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Economy of Pakistan | Middle class | Separately, consumer financing posted an increase of Rs37.6 billion during first half of the current fiscal year of 2017. Auto finance continued to be the dominated segment, while personal loans showed a pickup as well. "The net credit off-take of Rs13.7 billion of personal loans witnessed in first half of the fiscal year 2017 is the highest half-year figure in about a decade," the report stated. | wiki:25699201 |
Economy of Pakistan | Poverty alleviation expenditures | Pakistan government spent over 1 trillion Rupees (about $16.7 billion) on poverty alleviation programmes during the past four years, cutting poverty from 35% in 2000–01 to 29.3% in 2013 and 17% in 2015. Rural poverty remains a pressing issue, as development there has been far slower than in the major urban areas. | wiki:25699202 |
Economy of Pakistan | Employment | The high population growth in the past few decades has ensured that a very large number of young people are now entering the labor market. Even though it is among the six most populous Asian nations. In the past, excessive red tape made firing from jobs, and consequently hiring, difficult. Significant progress in taxation and business reforms has ensured that many firms now are not compelled to operate in the underground economy. "In 2016 government took a remarkable initiative by announcing the Prime Minister's Youth Program to combat unemployment in the country. This program has a broad canvas of schemes enabling youth and poor segment of society to get better employment opportunities, economic empowerment, acquiring skills needed for gainful employment, access to IT and imparting on-the-job training for young graduates to improve the probability of getting a productive job. | wiki:25699203 |
Economy of Pakistan | Employment | Prime Minister’s Youth Program includes six schemes which are Prime Minister’s Youth Business Loan Scheme, Prime Minister’s Interest Free Loan Scheme, Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development Program, Prime Minister’s Program for Provision of Laptops to Talented Students, Prime Minister’s Fee Reimbursement Scheme,Prime Minister’s Youth Training Scheme". Government sector is also contributing in employment and according to estimate 4.5 million people are employed by federal, provincial and local governments in different sectors from Armed forces to education and health. | wiki:25699204 |
Economy of Pakistan | Tourism | Tourism in Pakistan has been stated as being the tourism industry's "next big thing". Pakistan, with its diverse cultures, people and landscapes, has attracted 90 million tourists to the country, almost double to that of a decade ago. Due to threat of terrorism the number of foreigner tourists has gradually declined and the shock of 2013 Nanga Parbat tourist shooting has terribly adversely effected the tourism industry. tourism has begun to recover in Pakistan, albeit gradually. | wiki:25699205 |
Economy of Pakistan | Revenue | Although the country is a Federation with constitutional division of taxation powers between the Federal Government and the four provinces, the revenue department of the Federal Government, the Federal board of Revenue, collects almost 86% of the entire national tax collection. The Federal Board of Revenue collected 3.842 trillion rupees in taxes against the revised target of 3.935 trillion rupees in the fiscal year 2017–2018. In FY 2013, FBR tax collection was Rs.1,946 billion. So in only 5 years it almost double its tax revenue which is a phenomenal achievement. | wiki:25699206 |
Economy of Pakistan | Rupee | The basic unit of currency is the Rupee, ISO code PKR and abbreviated Rs, which is divided into 100 paisas. Currently the newly printed 5,000 rupee note is the largest denomination in circulation. Recently the SBP has introduced all new design notes of Rs. 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000. The Pakistani Rupee was pegged to the Pound sterling until 1982, when the government of General Zia-ul-Haq, changed it to managed float. As a result, the rupee devalued by 38.5% between 1982/83 many of the industries built by his predecessor suffered with a huge surge in import costs. | wiki:25699207 |
Economy of Pakistan | Rupee | After years of appreciation under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and despite huge increases in foreign aid the Rupee depreciated. | wiki:25699208 |
