Updated on 26 October 2026: This article was first published in December 2022, when Pakistan ranked 138th on the Legatum Prosperity Index. The index has since been relaunched with a revised methodology, and its 2026 edition places Pakistan 125th of 161 countries. The article below has been refreshed with the new figures.
Pakistan has climbed to 125th place in the Legatum Prosperity Index 2026, the highest position the country has held in the ranking in several years. The index, produced by the London-based Legatum Institute, scores 161 countries not just on wealth, but on the overall quality of life they offer their people, from safety and health to education, personal freedom and the strength of their institutions.
What the Legatum Prosperity Index measures
Most league tables of nations stop at money: GDP, income per person, trade. The Legatum Prosperity Index was built on a broader idea, that prosperity means a country where people are safe, healthy, educated and free, and where businesses can invest with confidence. It organises that idea into twelve pillars: safety and security, personal freedom, governance, social capital, the investment environment, enterprise conditions, infrastructure, economic quality, living conditions, health, education and the natural environment.
Each country receives a score across those pillars, and the combined result produces the overall ranking. A country can therefore be richer than its neighbours and still rank below them if its people feel unsafe, its institutions are weak or its schools and hospitals fall short.
Pakistan at 125: the new position in context
In the relaunched 2026 edition, Pakistan stands 125th of 161 countries, up from the 138th place recorded when this article was first published. On the index’s own country record, Pakistan’s best-ever position is 115th, its lowest is 127th, and its average across editions is 120th, which puts the 2026 result comfortably at the stronger end of the country’s recent history.
One caution belongs with the good news. The 2026 index was relaunched with a revised methodology and a slightly smaller field of 161 countries, so the new ranking is not strictly like-for-like with older editions. The climb from 138 to 125 should be read as a genuine improvement in direction rather than a precise thirteen-place jump on an unchanged scale.
Why prosperity is about more than income
The index matters because it captures things that income figures miss. Two countries with the same GDP per person can feel entirely different to live in, depending on whether the streets are safe, the courts are trusted, children stay in school and a small business can open without fear. By scoring those foundations, the Legatum Prosperity Index tries to show governments where progress is real and where it is only on paper.
For Pakistan, the ranking sits alongside other global tables where the country is making its presence felt, from its place among the best countries in the world to hire freelancers to a global education ranking that placed Pakistan’s research community on the map and natural landmarks such as Shandur, the world’s highest polo ground. Together they sketch a country whose strengths are broader than its headlines suggest.
What would lift Pakistan higher
The pillars point to the work ahead. Countries that climb this index steadily tend to improve the unglamorous foundations first: personal safety, reliable courts, schools that keep children learning, clinics that work, and predictable rules for business. Pakistan’s 125th place shows the direction is right; the country’s best-ever mark of 115th is the next milestone to beat.
For now, the headline is simple. On one of the world’s broadest measures of national wellbeing, Pakistan has moved up the table, and the updated ranking gives the country a firmer base to build on.
Sources
- Legatum Prosperity Index, Pakistan country profile (current rank 125, highest 115, average 120): prosperityindex.com
- Legatum Prosperity Index 2026 rankings table: prosperityindex.com
Khushboo Zubair
This is Khushboo, A passionate writer who loves to create engaging and compelling content. I'm constantly seeking new ways to use my writing to make a difference.As a writer, I have always been drawn to the power of the written word.
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