June 7, 2026
Petrol Price in Pakistan: 25 Years Charted (2000–2025)
From Rs 31 a litre in 2000 to over Rs 270 by 2025 — Pakistan's petrol price climbed roughly 9x in a generation. We chart every year and pinpoint the three moves that did most of the damage.
The 25-year story in one number
In the year 2000, a litre of petrol in Pakistan cost roughly Rs 31. By mid-2025 it was hovering above Rs 270 — a nominal increase of nearly 9x.
That sentence sounds dramatic, and it is. But it also flattens what was actually three different stories — each driven by a different combination of global crude prices, the rupee's strength, and Pakistan's tax regime.
Three inflection points that did most of the work
1. The 2008 commodity spike (Rs 56 → Rs 86)
Through the early 2000s, prices climbed slowly. Then Brent crude shot from $50 to $145 between 2007 and mid-2008. Pakistan absorbed part of the shock through subsidies, but post-subsidy the pump price had to catch up.
2. The 2013 fiscal year resets (Rs 91 → Rs 105+)
After the IMF programme of 2013, fuel subsidies were dialled back as part of the broader fiscal consolidation. The full pass-through of import costs to consumers became routine — fortnightly OGRA reviews started behaving like the law of gravity.
3. The 2022 currency crisis (Rs 123 → Rs 200+)
The biggest single move in the 25-year series was 2022. As the rupee collapsed from ~Rs 170/USD to over Rs 280/USD, every dollar of imported crude translated into substantially more rupees at the pump. By the end of 2022, petrol crossed Rs 200/litre for the first time.
What this means for households
Petrol price isn't just a number on a billboard — it cascades into transport fares, food logistics, and any service that depends on a delivery vehicle. The cumulative effect over 25 years is that Pakistani households are spending a meaningfully larger share of income on fuel and fuel-adjacent costs than they were a generation ago.
What's your fuel cost this month?
Plug in your daily commute and see what each OGRA revision actually costs you.
How fuel prices are set in Pakistan today
Three components drive the pump price:
- Global crude oil (Brent benchmark, USD per barrel) — about 50–60% of the cost
- USD/PKR exchange rate — multiplies that USD cost into rupees
- Government levies + GST — Petroleum Development Levy, sales tax, distribution margins
OGRA reviews these inputs roughly every two weeks and notifies a new price if the underlying components have shifted enough.