Economy of Pakistan | Foreign exchange rate | The Pakistani rupee depreciated against the US dollar until around the start of the 21st century, when Pakistan's large current-account surplus pushed the value of the rupee up versus the dollar. Pakistan's central bank then stabilised by lowering interest rates and buying dollars, in order to preserve the country's export competitiveness | wiki:25699209 |
Economy of Pakistan | Foreign exchange reserves | Pakistan maintains foreign reserves with State Bank of Pakistan. The currency of the reserves was solely US dollar incurring speculated losses after the dollar prices fell during 2005, forcing the then Governor SBP Ishrat Hussain to step down. In the same year the SBP issued an official statement proclaiming diversification of reserves in currencies including Euro and Yen, withholding ratio of diversification. Following the international credit crisis and spikes in crude oil prices, Pakistan's economy could not withstand the pressure and on 11 October 2008, State Bank of Pakistan reported that the country's foreign exchange reserves had gone down by $571.9 million to $7749.7 million. | wiki:25699210 |
Economy of Pakistan | Foreign exchange reserves | The foreign exchange reserves had declined more by $10 billion to a level of $6.59 billion. in June 2013 Pakistan was on the brink of default on its financial commitments. Country's Forex reserves were at an historic low covering only two weeks' worth of imports. In January 2020, Pakistan's Foreign exchange reserves stood at US$11.503 b. | wiki:25699211 |
Economy of Pakistan | Structure of economy | Agriculture accounted for about 53% of GDP in 1947. While per-capita agricultural output has grown since then, it has been outpaced by the growth of the non-agricultural sectors, and the share of agriculture has dropped to roughly one-fifth of Pakistan's economy. In recent years, the country has seen rapid growth in industries (such as apparel, textiles, and cement) and services (such as telecommunications, transportation, advertising, and finance). | wiki:25699212 |
Economy of Pakistan | Agriculture | The most important crops are wheat, sugarcane, cotton, and rice, which together account for more than 75% of the value of total crop output. Pakistan's largest food crop is wheat. In 2017, Pakistan produced 26,674,000 tonnes of wheat, almost equal to all of Africa (27.1 million tonnes) and more than all of South America (25.9 million tonnes), according to the FAOSTAT. In the previous market year of 2018/19 Pakistan exported a record 4.5 million tonnes of rice as compared to around 4 MMT during the corresponding period last year. Pakistan has also cut the use of dangerous pesticides dramatically. Pakistan is a net food exporter, except in occasional years when its harvest is adversely affected by droughts. | wiki:25699213 |
Economy of Pakistan | Agriculture | Pakistan exports rice, cotton, fish, fruits (especially Oranges and Mangoes), and vegetables and imports vegetable oil, wheat, pulses and consumer foods. The country is Asia's largest camel market, second-largest apricot and ghee market and third-largest cotton, onion and milk market. The economic importance of agriculture has declined since independence, when its share of GDP was around 53%. Following the poor harvest of 1993, the government introduced agriculture assistance policies, including increased support prices for many agricultural commodities and expanded availability of agricultural credit. From 1993 to 1997, real growth in the agricultural sector averaged 5.7% but has since declined to about 4%. | wiki:25699214 |
Economy of Pakistan | Agriculture | Agricultural reforms, including increased wheat and oil seed production, play a central role in the government's economic reform package. Majority of the population, directly or indirectly, dependent on this sector. It contributes about 18.5% percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounts for 37.4% of employed labor force and is the largest source of foreign exchange earnings. During 2017–18, agriculture sector recorded a remarkable growth of 3.70 percent and surpassed its targeted growth of 3.5 percent and last year's growth of 2.18 percent. All the major crops showed a positive trend in their production except maize. Sugarcane and rice production surpassed their historic level with 82.1 and 7.4 million tons respectively. | wiki:25699215 |
