Quick answer
Where should I invest money in Pakistan?
It depends on horizon and risk. Across 1993–2025 history, growth assets — KSE-100 stocks and gold — delivered the strongest inflation-adjusted returns over long windows, while mattress cash and typical bank savings lost purchasing power in most years. The tool below ranks seven options by what your rupees actually become after inflation.
Stocks, gold, National Savings, dollars, property — or under the mattress? See what history says each rupee becomes AFTER inflation.
Rs 8.93 Lac
in today's rupees+12.3% real/yrCrushed inflation — real wealth compounding fast. High volatility — can fall hard in a single year and take years to recover. Price return only; dividends add ~5–7pp.
Rs 6.77 Lac
in today's rupees+6.3% real/yrComfortably beat inflation. Strong in rupee-crisis years, flat-to-negative in calm ones (2013–15). No income — the price is the whole return.
Rs 4.36 Lac
in today's rupees-2.7% real/yrLost purchasing power to inflation. No market drawdowns, but rates reset with SBP policy and early encashment cuts the profit.
Rs 4.10 Lac
in today's rupees-3.9% real/yrLost purchasing power to inflation. No yield — gains arrive in bursts during devaluation episodes and go flat when the rupee is stable.
Rs 3.64 Lac
in today's rupees-6.2% real/yrHeavily eroded — inflation ate most of it. Never loses a rupee on paper — but the rate usually trails inflation, so the loss is silent. Estimated as NSS − 4pp.
Rs 3.38 Lac
in today's rupees-7.5% real/yrHeavily eroded — inflation ate most of it. Illiquid with high transaction costs — in bad years you often simply can't sell. Series is an urban-average estimate.
Rs 2.33 Lac
in today's rupees-14.2% real/yrHeavily eroded — inflation ate most of it. Zero nominal loss ever — and a guaranteed real loss every year inflation is positive.
Figures are point-in-time estimates for guidance only — verify against official sources before acting.
Match the asset to the horizon: money needed within a year or two belongs in capital-stable instruments — savings accounts, money-market funds, short National Savings certificates. Money untouched for 5–10+ years has historically grown most in KSE-100 stocks and gold, which also swing hardest. This tool compares seven options on real 1993–2025 data.
The return after inflation — computed year by year as (1 + return) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1. With CPI near 11%, a 10% savings account loses about 1% of purchasing power annually despite the balance growing. Real returns are the only number that measures whether wealth actually grew.
Yes — cash is the one guaranteed loser. At roughly 11% inflation, Rs 100,000 under the mattress buys about 10% less every year and loses half its purchasing power in six to seven years. Even a low-rate savings account claws back most of that loss.
This tool only compares property at horizons of three years or more — plots and houses are illiquid with heavy transaction costs, and prices move in lumps. Its urban-property series is a documented estimate of price movement rather than an official index, so treat property comparisons as directional.
Because the answer changes with the window. 'Recent' compounds the actual last N years of history — capturing today's regime — while 'long-run' applies the full 1993–2025 average over your horizon. An asset that won the last five years may lag over thirty; seeing both guards against recency bias.