Pakistan's economic growth lags behind regional countries

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s exports are lagging behind neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Egypt, and India as the country’s economy has been struggling to keep up with its regional counterparts, ARY News reported.

According to official documents, Pakistan’s exports account for only 10 percent of its Gross domestic product (GDP) as compared to up to 27 percent in other regional countries.

The country’s export sector has been declining over the past decade, with its share of GDP dropping from 13percent in 2010 to 10percent in 2024. In contrast, India’s exports account for 22percent of its GDP, while Bangladesh’s exports make up 13percent of its GDP, the documents read.

Pakistan’s spending on education and healthcare is also lower compared to other regional countries. The country allocates only 0.8percent of its GDP towards healthcare services, compared to 1.1percent in India and 1.9percent in Sri Lanka. Similarly, Pakistan’s education expenditure accounts for only 1.9percent of its GDP, compared to 4.1percent in India.

Pakistan’s economic growth has been slow, with an average annual growth rate of 3.9percent over the past decade. The country’s GDP per capita is also lower compared to other regional countries, standing at $1,463 in 2023, compared to $1,654 in India.

Earlier, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported that the exports from the country increased by 10.52 percent during the first half of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding months of last year.

Exports during July-December (2024-25) were recorded at $16.561 billion against $14.985 billion during July-December (2023-24), according to PBS data.

On the other hand, imports into the country went up by 6.11 percent by growing from $26.137 million last year to $27.733 million during the first six months of the current year.

Based on the figures, the trade deficit during the months under review was recorded at $11.172 billion against the deficit of $11.152 billion last year, showing a slight increase of 0.18 percent.

Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the exports in December 2024 increased by 0.67 percent to $2.841 billion from $2.822 billion in December 2023.