Economy of Pakistan | Agriculture | Pakistan Bureau of Statistics provisionally valued this sector at Rs. 7,764,218 million for the year 2018 thus registering the growth of 6.1% over the last year. Again in 2018–19, Agriculture sector did not hit its target growth and only grew by 0.85%. Major crops except wheat and maize fell below their previous year output. Pakistan's Top commodities productions in the last 3 fiscal years are : Pakistan's principal natural resources are arable land and water. About 25% of Pakistan's total land area is under cultivation and is watered by one of the largest irrigation systems in the world. Pakistan irrigates three times more acres than Russia. | wiki:25699216 |
Economy of Pakistan | Agriculture | Pakistan agriculture also benefits from year round warmth. Agriculture accounts for about 18.9% of GDP and employs about 42.3% of the labour force. Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited is the largest financial institution geared towards the development of agriculture sector through provision of financial services and technical expertise. | wiki:25699217 |
Economy of Pakistan | Mining | Pakistan is endowed with significant mineral resources and is emerging as a very promising area for prospecting/exploration for mineral deposits. Based on available information, the country's more than 6,00,000 km² of outcrops area demonstrates varied geological potential for metallic and non-metallic mineral deposits. In the wake of 18th amendment to the constitution all the provinces are free to exploit and explore the mineral resources which are in their jurisdiction. Mining and quarrying contributes 13.19% in industrial sector and its share in GDP is 2.8%. Pakistan mining and quarrying sector grew by 3.04% in 2018 against the negative growth of −0.38% last year. | wiki:25699218 |
Economy of Pakistan | Mining | In the recent past, exploration by government agencies as well as by multinational mining companies presents ample evidence of the occurrences of sizeable minerals deposits. Recent discoveries of a thick oxidised zone underlain by sulphide zones in the shield area of the Punjab province, covered by thick alluvial cover have opened new vistas for metallic minerals exploration. Pakistan has a large base for industrial minerals. The discovery of coal deposits having over 175 billion tonnes of reserves at Thar in the Sindh province has given an impetus to develop it as an alternative source of energy. There is vast potential for precious and dimension stones. | wiki:25699219 |
Economy of Pakistan | Mining | Extraction of principal minerals in the last 5 fiscal years is given in the table below :- | wiki:25699220 |
Economy of Pakistan | Industry | Pakistan's industrial sector accounts for approximately 18.17% of GDP. In 2018 it recorded a growth of 5.80% as compared to the growth of 5.43% in 2017. Manufacturing is the largest of Pakistan's industrial sectors, accounting for approximately 12.13% of GDP. Manufacturing sub-sector is further divided in three components including large-scale manufacturing (LSM) with the share of 79.6% percent in manufacturing sector, small scale manufacturing share is 13.8 percent in manufacturing sector, while slaughtering contributes 6.5 percent in the manufacturing. Major sectors in industries include cement, fertiliser, edible oil, sugar, steel, tobacco, chemicals, machinery, food processing and medical instruments, primarily surgical. | wiki:25699221 |
Economy of Pakistan | Industry | Pakistan is one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of surgical instruments. The government is privatizing large-scale industrial units, and the public sector accounts for a shrinking proportion of industrial output, while growth in overall industrial output (including the private sector) has accelerated. Government policies aim to diversify the country's industrial base and bolster export industries. Large Scale Manufacturing is the fastest-growing sector in Pakistani economy. Major Industries include textiles, fertiliser, cement, oil refineries, dairy products, food processing, beverages, construction materials, clothing, paper products and shrimp. In Pakistan SMEs have a significant contribution in the total GDP of Pakistan, according to SMEDA and Economic survey reports, the share in the annual GDP is 40% likewise SMEs generating significant employment opportunities for skilled workers and entrepreneurs. | wiki:25699222 |
Economy of Pakistan | Industry | Small and medium scale firms represent nearly 90% of all the enterprises in Pakistan and employ 80% of the non-agricultural labor force. These figures indicate the potential and further growth in this sector. | wiki:25699223 |
