Pakistan’s Financial Inclusion Hits 71% as Gender Gap Narrows to 27%, State Bank Says

More Pakistanis than ever before now have access to a bank account or another formal financial service. Financial inclusion in Pakistan has reached 71%, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has announced, and the gap between men and women in access to banking has narrowed to 27%.

SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad shared the figures at the opening session of a four-day learning programme on inclusive green finance in Islamabad, organised by the central bank together with the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI). The programme, which opened on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, has brought together 38 representatives of central banks and financial regulators from 24 countries across four continents. It is being held in Pakistan for the first time.

The numbers tell a story of steady, if slow, progress. Just a few years ago, the gender gap in financial inclusion stood at 39%. It fell to 29% in 2025, and now to 27%. Millions more women now hold bank accounts than did five years ago. But the gap is still wide, and the central bank says much more work remains.

What the State Bank announced

Speaking at the inaugural session in Islamabad, Governor Ahmad said financial inclusion in Pakistan had climbed to 71%, with the gender gap in access to financial services falling to 27%. He linked the announcement to a bigger theme: climate finance. The governor said climate change and financial exclusion were closely connected, because the communities most exposed to climate risks are often the ones with the least access to insurance, savings and formal financial services.

“Climate finance must do more than support green investments. It must also help communities anticipate risks, build resilience and adapt to a changing climate,” he said.

He pointed to Pakistan’s devastating floods of 2022 as an example of what is at stake. The floods caused nearly $15 billion in physical damage and a further $15 billion in economic losses, affected more than 30 million people and damaged 2.2 million homes.

“The success of any policy framework is ultimately measured by its implementation and its impact on people’s lives,” the governor said.

What is financial inclusion, in simple terms?

Financial inclusion is a simple idea. It means that ordinary people can use the financial system: they can open a bank account, save money safely, receive payments, take a small loan, or buy insurance.

When a person has no bank account, everyday life is harder. Wages are paid in cash, which can be lost or stolen. Saving for an emergency means keeping money at home. Borrowing means turning to a moneylender who may charge very high interest. And when a flood or a drought destroys a harvest, there is no insurance to fall back on.

When the State Bank says financial inclusion has reached 71%, it means about 71 out of every 100 adults in Pakistan now have access to a formal financial service, such as a bank account or a mobile wallet. The other 29 out of 100 are still outside the system.

That is why the figure matters. A bank account is often the first step towards saving, borrowing at a fair rate, and building a small business. For a country where millions of people still work in the informal economy, every extra point of inclusion means real families gaining a safety net.

The gender gap is closing — slowly

The most encouraging part of the announcement is the progress on women. The gender gap in financial inclusion — the difference between the share of men and the share of women who use formal financial services — has fallen from 39% in 2021 to 29% in 2025, and now to 27%.

Behind that fall is a deliberate policy push. In September 2021, the State Bank launched its first Banking on Equality policy, the country’s first plan to bring gender into banking. It pushed banks to hire more women, open more accounts for women, and design products that women could actually use.

The results are visible in the numbers. Since the policy began, banks have hired more than 17,500 women, lifting the share of women in bank staff from 13% to 17%. The number of active bank accounts held by women rose from 20 million to 37 million by June 2025.

In October 2026, the central bank launched the second edition of the policy, Banking on Equality Policy 2026. It aims to expand women’s access to digital banking, financing and entrepreneurship, and to improve financial literacy through support hubs. It also supports the National Financial Inclusion Strategy’s target of bringing the gender gap down to 25% by 2028.

The central bank’s work in this area recently earned it the Policy Achievement Award for Gender Inclusive Finance 2026 from the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.

Still, a gap of 27% is large. It means women are far less likely than men to have a bank account, a loan, or insurance. In a country where women run millions of small businesses — from stitching and tailoring to food stalls and online shops — that gap holds back whole households.

Why climate finance was part of the announcement

The programme in Islamabad is not only about bank accounts. It is about “inclusive green finance” — the idea that the money needed to fight climate change should reach the people who need it most. Governor Ahmad said the groups most exposed to climate shocks are smallholder farmers, micro and small businesses, women and low-income households. These are the same groups least likely to have insurance, savings or access to formal finance.

Pakistan has been building the rules for green finance for years. The governor outlined the framework: the Green Banking Guidelines issued in 2017, the Environmental and Social Risk Management Framework introduced in 2022, the Pakistan Green Taxonomy, regulations on climate-related financial risks, and the Climate Stress Testing Guidelines issued in December 2025.

The stress-testing rules help banks work out how exposed they are to climate shocks, such as floods or heatwaves hitting the farms and businesses they lend to. Pakistan is now sharing its Green Taxonomy and climate risk framework with regulators from other countries through the AFI network.

On women’s access to finance, the governor also highlighted the Pakistan Women Inclusive Finance Programme, supported by the Asian Development Bank. He noted that Pakistan joined the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code in 2025, with the State Bank serving as the anchor institution for the financial industry.

A global classroom in Islamabad

The four-day programme has turned Islamabad into a meeting point for financial regulators from around the world. The 38 participants come from central banks and financial regulators in 24 countries across four continents.

