Editing Peshawar (section)

== Economy ==
[[File:City center Peshawar city.jpg|thumb|City Center Road is the major trade zone in Peshawar.]]
Peshawar's economic importance has historically been linked to its privileged position at the entrance to the [[Khyber Pass]] – the ancient travel route by which most trade between Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent passed. Peshawar's economy also benefited from tourism in the mid-20th century, as the city formed a crucial part of the [[Hippie trail]].

Peshawar's estimated monthly per capita income was ₨55,246 in 2015,<ref name="SPDC" /> compared to ₨117,924 in [[Islamabad]],<ref name="SPDC" /> and ₨66,359 in [[Karachi]].<ref name="SPDC" /> Peshawar's surrounding region is also relatively poor − Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's cities on average have an urban per capita income that is 20% less than Pakistan's national average for urban residents.<ref name="SPDC">{{cite web |url=http://www.spdc.org.pk/Data/Publication/PDF/AR2014-15.pdf |title=SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN PAKISTAN ANNUAL REVIEW 2014–15 |year=2016 |publisher=SOCIAL POLICY AND DEVELOPMENT CENTRE |access-date=8 April 2017 |archive-date=5 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200405051228/https://www.spdc.org.pk/Data/Publication/PDF/AR2014-15.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Peshawar was noted by the [[World Bank]] in 2014 to be at the helm of a nationwide movement to create an ecosystem for entrepreneurship, freelance jobs, and technology.<ref>{{cite news |title=Putting Peshawar at the Helm of Digital Change: Youth, Technology, and Innovation |url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/05/23/putting-peshawar-at-the-helm-of-digital-change |access-date=7 April 2017 |publisher=World Bank |date=23 May 2014 |archive-date=7 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407144251/http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/05/23/putting-peshawar-at-the-helm-of-digital-change |url-status=live }}</ref> The city has been host to the World Bank assisted [http://digitalyouthsummit.pk/ Digital Youth Summit] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407144301/http://digitalyouthsummit.pk/ |date=7 April 2017 }} — an annual event to connect the city and province's youths to opportunities in the [[digital economy]]. The 2017 event hosted 100 speakers including several international speakers, and approximately 3,000 delegates in attendance.<ref>{{cite web |title=Digital Youth Summit |url=http://digitalyouthsummit.pk/ |access-date=7 April 2017 |archive-date=7 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407144301/http://digitalyouthsummit.pk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Industry ===
Peshawar's Industrial Estate on Jamrud Road is an industrial zone established in the 1960s on 868 acres. The industrial estate hosts furniture, marble industries, and food processing industries, though many of its plots remain underutilized.<ref>{{cite book |last1=IBP, Inc. |title=Pakistan: Doing Business and Investing in Pakistan: Strategic, Practical Information, Regulations, Contacts |date=1 June 2015 |publisher=Lulu |isbn=978-1-5145-2747-4}}</ref> The Hayatabad Industrial Estate hosts 646 industrial units in Peshawar's western suburbs, though several of the units are no longer in use.<ref name="CPEC-inspired economic zones">{{cite news |title=CPEC-inspired economic zones |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1228970 |access-date=7 April 2017 |work=Dawn |date=28 December 2015 |archive-date=6 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106221227/https://www.dawn.com/news/1228970 |url-status=live }}</ref> As part of the [[China Pakistan Economic Corridor]], 4 [[special economic zone]]s are to be established in the province, with roads, electricity, gas, water, and security to be provided by the government.<ref name="CPEC-inspired economic zones" /> The nearby Hattar SEZ is envisioned to provide employment to 30,000 people,<ref name="CPEC-inspired economic zones" /> and is being developed at a cost of approximately $200 million with completion expected in 2017.<ref name="CPEC-inspired economic zones" />

=== Employment ===
As a result of large numbers of displaced persons in the city, only 12% of Peshawar's residents were employed in the formalized economy in 2012.<ref name="tribune.com.pk" /> Approximately 41% of residents in 2012 were employed in personal services,<ref name="tribune.com.pk" /> while 55% of Afghan refugees in the city in 2012 were daily wage earners.<ref name="tribune.com.pk" /> By 2016, Pakistan adopted a policy to repatriate Afghan refugees.