Economy of Pakistan | Construction material | In 1947, Pakistan had inherited four cement plants with a total capacity of 0.5 million tons. Some expansion took place in 1956–66 but could not keep pace with the economic development and the country had to resort to imports of cement in 1976–77 and continued to do so until 1994–95. The cement sector consisting of 27 plants is contributing above Rs 30 billion to the national exchequer in the form of taxes. However, by 2013, Pakistan's cement is fast-growing mainly because of demand from Afghanistan and countries boosting real estate sector, In 2013 Pakistan exported 7,708,557 metric tons of cement. | wiki:25699224 |
Economy of Pakistan | Construction material | Pakistan has installed capacity of 44,768,250 metric tons of cement and 42,636,428 metric tons of clinker. In the 2012–2013 cement industry in Pakistan became the most profitable sector of economy. | wiki:25699225 |
Economy of Pakistan | Information communication technology industry | The information communication technology (ICT) industry grossed over $4.8 billion in 2013. It is expected to exceed the $13 billion mark by 2018. A marked increase in software export figures are an indication of this booming industry's potential. The total number of IT companies increased to 1306 and the total estimated size of IT industry is $2.8 billion. In 2007, Pakistan was for the first time featured in the Global Services Location Index by A.T. Kearney and was rated as the 30th best location for offshoring. By 2009, Pakistan had improved its rank by ten places to reach 20th. According to Pakistan Startup report, there are about 1 million freelancers working from Pakistan mainly via Elance, Upwork, Fiverr, Guru, and freelancer – world's famous online marketplaces that count Pakistan among top 5 freelancing nations. | wiki:25699226 |
Economy of Pakistan | Information communication technology industry | An annual report that updated by State bank of Pakistan shows Pakistan cross 1 billion ($) IT Export which is a good achievement of Pakistan IT Industry. Also, an official said that Pakistan Freelance community generate 1 billion ($) revenue this year. Overall Pakistan makes 2 billion ($) IT export worldwide. | wiki:25699227 |
Economy of Pakistan | Defence industry | The defence industry of Pakistan, under the Ministry of Defence Production, was created in September 1951 to promote and coordinate the patchwork of military production facilities that have developed since independence. It is currently actively participating in many joint production projects such as Al Khalid 2, advance trainer aircraft, combat aircraft, navy ships and submarines. Pakistan is manufacturing and selling weapons to over 40 countries, bringing in $20 million annually. The country's arms imports increased by 119 percent between the 2004–2008 and 2009–13, with China providing 54pc and the USA 27pc of Pakistan's imports. | wiki:25699228 |
Economy of Pakistan | Textiles | Most of the Textile Industry is established in Punjab. Before 1990, the situation was different; most of the industry was in Karachi. Textile industry in Pakistan is traditional and conservative, producing and exporting most of low cost raw articles e.g. Raw Cotton, Yarn, fabric etc. Share of finished goods and branded articles is nominal. Pakistan has a potential to quadruple its textile production and export, due to emerging Chinese markets and with its existing infrastructure. 10% of United States imports regarding clothing and other form of textiles is covered by Pakistan. The textile sector accounts for 70% of Pakistan's exports, but the working conditions of workers are deplorable. | wiki:25699229 |
Economy of Pakistan | Textiles | Small manufacturing workshops generally do not sign employment contracts, do not respect the minimum wage and sometimes employ children. Violations of labour law also occur among major subcontractors of international brands, where workers may be beaten, insulted by their superiors or paid below the minimum wage. Factories do not comply with safety standards, leading to accidents: in 2012, 255 workers died in a fire at a Karachi factory. With 547 labour inspectors in Pakistan supervising the country's 300,000 factories, the textile industry is out of control. Nor are workers protected by trade unions, which are prohibited in industrial export zones. | wiki:25699230 |
Economy of Pakistan | Textiles | Elsewhere, "workers involved in the creation of trade unions are victims of violence, intimidation, threats or dismissals". | wiki:25699231 |
Economy of Pakistan | Other | , Pakistan is one of the largest users of CNG (compressed natural gas) in the world. Presently, more than 3,000 CNG stations are operating in the country in 99 cities and towns, and 1000 more would be set up in the next two years. It has provided employment to over 50,000 people in Pakistan, but the CNG industry is struggling to survive the 2013 energy crisis. | wiki:25699232 |
