Pakistan’s mobile phone imports rose sharply to $1.139 billion during the first seven months of fiscal year 2025 to 2026, registering a growth of 31.36 percent compared to $867.685 million in the same period last year.
The increase signals a recovery in consumer demand and import activity after a decline recorded in the previous fiscal year.
On a monthly basis, imports also showed strong momentum. Mobile phone imports reached $179.380 million in January 2026, up 12.60 percent compared to $159.304 million in December 2025. On a yearly basis, imports surged 33.62 percent compared to $134.243 million in January 2025.
In local currency terms, the total value of mobile phone imports stood at Rs. 321.137 billion during July to January FY2026, compared to Rs. 241.330 billion in the same period last year, reflecting a 33.07 percent increase.
The rise in rupee value highlights both higher import volumes and currency impact on overall trade figures. Despite the current growth trend, mobile imports had declined in the previous fiscal year. Pakistan imported mobile phones worth $1.494 billion in FY2025, down 21.31 percent compared to $1.898 billion in FY2024.
In rupee terms, imports stood at Rs. 417.351 billion in FY2025, reflecting a 22.09 percent decline from Rs. 535.690 billion in the previous year. Overall telecom imports also recorded a contraction, falling to $2.099 billion in FY2025, down 11.30 percent compared to $2.366 billion in FY2024.
Meanwhile, local manufacturing continues to play a significant role in the market. Pakistan produced and assembled 30.21 million mobile handsets during calendar year 2025, compared to just 2.37 million units imported commercially. Out of the total locally produced devices, 15.64 million were smartphones, while 14.57 million were 2G handsets.
In December 2025 alone, 2.61 million mobile phones were manufactured locally, compared to only 0.33 million imported units.
According to official data, smartphones now account for 71 percent of devices on Pakistan’s mobile network, while 29 percent are 2G devices, reflecting a gradual shift toward higher end mobile usage across the country.