Information technology in Pakistan

Information technology in Pakistan is a growing and rising industry that has a lot of potential. Matters relating to the IT industry are overseen and regulated by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of Pakistan. The IT industry is regarded as a successful sector of Pakistan economically, even in financial crisis. The government of Pakistan has given numerous incentives to IT investors in the country during the last decade, this resulted in the development of the IT sector. In the years 2003-2005 the country's IT exports saw a rise of about fifty percent and amounted a total of about 48.5 million USD. The World Economic Forum, assessing the development of Information and Communication Technology in the country ranked Pakistan 111th among 144 countries in the Global Information Technology report of 2014.

As of 2011, Pakistan has over 20 million internet users and is ranked as one of the top countries that have registered a high growth rate in internet penetration. Overall, it has the 27th largest population of internet users in the world. In the fiscal year 2012-2013, the Government of Pakistan aims to spend Rs. 4.6 billion on information technology projects, with emphasis on e-government, human resource and infrastructure development.

The Government of Pakistan has attached great importance to information technology, as part of its efforts to develop an "information age" in the country. In this regard, an elaborate national IT policy has been formulated. Through a focus on the technological development of information technology, the government aims to increase productivity in the public sector, improve the standards of IT infrastructure in the country and use it as a management tool for the promotion of good governance in general. There has been remarkable progress in creating effective computerised e-government systems in Pakistan for major departments such as police, law enforcement agencies and district administration. The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has also introduced computerised registration systems for issuing important documents such as national identity cards, passports, and permanent residency cards. IT has also been critically important in improving work procedures of the civil service and other government-related fields.

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