Economy of Pakistan | Services | Pakistan's service sector accounts for about 60.2% of GDP. Transport, storage, communications, finance, and insurance account for 24% of this sector, and wholesale and retail trade about 30%. Pakistan is trying to promote the information industry and other modern service industries through incentives such as long-term tax holidays. | wiki:25699233 |
Economy of Pakistan | Telecommunication | After the deregulation of the telecommunication industry, the sector has seen an exponential growth. Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd has emerged as a successful Forbes 2000 conglomerate with over US$1 billion in sales in 2005. The mobile telephone market has exploded many-fold since 2003 to reach a subscriber base of 140 million users in July 2017, one of the highest mobile teledensities in the entire world. In addition, there are over 6 million landlines in the country with 100% fibre-optic network and coverage via WLL in even the remotest areas. As a result, Pakistan won the prestigious Government Leadership award of GSM Association in 2006. | wiki:25699234 |
Economy of Pakistan | Telecommunication | The World Bank estimates that it takes about 3 days to get a phone connection in Pakistan. In Pakistan, the following are the top mobile phone operators: | wiki:25699235 |
Economy of Pakistan | Transportation | Pakistan International Airlines, the flagship airline of Pakistan's civil aviation industry, has turnover exceeding $25 billion in 2015. The government announced a new shipping policy in 2006 permitting banks and financial institutions to mortgage ships. Private sector airlines in Pakistan include Airblue, which serves the main cities within Pakistan in addition to destinations in the Persian Gulf and Manchester in the United Kingdom. A massive rehabilitation plan worth $1 billion over five years for Pakistan Railways has been announced by the government in 2005. A new rail link trial has been established from Islamabad to Istanbul, via the Iranian cities of Zahedan, Kerman and Tehran. | wiki:25699236 |
Economy of Pakistan | Transportation | It is expected to promote trade, tourism, especially for exports destined for Europe (as Turkey is part of Europe and Asia). | wiki:25699237 |
Economy of Pakistan | Finance | Pakistan has a large and diverse banking system. In 1974, a nationalization program led to the creation of six government-owned banks. A privatization program in the 1990s lead to the entry of foreign-owned and local banks into the industry. As of 2010, there were five public-owned commercial banks in Pakistan, as well as 25 domestic private banks, six multi-national banks and four specialized banks. Since 2000 Pakistani banks have begun aggressive marketing of consumer finance to the emerging middle class, allowing for a consumption boom (more than a 7-month waiting list for certain car models) as well as a construction bonanza. | wiki:25699238 |
Economy of Pakistan | Finance | Pakistan's banking sector remained remarkably strong and resilient during the world financial crisis in 2008–09, a feature which has served to attract a substantial amount of FDI in the sector. Stress tests conducted in June 2008 data indicate that the large banks are relatively robust, with the medium and small-sized banks positioning themselves in niche markets. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics provisionally valued this sector at Rs.807,807 million in 2012 thus registering over 510% growth since 2000. | wiki:25699239 |
Economy of Pakistan | Housing | The property sector has expanded twenty-threefold since 2001, particularly in metropolises like Lahore. Nevertheless, the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimated in late 2006 that the overall production of housing units in Pakistan has to be increased to 0.5 million units annually to address 6.1 million backlog of housing in Pakistan for meeting the housing shortfall in next 20 years. The report noted that the present housing stock is also rapidly aging and an estimate suggests that more than 50% of stock is over 50 years old. It is also estimated that 50% of the urban population now lives in slums and squatter settlements. | wiki:25699240 |
