Inflation in 2023 went up by 13%, reaching 42.6% by the year’s end. Last year, the inflation rate was 29.3%, so there was a significant increase.

This year, the cost of essential items rose noticeably. For example, a 20 kg bag of flour went up from 1517 rupees to 2787 rupees, and the price of one kg of rice increased from 127 to 226 rupees. Even everyday items like double bread, beef, mutton, chicken, milk, yogurt, eggs, and pulses became more expensive.

The price hikes affected various goods. Sugar, which used to cost 90 rupees per kg, is now 150 rupees, and garlic jumped from 336 rupees to 552 rupees per kg.

Notably, the prices of cigarettes and clothes also doubled. Basic household items like soap saw an increase, with a 70-gram soap going from 87 rupees to 105 rupees, and a 250-gram laundry soap rising from 103 rupees to 130 rupees by the end of the year.

Read more about “The way Pakistan’s economy model works is not good, says the World Bank. They think that the advantages of economic growth mostly go to the rich people, not everyone.”