its IMF programme. Every rupee spent on imported mobile phones is foreign exchange leaving the country, which is precisely why the government’s local manufacturing push exists.
The tension between these two realities, growing smartphone demand on one hand and the need to convert that demand into locally assembled rather than imported devices on the other, is the central challenge the import figures highlight.
Pakistan assembled 161.6 million mobile phones locally by March 2026, according to the Economic Survey, a figure that suggests local manufacturing is scaling. Yet the import bill is simultaneously growing, which indicates that local assembly has not yet displaced import demand to a meaningful degree, particularly at the higher end of the market where premium imported devices carry specifications that local assembly lines have not yet replicated.
The Bottom Line
The Pakistan mobile phone imports bill of Rs530 billion for FY2026 is a record that reflects genuine consumer demand and a genuine policy challenge. Local manufacturing is expanding, but so is the appetite for imported devices. Until local assembly can credibly serve the premium and upper-mid-range segments where imported phones remain dominant, Pakistan’s smartphone import bill will continue to weigh on its trade position regardless of how many budget devices are assembled domestically.
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