The programme aims to help regulators move from policy promises to practical action: turning inclusive green finance policies into measures that work on the ground, and building financial systems that can stand up to climate shocks.

Aban Haq, the AFI’s Director of Strategy, Member Engagement and Evaluation, and Lasse Melgaard, the World Bank’s Operations Manager, also addressed the opening session. Both stressed the importance of countries learning from each other and sharing what works.

The governor outlined Pakistan’s work under the AFI’s four pillars of Promotion, Provision, Protection and Prevention. In practice, that means classifying which economic activities count as green, directing financing towards groups that are usually left out, strengthening women’s financial resilience, and preparing banks to manage climate-related risks.

Participants will spend the coming days exchanging experiences on putting green finance policies into practice, supporting climate-smart farming, and tackling barriers to implementation, including those linked to gender.

What happens next

The 71% figure is a milestone, not a finish line. Nearly three in ten adults in Pakistan are still outside the formal financial system, and women remain far behind men. The Banking on Equality Policy 2026 sets the next target: a gender gap of 25% by 2028.

Reaching it will depend on banks doing the practical work — opening accounts for women in villages and small towns, offering digital banking that works on a basic phone, lending to women-led businesses, and keeping women staff in the industry.

The climate side of the agenda will also be tested in practice. The rules and taxonomies are in place; the question is whether financing actually reaches small farmers, small businesses and low-income households before the next flood, not after it.

For the regulators gathered in Islamabad, the test is the same one Governor Ahmad named in his speech: policies are judged by their implementation, and by their impact on people’s lives.

Why this matters for ordinary Pakistanis

For most people, financial inclusion is not an abstract statistic. It is the difference between keeping savings under a mattress and keeping them in an account that earns a return. It is the difference between borrowing from a moneylender at punishing rates and borrowing from a bank. It is the difference between losing everything in a flood and having insurance that pays out.

The gender gap matters for the same reason. When a woman can open an account in her own name, receive payments directly, and borrow to grow a small business, the whole household benefits. Research and experience around the world show that women tend to invest extra income in their children’s education, health and food.

Pakistan’s progress — from a 39% gender gap in 2021 to 27% today — shows that steady policy work can move the numbers. The next step is to keep that progress going, and to make sure the benefits reach the people who have been left out the longest: women, small farmers, and families in the areas most exposed to floods and heat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pakistan’s financial inclusion rate now? It has reached 71%, according to State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad. That means about 71 out of every 100 adults now have access to a formal financial service such as a bank account.

What is the gender gap in financial inclusion? It has narrowed to 27%. The gap was 39% in 2021 and 29% in 2025. It measures the difference between men’s and women’s access to formal financial services.

What is the Banking on Equality policy? It is the State Bank’s policy to bring more women into the banking system. The first edition launched in September 2021; the second edition, Banking on Equality Policy 2026, launched in October 2026. It aims to expand women’s access to digital banking, financing, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.

What is the target for the gender gap? The National Financial Inclusion Strategy aims to bring the gender gap down to 25% by 2028.

How many women hold bank accounts in Pakistan now? The number of active bank accounts held by women rose from 20 million to 37 million by June 2025, according to the State Bank.

What is inclusive green finance? It is the idea that finance for tackling climate change should reach the people most at risk from climate shocks — small farmers, small businesses, women and low-income households — and not only large green projects.

What did the 2022 floods cost Pakistan? The floods caused nearly $15 billion in physical damage and a further $15 billion in economic losses, affected more than 30 million people and damaged 2.2 million homes.

Conclusion

Pakistan has reached a financial milestone that would have seemed distant a few years ago: 71% of adults now have access to formal financial services, and the gender gap has narrowed to 27%. The figures, announced by State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad in Islamabad, reflect years of policy work — from the Banking on Equality policy that has brought millions of women into banking, to the green finance rules that aim to protect the financial system from climate shocks.

But the numbers also show how far there is still to go. Nearly three in ten adults remain outside the system. Women are still far less likely than men to hold an account. And the communities most exposed to floods and heat are still the least protected by insurance and savings.

The test of the 71% figure will not be the announcement. It will be whether the next few years bring the remaining millions — especially women, small farmers and small businesses — into a financial system that works for them.

Sources

• Islamabad Post: https://islamabadpost.com.pk/pakistans-financial-inclusion-reaches-71-gender-gap-narrows-to-27-sbp-governor/
• Mettis Global: https://mettisglobal.news/SBP-stresses-climate-finance-must-go-beyond-green-investments-64767
• The News: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1442736-sbp-unveils-second-policy-to-narrow-gender-gap-in-financial-inclusion
• Mettis Global: https://mettisglobal.news/SBP-rolls-out-Banking-on-Equality-Policy-2026-64189
• UrduPro: https://urdupro.info/pakistan-financial-inclusion-71-percent-sbp-gender-gap-27/
• Internews: https://internews.pk/eng/2025/10/21/pakistans-female-bank-account-holders-rise-to-37-million-sbp-chief/

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.