The Department of Economics is one of the pioneer departments of Karakoram International University. In 2003, it was established with the objectives of human resources development in field of economics, knowledge creation, conducting research, contribution in knowledge economy and socioeconomic development of the mountainous areas. It is devoted to theoretical and empirical teaching and research in Economics. The department has been offering two masters programs i.e. M.Sc (Economics) and M.Sc Economics (Specialization in Finance) and BS (Economics) as degree programs for years.

Keep in view the recent global economic activities and investment under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) there is need of experts in the field of economics, finance and international trade. Karakoram International University is the only higher education in the region. Therefore, to meet the demand of graduates in the above-mentioned fields, departments of economics has recently initiated MS (Economics) and aims to initiate BS (Economics) with specialization in international trade. In addition to this, the department intends to start Ph.D. program after few years. The department has outstanding faculty members graduated from renowned national and international universities. The major strengths of the department are diversified knowledge and capabilities of the faculty in the fields of economics finance and international trade.