Pakistan Economy
Is Pakistan a wealthy country?
Decades of internal political disputes and low levels of foreign investment have led to underdevelopment in Pakistan. Pakistan has a large English-speaking population, with English-language skills less prevalent outside urban centers. Despite some progress in recent years in both security and energy, a challenging security environment, electricity shortages, and a burdensome investment climate have traditionally deterred investors. Agriculture accounts for one-fifth of output and two-fifths of employment. Textiles and apparel account for more than half of Pakistan's export earnings; Pakistan's failure to diversify its exports has left the country vulnerable to shifts in world demand. Pakistan’s GDP growth has gradually increased since 2012, and was 5.3% in 2017. Official unemployment was 6% in 2017, but this fails to capture the true picture, because much of the economy is informal and underemployment remains high. Human development continues to lag behind most of the region.
In 2013, Pakistan embarked on a $6.3 billion IMF Extended Fund Facility, which focused on reducing energy shortages, stabilizing public finances, increasing revenue collection, and improving its balance of payments position. The program concluded in September 2016. Although Pakistan missed several structural reform criteria, it restored macroeconomic stability, improved its credit rating, and boosted growth. The Pakistani rupee has remained relatively stable against the US dollar since 2015, though it declined about 10% between November 2017 and March 2018. Balance of payments concerns have reemerged, however, as a result of a significant increase in imports and weak export and remittance growth.
Pakistan must continue to address several longstanding issues, including expanding investment in education, healthcare, and sanitation; adapting to the effects of climate change and natural disasters; improving the country’s business environment; and widening the country’s tax base. Given demographic challenges, Pakistan’s leadership will be pressed to implement economic reforms, promote further development of the energy sector, and attract foreign investment to support sufficient economic growth necessary to employ its growing and rapidly urbanizing population, much of which is under the age of 25.
In an effort to boost development, Pakistan and China are implementing the "China-Pakistan Economic Corridor" (CPEC) with $60 billion in investments targeted towards energy and other infrastructure projects. Pakistan believes CPEC investments will enable growth rates of over 6% of GDP by laying the groundwork for increased exports. CPEC-related obligations, however, have raised IMF concern about Pakistan’s capital outflows and external financing needs over the medium term.
Pakistan Economy Data
What is the GDP of Pakistan?
| Currency Name and Code | Pakistan Rupee (PKR) |
| GDP - Gross Domestic Product (PPP) | $1,021,130,000,000 (USD) |
| GDP - official exchange rate | $247,800,000,000 (USD) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% |
| GDP Per Capita | $4,900.00 (USD) |
| GDP by Sector- agriculture | 25.5% |
| GDP by Sector- Industry | 19% |
| GDP by Sector- services | 55.5% |
| GDP - composition, by end use |
household consumption: 79.2% investment in fixed capital: 13.5% investment in inventories: 1.6% exports of goods and services: 10.9% imports of goods and services: -17.1% |
| Population Below Poverty Line | 24% |
| Inflation Rate | 13.4% |
| Labor Force | 55,770,000 |
| Labor Force By Occupation- agriculture | 45.1% |
| Labor Force By Occupation- industry | 20.7% |
| Labor Force By Occupation- services | 34.2% |
| Unemployment Rate | 15% |
| Unemployment - note | substantial underemployment exists |
| Fiscal Year | 1 July - 30 June |
| Annual Budget | $25,330,000,000 (USD) |
| Budget Surplus or Deficit - percent of GDP | -7.7% |
| Public Debt (% of GDP) | 54.3% |
| Taxes and other revenues - percent of GDP | 12.6% |
| Major Industries | textiles and apparel, food processing, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, paper products, fertilizer, shrimp |
| Industrial Growth Rate | 4.9% |
| Agriculture Products | cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; milk, beef, mutton, eggs |
| Exchange Rate per US Dollar | Pakistani rupee (PKR) |
| Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate | 11.5% |