Larkano is the most important settlement in the Western Upper Sindh. Being the hometown of many political personalities, it exercises a country-wide influence. Being district headquarter, Larkano is also a major administrative center. Recently the city has been elevated to the status of division headquarter. On this basis it is expected that its importance will further increase.
Regarding Services, Larkano is characterised as a major center rendering a variety of services to a rich agriculture hinterland. Information collected by PEPAC in 1985 indicated a ratio of about 33 inhabitants per shop in Larkano, a figure which if compared to the national standards infers that a considerable percentage of the customers come from outside the city. The catchment population of Larkano for commercial services is estimated today at some 0.75 million people. In spite of its importance as an administrative and service center, Larkano never managed to become up to now a center of 'export oriented ' industrial activities. According to the 1981 census population figures, Larkano (with 123,000 inhabitants at that time), ranked 5th in the Sindh Province and 23rd in Pakistan.
Larkano is performing high order functions in the health and education sectors. The beneficiaries of these services originate not only from within the district but from the entire Sindh province. Likewise in health, specialised services are available with the Chandka Medical College and Sheikh Zaid Hospitals where 50% of the patients in 1985 were from places outside the Larkano environs.