Waderas ka Pakistan — When 1 Farmer Holds the Land of 11 Others.

Fresh data from the Agricultural Census 2024 reveals how unevenly Pakistan’s farmland is distributed — and how small and large farms live in two different worlds.

The Smallholder Majority (<5 acres)
Pakistan → 80% of farmers, but only 34% of farmland
Sindh → 65% of farmers, 26% of farmland
Balochistan → 58% of farmers, 17% of farmland
Punjab → 76% of farmers, 33% of farmland
KP → 66% of farmers, 61% of farmland
ICT → 69% of farmers, 46% of farmland

The Landed Elite (≥25 acres)
Pakistan → Just 1.4% of farmers control 16% of all farmland
Sindh → 3.5% of farmers control 23% of farmland
Balochistan → 3.7% control 14% of farmland
Punjab → 1.9% control 16% of farmland
KP → 0.2% control 4% of farmland
ICT → 0.2% control 0% of farmland

The Policy Dilemma

Land Reform View → Redistribute to smallholders for equity and poverty reduction.
Productivity View → Larger farms often produce more per acre via mechanization and better inputs.
Breaking them up could hurt efficiency — but concentration leaves millions struggling.

The Inheritance Squeeze
With each generation, land is divided among heirs — a 25-acre farm today could be split into several small, less viable plots tomorrow. Without cooperative farming or land consolidation, Pakistan risks both falling productivity and deepening inequality.