Wages for unskilled workers in Peshawar grew on average 9.1% per year between 2002 and 2008.<ref name="SPDC" /> Following the outbreak of widespread Islamist violence in 2007, wages rose only 1.5% between 2008 and 2014.<ref name="SPDC" /> Real wages dropped for some skilled craftsmen during the period between 2008 and 2014.<ref name="SPDC" />

=== Constraints ===
Peshawar's economy has been negatively impacted by political instability since 1979 resulting from the [[War in Afghanistan]] and subsequent strain on Peshawar's infrastructure from the influx of refugees.<ref name="tribune.com.pk" /> The poor security environment resulting from Islamist violence also impacted the city's economy. With the launch of [[Operation Zarb-e-Azb]] in 2014, the country's security environment has drastically improved.<ref>{{cite news |title=Violence-related fatalities in Balochistan, Punjab increased in 2016 |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1306301 |access-date=9 February 2017 |work=Dawn |date=4 January 2017 |archive-date=11 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080215/http://www.dawn.com/news/1306301 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The metropolitan economy suffers from poor infrastructure. The city's economy has also been adversely impacted by shortages of electricity and natural gas.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pakistan's Peshawar hopes for economic boost |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/video/asia/2015/01/pakistan-peshawar-hopes-economic-boost-2015146622659471.html |access-date=7 April 2017 |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=4 January 2015 |archive-date=7 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407233251/http://www.aljazeera.com/video/asia/2015/01/pakistan-peshawar-hopes-economic-boost-2015146622659471.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The $54 billion [[China Pakistan Economic Corridor]] will generate over 10,000 MW by 2018<ref name="Daily Time">{{cite news |title=Parliamentary body on CPEC expresses concern over coal import |url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/19-Nov-2015/parliamentary-body-on-cpec-expresses-concern-over-coal-import |access-date=11 December 2015 |work=Daily Times |date=19 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222105640/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/19-Nov-2015/parliamentary-body-on-cpec-expresses-concern-over-coal-import |archive-date=22 December 2015}}</ref> – greater than the current electricity deficit of approximately 4,500 MW.<ref name="Dunya News">{{cite news |title=Electricity shortfall increases to 4,500 MW |url=http://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/286627-Electricity-shortfall-increases-to-4500-MW |access-date=11 December 2015 |publisher=Dunya News |date=29 June 2015 |archive-date=18 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718200828/http://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/286627-Electricity-shortfall-increases-to-4500-MW |url-status=live }}</ref> Peshawar will also be linked to ports in Karachi by uninterrupted motorway access, while passenger and freight railway tracks will be upgraded between Peshawar and Karachi.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

Poor transportation is estimated to cause a loss of 4–6% of the Pakistani [[GDP]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Transport policy: need of the day |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1314522 |access-date=7 April 2017 |work=Dawn |date=13 February 2017 |quote="Inefficiencies in the performance of the transport sector costs Pakistan's economy 4-6pc of GDP", said Werner E. Liepach, ADB Country Director. |archive-date=20 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920002534/https://www.dawn.com/news/1314522 |url-status=live }}</ref> Peshawar for decades has suffered from chaotic, mismanaged, and inadequate public transportation and the poor public transportation also has been detrimental to the city's economy.<ref>{{cite news |title=Peshawar Mass Transit Project Brief |url=http://www.urbanpolicyunit.gkp.pk/MTS%20Project%20Brief.pdf |access-date=7 April 2017 |agency=Urban Policy Unit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140801190105/http://www.urbanpolicyunit.gkp.pk/MTS%20Project%20Brief.pdf |archive-date=1 August 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Therefore, the government has since a new rapid bus service called [[TransPeshawar|BRT Peshawar]] covering the entire Peshawar. BRT Peshawar is now believed to be one the most advanced BRT of Pakistan<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last2=Shinwari |first1=Manzoor |last1=Ali |first2=Ibrahim |date=14 August 2020 |title=PM inaugurates much-awaited Peshawar BRT project |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1574288 |access-date=5 April 2021 |website=Dawn|location=Pakistan |language=en |archive-date=12 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512171011/https://www.dawn.com/news/1574288 |url-status=live }}</ref>