Domestic facilities across Pakistan manufactured 20.08 million mobile handsets between January and September 2026, overshadowing commercial imports of 2.85 million units, according to official figures that emphasize domestic assembly supplying the local market.
Official records reveal that factories assembled about 8 million smartphones alongside 12 million 2G devices. Statistics from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority show that smartphones represent 71 percent of active mobile units on domestic networks, leaving 2G phones to make up the remaining 29 percent.
The national mobile phone import bill dropped during the opening quarter of fiscal year 2026-27. Purchases from abroad decreased by 16.6 percent in dollar values to $417.24 million, down from about $500.01 million during the corresponding timeframe last year.
Purchases from abroad bounced back slightly during September, as the import bill climbed 7.1 percent month-on-month to reach $143.14 million, compared to $133.66 million in August. Even with this monthly rise, imports stayed 28.2 percent lower than the $199.27 million registered in September 2025.
Calculated in rupees, the September import bill totaled Rs39.75 billion, showing a 7 percent rise from Rs37.17 billion in August. Yet, this figure dropped 29.2 percent year-on-year from Rs56.17 billion.
The cumulative mobile phone import bill for July to September in fiscal year 27 reached Rs116.01 billion in Pakistan. This marks an 18 percent drop from Rs141.42 billion registered throughout the comparable timeframe of the prior fiscal year.
Data indicates that domestic manufacturing keeps providing the majority of handsets arriving in the country. Even though shipments from abroad grew in September, total valuations stayed considerably lower than last year figures.
