Pakistan’s local mobile phone manufacturing plants assembled 18.66 million handsets during the first eight months of 2026, significantly exceeding commercial imports of 2.74 million units during the same period.
The figures highlight the growing role of domestic assembly in meeting the country’s demand for mobile devices, with locally produced handsets now accounting for the majority of phones entering the market.
Local Handset Production Takes the Lead
Local plants assembled 18.66 million mobile handsets from January to August 2026, while commercial imports stood at 2.74 million units.
The wide gap between local production and commercial imports indicates that Pakistan’s mobile market is increasingly being supplied through domestic assembly operations rather than finished-device imports.
This trend also reflects the continued expansion of local handset production, including devices assembled through CKD and SKD arrangements.
Smartphones and 2G Phones Make Up Most Production
Of the 18.66 million handsets assembled locally during the first eight months, around eight million were smartphones, while 11 million were 2G devices.
The production mix shows that traditional 2G phones continue to account for a substantial portion of local manufacturing despite the increasing penetration of smartphones.
According to PTA figures, smartphones represented 71 percent of devices connected to Pakistan’s national mobile network. The remaining 29 percent were 2G handsets.
The figures indicate that while smartphones dominate the active device base, demand for basic 2G phones remains significant.
5G Handset Production Remains Limited
Local production of 5G-enabled devices remains comparatively small.
Manufacturers assembled 134,501 5G-capable handsets in August 2026. For comparison, total local production of 5G-enabled devices stood at 553,079 units throughout 2025.
Overall handset production in 2025 reached 30.21 million units, while commercial imports amounted to 2.37 million units.
The relatively limited 5G production suggests that the transition toward next-generation devices is still developing within Pakistan’s local manufacturing ecosystem.
Mobile Phone Imports Continue to Decline
Commercial mobile phone imports also continued to decline during the first two months of the fiscal period.
Mobile phone imports fell 8.85 percent in July-August to $274.129 million, compared with $300.741 million during the corresponding period a year earlier.
In rupee terms, imports declined 10.53 percent to Rs76.267 billion from Rs85.245 billion.
August alone recorded mobile phone imports of $133.695 million, down 13.82 percent year-on-year and 4.80 percent from July.
The decline in imported handsets comes as domestic assembly continues to provide a larger share of phones for the local market.
Telecom Equipment Imports Move Higher
While finished mobile phone imports declined, imports of telecom equipment increased during the same period.
Telecom equipment imports rose 8.95 percent to $432.044 million in July-August, compared with $395.536 million a year earlier.
In rupee terms, spending on telecom equipment increased 6.95 percent to Rs120.211 billion.
The increase points to continued spending on network infrastructure, including equipment required to support network expansion and next-generation mobile services.
However, telecom equipment imports in August declined 3.42 percent year-on-year and were 15.98 percent lower than the previous month.
Local Assembly and Network Investment Follow Different Trends
Pakistan’s mobile sector is increasingly showing two distinct import and production trends.
More handsets are being assembled locally, reducing reliance on commercial imports of finished mobile phones. At the same time, telecom operators and other industry participants continue to import network equipment to expand and upgrade the infrastructure supporting mobile connectivity.
The combination of higher domestic handset production and continued investment in telecom equipment reflects the changing structure of Pakistan’s mobile market, with local manufacturing playing a larger role in supplying devices while network investment remains dependent on imported equipment.