Research › Pakistan Digital Skills Report 2026

Pakistan Digital Skills Report 2026

By BvLogic Academy. Published 21 Oct 2026. Free to quote with a link (CC BY 4.0). Download the data (CSV) · PDF · Infographic · How to cite

Updated: annual edition; the figures inside update with the reports they come from.

BvLogic Academy's research on digital work in Pakistan in one place: the workforce, the skills in demand, pay by role and level, freelancing, the skills employers name, and the pathways from a skill to a job. It creates no new dataset. Every statistic is read from one of the academy's published reports or salary pages and links to it and to its original source, with the date it was read.

Findings

The report combines the academy's four research reports and eleven salary pages; each chapter below prints its statistics with a link to the BvLogic page that holds them and to the original source.

Evidence: Stated by the academy. Statistics are read from the salary pages and the research reports when the page renders; nothing is retyped.

Where a monthly count could not be completed, the report says so and presents no ranking for that month rather than estimating one.

Evidence: From the academy's own records, counted when this page was opened. The Demand Index month status, read from the academy's records when the page renders.

Key chart

Open job postings by skill, LinkedIn Jobs Pakistan, read 21 Oct 2026
Open job postings by skill, LinkedIn Jobs Pakistan, read 21 Oct 2026.
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Web developer roles, average monthly pay by title, Indeed Pakistan, PKR
Web developer roles, average monthly pay by title, Indeed Pakistan, PKR.
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Cybersecurity roles, median monthly total pay, Glassdoor, PKR
Cybersecurity roles, median monthly total pay, Glassdoor, PKR.
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Mid level pay, midpoint of the band, PKR a month
Mid level pay, midpoint of the band, PKR a month.
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Skills named by employers for entry roles, employers naming each
Skills named by employers for entry roles, employers naming each.
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Contents

  1. Pakistan's technology workforce
  2. The most demanded skills
  3. AI jobs
  4. Programming and software jobs
  5. Cybersecurity
  6. Data
  7. Cloud
  8. Digital marketing
  9. Design
  10. Freelancing
  11. Salary bands
  12. Skills-to-career pathways
  13. What employers actually ask for
  14. Recommendations for students
  15. Recommendations for training institutes and employers

Chapter 1. Pakistan's technology workforce

The scale of the sector the skills below feed into: exports, freelance earnings, registered companies and the graduates entering each year.

Chapter 2. The most demanded skills

Open postings by skill, as one job board stated them on the day they were read, and the status of the academy's own monthly count. Postings are not hires, and one board is not the market.

The October 2026 automated demand count was unavailable for 18 of the 32 tracked queries, so no ranking is presented for that month.

BvLogic Academy monthly count on Rozee. Pakistan Digital Skills Demand Index

Chapter 3. AI jobs

What AI work pays at each level, and what the public AI postings ask for. Much of the public demand is senior, which matters for anyone starting out.

Chapter 4. Programming and software jobs

Pay for software roles by title. Adverts using the general title 'web developer' pay well below the specific titles, so read the title as well as the figure.

Chapter 5. Cybersecurity

Security pay by role. The usual first job is defensive, and published data on senior pay is too thin to quote.

Chapter 6. Data

Data work starts with analyst roles; data scientist roles usually follow experience.

Chapter 7. Cloud

Cloud and DevOps pay comes from small samples and from sources that lean towards large employers; the limits are printed beside each figure.

Chapter 8. Digital marketing

Marketing pay from fresh graduate to manager, and the separate SEO specialist bands.

Chapter 9. Design

Graphic design pay by level, and two neighbouring creative roles from salary pages with stated samples.

Chapter 10. Freelancing

The national total of freelance earnings is large and growing; it is not a typical freelancer's income, which no published source measures.

Chapter 11. Salary bands

Every role with a published range, entry to senior, in one table. A level we could not source is marked, not filled.

