The World Bank said Pakistan is home to about 48 per cent of people living below $3 a day across the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan region, making it the main driver of a rise that has kept regional poverty above pre-pandemic levels. In its Economic Outlook, the Washington-based lender attributed Pakistan's 6.4-point increase in poverty between 2018/19 and 2024/25 to the pandemic, the 2022 floods, high inflation and prolonged economic adjustment, while projecting Pakistan's growth at 3.7 per cent in FY26 and 3.8 per cent in FY27. It also warned that the US-Iran conflict, which could shrink the wider region's economy by 2.1 per cent in 2026, threatens oil-importing Pakistan through higher prices, weaker Gulf remittances and costlier borrowing, with a possible strong El Niño adding food-price risks.