page_title: Peshawar
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Peshawar / Economy
caption_attribution_description: English: This is the heart of peshawar city. One of the rarest sights when this place is not busy and theres room to walk freely. This is place is the backbone of trade in Peshawar with khyber bazar (Khyber market) right behind it and Killa Balisar (Balisar Fort) on its side.
context_page_description: Peshawar is the capital of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its largest city. It is the sixth-largest in Pakistan. Peshawar is also the largest Pashtun-majority city in Pakistan. Situated in the broad Valley of Peshawar near the eastern end of the historic Khyber Pass, close to the border with Afghanistan, Peshawar's recorded history dates back to at least 539 BCE, making it the oldest city in Pakistan and one of the oldest cities in South Asia.
  As the center of the ancient Gandhara region, Peshawar became the capital of the Kushan Empire under the rule of Kanishka; and was home to the Kanishka stupa, which was among the tallest buildings in the ancient world. Peshawar was then ruled by the Hephthalites, followed by the Hindu Shahis, before the arrival of Muslim empires. The city was an important trading centre during the Mughal era, before becoming part of the Afghan Durrani Empire in December 1747, and serving as the Afghan winter capital from 1776 until the capture of the city by the Sikh Empire in March 1823, who were then followed by the British in 1846.
context_section_description: 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, compared to ₨117,924 in Islamabad, and ₨66,359 in Karachi. 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.
  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. The city has been host to the World Bank assisted Digital Youth Summit — 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.
caption: City Center Road is the major trade zone in Peshawar.
exif: {"Image Make": "OnePlus", "Image Model": "ONEPLUS A5010", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Snapseed 2.0", "Image DateTime": "2018:02:09 20:02:19", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "217", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[34, 0, 134553/2500]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "E", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[71, 34, 63271/2500]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "314939/1000", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[12, 5, 58]", "GPS GPSDate": "2018:02:09", "Image GPSInfo": "680", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/305", "EXIF FNumber": "17/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Unidentified", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:02:09 17:05:58", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:02:09 17:05:58", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "2063/250", "EXIF ApertureValue": "153/100", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "223/50", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Average", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "4103/1000", "EXIF SubSecTime": "301607", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "301607", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "301607", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3456", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "4608", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "873", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "24", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}