RolePay by level, PKR a monthSources
AI engineer
Entry (0 to 2 years): Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000 a month
Mid (2 to 5 years): Rs 100,000 to Rs 210,000 a month
Senior (5+ years): Rs 200,000 to Rs 400,000 a month
 Salary page
read 17 Oct 2026
Python developer
Entry (0 to 2 years): Rs 50,000 to Rs 80,000 a month
Mid (3 to 5 years): Rs 120,000 to Rs 200,000 a month
Senior (5+ years, or ML and data specialists): Rs 250,000 to Rs 500,000 a month
 Salary page
read 17 Oct 2026
Data scientist
Entry (data analyst, 0 to 2 years): Rs 60,000 to Rs 100,000 a month
Mid (2 to 5 years): Rs 145,000 to Rs 250,000 a month
Senior (5+ years): Rs 300,000 to Rs 600,000 a month
 Salary page
read 17 Oct 2026
Digital marketer
Fresh graduate (0 to 1 year): Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 a month
Specialist (2 to 4 years): Rs 70,000 to Rs 120,000 a month
Senior and manager (5+ years): Rs 150,000 to Rs 260,000 a month
 Salary page
read 17 Oct 2026
SEO specialist
Entry (0 to 2 years): Rs 40,000 to Rs 70,000 a month
Mid (3 to 5 years): Rs 80,000 to Rs 150,000 a month
Senior and lead (5+ years): Rs 170,000 to Rs 300,000 a month
 Salary page
read 17 Oct 2026
Graphic designer
Entry (0 to 2 years): Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 a month
Mid (2 to 5 years): Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000 a month
Senior and UI/UX (5+ years): Rs 100,000 to Rs 250,000 a month
 Salary page
read 17 Oct 2026
Cybersecurity
Entry (0 to 2 years): Rs 44,000 to Rs 171,000 a month
Mid (2 to 5 years): Rs 60,000 to Rs 146,000 a month
Senior (5+ years): not enough published data
 Salary page
read 21 Oct 2026
Cloud and DevOps
Entry (0 to 2 years): not enough published data
All experience levels: Rs 56,203 to Rs 259,036 a month
Around 5 years: Rs 183,612 to Rs 206,423 a month
 Salary page
read 21 Oct 2026
Web developer
Junior (job title): average Rs 51,464 a month
Mid (2 to 5 years): not enough published data
Senior (job title): average Rs 150,229 a month
 Salary page
read 21 Oct 2026

Chapter 12. Skills-to-career pathways

For each skill area, the route from the skills to a job, its pay, the course and the free starting point.

AreaSkillsCareerPayCourse and free start
Artificial Intelligence Prompting and AI tools at work, Python, Machine learning basics AI careers in Pakistan Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000 a month
Entry (0 to 2 years) 		AI courses
free: AI Fundamentals
Data Science and Analytics Excel, SQL, Power BI or a dashboard tool Data science careers in Pakistan Rs 60,000 to Rs 100,000 a month
Entry (data analyst, 0 to 2 years) 		Data Science courses
free: Data Analytics Fundamentals
Programming and Software Development Python or JavaScript, Object oriented programming, Data structures and algorithms Python careers in Pakistan Rs 50,000 to Rs 80,000 a month
Entry (0 to 2 years) 		Programming courses
free: Python for Beginners
Cybersecurity Networking, Linux, Security fundamentals Cybersecurity careers in Pakistan Rs 44,000 to Rs 171,000 a month
Entry (0 to 2 years) 		Cyber Security courses
free: Cybersecurity Fundamentals
Cloud and DevOps Linux, A cloud platform (AWS, Azure or Google Cloud), Docker Cloud and DevOps in the IT career guide Rs 56,203 to Rs 259,036 a month
All experience levels 		Cloud Computing courses
free: Cloud Fundamentals
Web Development HTML and CSS, JavaScript, A framework such as React or Laravel Web development in the IT career guide average Rs 51,464 a month
Junior (job title) 		Web Development courses
free: Web Development Basics
Digital Marketing SEO, Social media marketing, Google and Meta ads Digital marketing careers in Pakistan Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 a month
Fresh graduate (0 to 1 year) 		Digital Marketing courses
free: Digital Marketing Fundamentals
Graphic Design Design principles, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, or Canva, Social media design Design in the IT career guide Rs 25,000 to Rs 40,000 a month
Entry (0 to 2 years) 		Graphic Design courses
free: Graphic Design Fundamentals
Freelancing One sellable skill, Profiles and proposals, Client communication Freelancing in the IT career guide Freelancing rates in Pakistan Freelancing courses
free: Freelancing Fundamentals
Office and Data Skills Excel, Word and Google Docs, PowerPoint and presenting Data roles in the IT career guide Data analyst: average Rs 68,246 a month Office Skills courses
free: Excel for Work

Chapter 13. What employers actually ask for

The skills named in the postings of the employers the academy could read, for entry roles. Communication and data basics come before model training.

