Zakat World Map

Pakistan

Pakistan has a formal state-administered zakat framework rooted in the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance, with public structures operating across central, provincial, district and local levels. However, recent survey evidence suggests that actual zakat payment is largely carried out through private direct giving rather than the state fund. This makes Pakistan a key case for studying the gap between legal institutionalization, public trust and effective redistribution.

Governance model: Hybrid public-private system

Last updated · Beta, data under verification

At a glance

Centralization Level
Level 4 Federal/state-level public system
Apex Institution
Central Zakat Council / Central Zakat Fund, with significant provincial implementation through Provincial Zakat Councils and Provincial Zakat Funds. Current apex arrangements should be verified because zakat administration has been substantially provincialized.
Supervising Authority
Provincial Departments of Zakat and Ushr; federal/provincial supervisory arrangements to verify. The Sindh audit also refers to the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety in the allocation chain.
Collection / Distribution
Public collection / local distribution
Shariah Supervision
Unclear / not identified
Transparency Level
Level 2 Occasional reports
Data Availability
Level 2 Some reports or partial data
Data Confidence
Medium

Key institutions

  • Central Zakat Council / Central Zakat Fund
  • Provincial Zakat Councils
  • Provincial Departments of Zakat and Ushr

Annual collection

Zakat collected each year in Pakistan
Year Collected (local currency) Collected (USD) Share of GDP
2024 619 bn PKR USD 2.2 bn 0.6%

Preliminary CIRIC assessment

Pakistan matters because it combines a formal mandatory public zakat architecture with limited reliance on the public channel in actual practice. It is especially useful for studying the difference between legal obligation, institutional credibility, operational capacity and real-world giving behavior. Evidence from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also shows that targeted public zakat spending can support sectoral outcomes, especially in education.

Sources

  1. Gallien, Javed & van den Boogaard / ICTD, 2025
  2. Auditor-General of Pakistan, Sindh Audit Report 2024–25
  3. Aziz, Y., Mansor, F., Waqar, S., & Zada, N. (2025). Zakat and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Assessing the Ripple Effect of Obligatory‐Alms Spending on Education. Empirical Evidence From Pakistan. Asian Social Work and Policy Review, 19(1), e70006.
  4. Marenza, S. E., & Karimuddin, K. (2024). Zakat and waqf managament in indonesia and pakistan: a comparative study. Milkiyah: Jurnal Hukum Ekonomi Syariah, 3(1), 43-52.
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