Higher living costs compel people to borrow: survey

The prolonged combination of low economic growth and high inflation over the past few years in Pakistan appears to have taken a serious financial toll on large sections of the population, leading to increasing borrowing needs, according to the latest survey. “In the last five years, increased living costs are the leading reason for borrowing in 2024, reported by 12pc of Pakistani adults”, said Karandaaz Pakistan — a government partner in digitisation and tax reforms — in its once-a-decade Financial Inclusion Survey (K-FIS). Besides the living costs coming as financial shock and increasing borrowing needs, the survey completed with the financial support of the Gates Foundation and UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) noted that 7pc adult Pakistanis were found to have been forced to borrow due to healthcare expenses and 6pc others for the loss of employment.