Economy of Pakistan

The economy of Pakistan is categorized as a developing economy. It ranks as the 24th-largest based on GDP using purchasing power parity (PPP) and the 46th largest in terms of nominal GDP. With a population of 241.5 million people as of 2023, Pakistan’s position at per capita income ranks 161st by GDP (nominal) and 138th by GDP (PPP) according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).^[4]

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Economy of Pakistan

Karachi, the financial hub of Pakistan
Currency	Pakistani rupee (₨) (PKR)
Fiscal year	1 July – 30 June
Trade organisations	ECO, SAFTA, WTO, AIIB, ADB, and others
Country group	Developing economy[1] (lower-middle income)[2]
Statistics
Population	241,499,431 (5th, 2023 Census)[3]
GDP	$340.64 billion (nominal; 2023)[4] $1.57 trillion (PPP; 2023 est.)[4]
GDP rank	46th (nominal; 2023) 24th (PPP; 2023)
GDP growth	6.1% (FY 2022)[4] -0.5% (FY 2023)[4] 2.1% (FY 2024)[5][lower-alpha 1]
GDP per capita	$1,471 (nominal; 2023)[4] $6,773 (PPP; 2023 est.)[4]
GDP per capita rank	161st (nominal; 2023)[lower-alpha 2] 138th (PPP; 2023 est.)[lower-alpha 2]
GDP by sector	Agriculture: 23.17% Industry: 18.41% Services: 58.42% (FY 2023)[6]
GDP by component	Household consumption: 82.0% Government consumption: 11.3% Investment in fixed capital: 14.5% Investment in inventories: 1.6% Exports of goods and services: 8.2% Imports of goods and services: −17.6% (2017 est.)[7]
Inflation (CPI)	17.3% (May 2024 YoY)[8] [9]
Base borrowing rate	22.00% (January 2024)[10]
Population below poverty line	35.7% on less than $3.20/day (2021)[11][12][13] 5% in extreme poverty (2022)[14] 8% (rural) ; 0.3% (urban)
Gini coefficient	31.6 medium (2018, World Bank)[15]
Human Development Index	0.544 low (2022)[16] (161st) 0.380 low IHDI (2021)[17]
Labour force	Total 71.76 million Employed 67.25 million (2021)[18]
Labour force by occupation	Agriculture: 37.4% Industry: 25.4% Services: 37.2% (2021)[18]
Unemployment	7% (2023)[19] 17.4 million unemployed (2023)[19]
Main industries	Textiles Apparel Food processing Pharmaceuticals Surgical instruments Construction materials Fertilizer Shrimp Paper products
External
Exports	$35.210 billion (FY 2023)[20]
Export goods	Textiles: $16,628 million Food: $4,740 million Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals: $1,424 million Leather goods: $627 million Sports goods: $461 million Petroleum: $290 million[21]
Main export partners	United States 21.2%  China 7.3%  United Kingdom 7.0%  Germany 5.7%  United Arab Emirates 5.3%  Netherlands 5.2%  Spain 4.9%  Italy 4.1% (2023 est.)[22]
Imports	$60.013 billion (FY 2023)[20]
Import goods	Petroleum: 17,538 million Agriculture and other chemicals: $8,253 million Machinery: $4,431 million Food: $7,966 million Textile: $4,565 million Metal: $3,450 million Transport: $1,266 million[23]
Main import partners	China 18.6%  United Arab Emirates 14.3%  Saudi Arabia 6.4%  Singapore 5.3%  United States 4.3%  Indonesia 5.1%  Kuwait 4.9%  Malaysia 2.0% (2023 est.)[22]
FDI stock	$31.540 billion Abroad: $1.870 billion (31 Dec 2021)[24]
Current account	-2.557 billion US$ (FY 2023)[25]
Gross external debt	$125.7 billion (Mar 2023)[26]
Public finances
Government debt	74.8% of GDP (Jun 2023)[27]
Budget balance	−7.7% of GDP (FY 2023)[28]
Revenues	11.4% of GDP; 9,634 billion PKR or $39 billion (FY 2023)[28]
Expenses	19.1% of GDP; 16,155 billion PKR $65 billion (FY 2023)[28]
Economic aid	$2.6983 billion (2021)[29]
Credit rating	Standard & Poor's:[30] B− (Domestic) B− (Foreign) B− (T&C Assessment) Outlook: Negative Moody's:[31] Caa1 Outlook: Negative Fitch:[32] CCC (July 2023)[33] [34] Outlook: Negative
Foreign reserves	$8.27bn (January 2024)[35] (115th)
Main data source: CIA World Fact Book All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

Close

In its early years, Pakistan's economy relied heavily on private industries. The nationalization of a significant portion of the sector, including financial services, manufacturing, and transportation, began in the early 1970s under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. During Zia-ul Haq's regime in the 1980s, an "Islamic" economy was adopted, outlawing economic practices forbidden in Sharīʿah and mandating traditional religious practices. The economy started privatizing again in the 1990s.

The economic growth centers in Pakistan are located along the Indus River;^[36][37] these include the diversified economies of Karachi and major urban centers in Punjab (such as Faisalabad, Lahore, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, and Gujranwala), alongside less developed areas in other parts of the country.^[36] Pakistan was classified as a semi-industrial economy for the first time in the late 1990s, albeit an underdeveloped country^[38] with a heavy dependence on agriculture, particularly the textile industry relying on cotton production.^[39][36][40] Primary export commodities include textiles, leather goods, sports equipment, chemicals, and carpets/rugs.^[41][42]

Pakistan is presently undergoing economic liberalization, including the privatization of all government corporations, aimed at attracting foreign investment and reducing budget deficits.^[43] However, the country continues to grapple with challenges such as a rapidly growing population, high illiteracy, political instability, a hostile neighborhood, and heavy foreign debt.