ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb unveiled the Pakistan Economic Survey 2024-25, exuding confidence that the country’s economy would be able to post growth of 2.7 per cent in the outgoing fiscal year for the gross domestic product (GDP).
The National Accounts Committee showed Pakistan’s GDP growth at 1.37pc for the first quarter of FY25, 1.53pc for the second, and 2.4 for the third. This implies that the economy would need to post a growth rate of 5.5pc in the three months of April-June to get to the 2.7pc figure announced by the finance minister.
The GDP growth figure, however, is still lower than 3.6pc, marking the third successive year of the government missing its targeted figure.When asked by a reporter about the ambitious figure, Aurangzeb justified the projection by saying that these were official estimates.
“The data provided is by the government,” he said. “Therefore, we will stick to what the government has said and provided. I am going to stay with this.”
The survey is a pre-budget document that contains details of major socio-economic achievements during the outgoing fiscal year. It serves as a vital document ahead of the annual federal budget, which will be presented, offering detailed insights into the country’s socio-economic performance over the outgoing fiscal year.
The finance minister, during a press conference in Islamabad, talked about the global economic outlook, noting that global GDP growth was estimated to decline to 2.8pc in 2025 from 3.5pc two years ago.“Our recovery needs to be looked at in a global context,” he said.
Aurangzeb said Pakistan’s GDP growth in 2023 was negative 0.2pc, which rose to 2.5pc in 2024. “This year, we announced a 2.7pc growth for 2025. This is a gradual recovery and the right way to go about it is to focus on sustainable growth.
“The last thing we want is to go through another round of boom and bust cycles,” Aurangzeb stressed.According to the survey, the agriculture sector played an “essential and sustainable role” in ensuring food security, supporting rural livelihoods, and fostering national economic resilience, accounting for 23.54pc of the GDP in FY25 and employing over 37pc of the labour force.