Skill named in entry postingsEmployers naming it
Business communication22
Customer service21
Sql8
Microsoft excel8
Microsoft word8
Networking fundamentals8
Spoken english7
Listening reading skills7
Python6
Object oriented programming5
Rest apis5
Network security4

43 employers read from their own careers pages and public job boards between 20 Aug 2026 and 20 Aug 2026. Pakistan AI Jobs Report 2026

Chapter 14. Recommendations for students

What the evidence in this report suggests for someone choosing a skill. Each recommendation names the chapter it rests on.

  1. Start with the skills employers name first for entry roles, communication, Excel, SQL and one programming language, before specialist tools. Evidence: chapter 13, What employers actually ask for.
  2. Aim at the entry role that exists, such as SOC analyst, data analyst or junior developer, not the headline title: much of the public AI and security demand asks for years of experience. Evidence: chapter 3, AI jobs.
  3. Read pay as a range with its sample and its date. The spread inside one role is wider than the gap between roles, and a figure from ten salaries is an indication, not a fact. Evidence: chapter 11, Salary bands.
  4. Build work you can show. Supply of graduates outruns junior openings, and a portfolio is how an applicant stands out from a degree that thousands share. Evidence: chapter 1, Pakistan's technology workforce.
  5. Treat freelancing as a way to sell a skill, not as a skill. The national earnings total says nothing about what one freelancer earns. Evidence: chapter 10, Freelancing.

Chapter 15. Recommendations for training institutes and employers

What the same evidence suggests for those who train and hire.

  1. Teach towards the entry roles that are advertised, and say plainly which roles need experience first. Evidence: chapter 13, What employers actually ask for.
  2. State salaries in job adverts. Advert bands in this report count only adverts that printed a salary, so every advert without one leaves learners guessing. Evidence: chapter 11, Salary bands.
  3. Publish entry-level postings with realistic experience requirements; a posting that asks a junior for four years removes the first rung. Evidence: chapter 3, AI jobs.
  4. Publish outcomes with the method behind them, including what was not measured, so students and parents can compare institutes fairly. Evidence: chapter 12, Skills-to-career pathways.
  5. Reuse and extend open data. The datasets behind this report are free under CC BY 4.0, and a second source measuring the same thing makes both more credible. Evidence: chapter 2, The most demanded skills.

Infographic

Pakistan Digital Skills Report 2026: the findings in brief
Free to share with a credit and a link.
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Method

This report creates no new dataset. Every statistic is read, when the page renders, from one of BvLogic Academy's published research reports or salary pages, and each links to that page and to its original source with the date it was read.

Salary figures come from public salary pages (Glassdoor, Indeed, Paylab, Levels.fyi), job adverts that state a salary, and published guides, with the sample size where the source gives one. A level with too little published data is marked rather than estimated.

Demand figures come from open postings on job boards on a stated day. The academy's own monthly count on Rozee is presented as a ranking only for a month whose count completed.

The academy's own records (career test choices, free course enrolments) are printed as what the academy sees, never as the Pakistani market.

Limits

Public figures behind the reports

Questions

Is this a new survey?

No. It combines the academy's published reports and salary pages. Every statistic links to the page it comes from and to the original source.

Why is there no skills ranking for some months?

When the academy's automated monthly count did not complete, the report presents no ranking for that month rather than estimating one. The demand chapter gives the open postings by skill from another board, with its date.

Can I use the charts and data?

Yes, under CC BY 4.0: credit BvLogic Academy and link to this page. The CSV lists every statistic with its source.

Cite this report

BvLogic Academy (2026). Pakistan Digital Skills Report 2026. bvlogic.academy/research/pakistan-digital-skills-report-2026

Press summary and the raw data are free to use with a link. Press contact: info@bvlogic.academy, +92 336 5475500.

In ten lines

  1. Fifteen chapters on jobs, pay and skills in Pakistan, combining BvLogic Academy's research.
  2. Every statistic links to its BvLogic report and its original source, with the date it was read.
  3. Pay by role and level for AI, software, data, security, cloud, marketing and design.
  4. Freelance earnings reported as the national total, never as a typical income.
  5. No ranking is presented for a month whose demand count did not complete.
  6. Data free under CC BY 4.0: CSV, charts to embed, PDF.

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