Pakistan's GDP growth rate for current fiscal year reaches 0.29%

Islamabad: The statistics of the growth rate of the national economy of Pakistan during the current fiscal year released by the National Accounts Committee are shocking. The target of GDP growth rate for the current financial year was set at 5 per cent. However, the actual growth has been reported to be at 0.29 per cent, Pakistan vernacular media Dunya Daily reported.

The growth target of the industrial sector was 7.4 per cent. However, the growth target of the industrial sector remained at 2.94 per cent. The inflation target for the current fiscal year was set at 11.5 per cent. However, it has reached a 55-year high of 36.4 per cent, as per the Dunya Daily report.

The statistics clearly indicate that for a nation as large as Pakistan, where the population has reached close to 25 crores, a growth rate of 0.3 per cent per annum is alarming. The report said that the elite rulers need to take notice of the statistics and manage this reverse growth. In order to manage the economy, measures should be taken without delay, Pakistan vernacular media Dunya Daily report.

When the statistics are compared to the growth indicators of the last financial year, the situation in Pakistan looks even more confusing. In 2022, the growth rate in industry, services, and agriculture, was between 6-7 per cent, Dunya Daily reported. However, these sectors in this year have been suffering from negative growth. In 2022, agriculture witnessed a growth rate of over 4 per cent last year. This year, agriculture achieved a growth rate close to 1.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, only 16 per cent of people in Pakistan believe that their local economy is getting better, which is the lowest in the region except for Afghanistan, Dawn reported citing a Gallup survey report released this week.

The survey by Gallup World Poll showcases how the unrest in Pakistan is rooted in its economic woes. The survey stated that the perceptions of corruption in Pakistan have reached a record high, living standards have plummeted and left millions of people struggling to meet their basic needs, as per the Dawn report.

The survey revealed that the economic downturn is being felt hardest in Sindh. The authors Hashim Pasha and Benedict Vigers in the report said, "Except for Afghanistan, where the economy has crumbled since the Taliban's takeover, Pakistan ranks lower than all other countries in the Asia-Pacific region in perceptions of improving economic conditions."

86 per cent of Pakistanis consider corruption to be widespread in Pakistan's government and 80 per cent believe that corruption in businesses has hit record highs, Dawn reported. Showcasing the connection between the recent political turmoil and economic crisis, the authors said that Pakistan's economy has seen record inflation, rising commodity prices, and significant declines in foreign investment and remittances.