Indian Pakistani Muslim Economy: Muslims live in large numbers in both India and Pakistan, but there is a world of difference in their financial condition. In such a situation, know in which country’s Muslims are more prosperous and how much money is in the pockets of the richest Muslim businessmen there. Even after 78 years of partition, this question arises again and again whether the Muslims of India or Pakistan are better? The data makes the picture clear on both sides and the result is surprising.

First understand which country is economically strong.

India’s economy today is about 4.15 trillion dollars i.e. almost 10 times bigger than Pakistan. The per capita income in India is $2694 annually, whereas in Pakistan it is only $1,478, i.e. almost half. Pakistan is also badly lagging behind on the inflation front. The inflation rate there is 11.07%, whereas in India the inflation rate is only 4.38%.

Reality of Indian Muslims: Poverty has decreased, but the gap remains

• The population of Muslims in India is about 25 crores. Government figures show that the Muslims here are able to spend only 87.9% of the national average expenditure and own only 79% of the house property, whereas this figure of Hindus is 100% and 93% respectively.
• A survey by Gallup revealed that 51% of India’s Muslims are not happy with their standard of life, while among Hindus this figure is 63%. About 47% Muslims admitted that it is difficult for them to run a household.
• According to a United Nations report, every third Indian Muslim is still living in “multidimensional poverty” i.e. deprived of basic facilities like education, health and housing. About 80% of Muslims are engaged in work like labor, tailoring or street vendors in the unorganized sector.
• According to a study released in November 2025, extreme poverty among Muslims in India has reduced to only 1.5%, which is less than 2.3% among Hindus.

There is a crisis for the Muslims of Pakistan!

• 97% of Pakistan’s population is Muslim, which means every economic crisis there directly affects the Muslim people there.
• According to the latest government data, 28.8% of Pakistan’s population is going to fall below the poverty line in 2024-25. Six years ago this figure was only 21.9%. According to the World Bank, according to the new standards this figure reaches 45%. Extreme poverty there has also increased from 4.9% to 16.5%.
• The debt burden on Pakistan is so much that its debt-to-GDP ratio has reached 70-80%. Continuous IMF bailouts, floods and political upheavals have broken the back of the common man there.

The top 5 Muslim businessmen of India are like this…

Wipro owner Azim Premji is at the top, his wealth is estimated to be around 11 to 15 billion dollars. At second place is Yusuf Ali, who runs Lulu Group and is originally Indian, even though his business is spread in Gulf countries, his wealth is around 8 to 8.5 billion dollars. At third place is Yusuf Hameed of Cipla, whose wealth is between 2.5 to 4 billion dollars. At fourth and fifth positions are Shamsher Vyalil of VPS Healthcare and Azad Moopan of Aster, both of whom have assets in the range of $1.5 to $3 billion.

Now take a look at the top 5 businessmen of Pakistan

• Shahid Khan of Pakistani origin is the richest, whose wealth is 13 to 15 billion dollars but he has settled in America and runs his business from there.
• The richest among those doing business living in Pakistan is Mian Muhammad Mansha, who is also known as ‘Mukesh Ambani of Pakistan’. His wealth is between 5 to 7.8 billion dollars.
• At number three is Anwar Parvez of Bestway Group, whose wealth is around 3.5 to 4 billion dollars.
• Real estate businessman Malik Riaz is at number four.
• And at number five is Sadaruddin Hashwani of Hashu Group, whose wealth is estimated to be around $900 million.

The statistics that surprise you the most

Today there are a total of 229 billionaires in India, whose collective wealth has crossed $1,000 billion. There are only 15 billionaires in Pakistan, whose total wealth is only 71 billion dollars.

The thing to note is that the wealth of Mukesh Ambani alone (about 115 billion dollars) is more than the combined wealth of all the 15 billionaires of Pakistan. At the same time, the wealth of India’s richest Muslim Azim Premji is almost double that of Mian Mansha, the richest person living in Pakistan.

The squeeze: who’s in better shape?

Statistics clearly say that India’s economy and its billionaire class are far ahead of Pakistan, whether they are Muslim businessmen or non-Muslims.

But if we talk about the common Muslims, this community in India is still lagging behind the rest of the communities in the country in terms of education, employment and property. Whereas in Pakistan, since the entire population is Muslim-majority, the economic crisis there directly becomes the crisis of the Muslim people there and that crisis is much deeper than in India.

That is, the average Muslim of India is definitely in a better position economically than the average citizen of Pakistan, but within India he is still counted among the most backward classes. Both these things are true together.

(Article based on World Bank, Sachar Committee Report, NITI Aayog, Gallup Survey, UNDP, Forbes data)