Economy of Pakistan | Housing | The report said that meeting the backlog in housing, besides replacement of out-lived housing units, is beyond the financial resources of the government. This necessitates putting in place a framework to facilitate financing in the formal private sector and mobilise non-government resources for a market-based housing finance system. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics provisionally valued this sector at Rs.459,829 million in 2012 thus registering over 149% growth since 2006. | wiki:25699241 |
Economy of Pakistan | Minor sectors | The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics provisionally valued this sector at Rs.389,545 million in 2005 thus registering over 65% growth since 2000. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics provisionally valued this sector at Rs.631,229 million in 2005 thus registering over 78% growth since 2000. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics provisionally valued this sector at Rs.1,358,309 million in 2005 thus registering over 96% growth since 2000. The wholesale and retail trade is the largest sub-sector of the services. Its share in the overall services sector is estimated at 31.5 percent. The wholesale and retail trade sector is based on the margins taken by traders on the transaction of commodities traded. | wiki:25699242 |
Economy of Pakistan | Minor sectors | In 2012–13, this sector grew at 2.5 percent as compared to 1.7 percent in the previous year. | wiki:25699243 |
Economy of Pakistan | Energy | For years, the matter of balancing Pakistan's supply against the demand for electricity has remained a largely unresolved matter. Pakistan faces a significant challenge in revamping its network responsible for the supply of electricity. While the government claims credit for overseeing a turnaround in the economy through a comprehensive recovery, it has just failed to oversee a similar improvement in the quality of the network for electricity supply. Most cities in Pakistan receive substantial sunlight throughout the year, which would suggest good conditions for investment in solar energy. If the rich people in Pakistan are shifted to solar energy that they should be forced to purchase solar panels, the shortfall can be controlled. | wiki:25699244 |
Economy of Pakistan | Energy | this will make the economy boost again as before 2007. According to an econometric analysis published in Quality & Quantity by Mete Feridun of University of Greenwich and his colleague Muhammad Shahbaz, economic growth in Pakistan leads to electricity consumption but not vice versa. | wiki:25699245 |
Economy of Pakistan | Investment | Foreign investment had significantly declined by 2010, dropping by 54.6% due to Pakistan's political instability and weak law and order, according to the Bank of Pakistan. Business regulations have been overhauled along liberal lines, especially since 1999. Most barriers to the flow of capital and international direct investment have been removed. Foreign investors do not face any restrictions on the inflow of capital, and investment of up to 100% of equity participation is allowed in most sectors. Unlimited remittance of profits, dividends, service fees or capital is now the rule. However, doing business has been becoming increasingly difficult over the past decade due to political instability, rising domestic insurgency and insecurity and vehement corruption. | wiki:25699246 |
Economy of Pakistan | Investment | This can be confirmed by the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index report degrading its ratings for Pakistan each year since September 2009. Tariffs have been reduced to an average rate of 16%, with a maximum of 25% (except for the car industry). The privatization process, which started in the early 1990s, has gained momentum, with most of the banking system privately owned, and the oil sector targeted to be the next big privatization operation. | wiki:25699247 |
Economy of Pakistan | Foreign acquisitions and mergers | With the rapid growth in Pakistan's economy, foreign investors are taking a keen interest in the corporate sector of Pakistan. In recent years, majority stakes in many corporations have been acquired by multinational groups. The foreign exchange receipts from these sales are also helping cover the current account deficit. | wiki:25699248 |
Economy of Pakistan | External imbalances | During FY 2017, the increase in imports of capital equipment and fuel significantly put pressure on the external account. A reversal in global oil prices led to increase in POL imports, accompanied by falling exports, as a result the merchandised trade deficit grew by 39.4 percent to US$26.885 billion in FY 2017. While remittances and Coalition Support Fund inflows both declined slightly over the same period last year, however, the impact was offset by an improvement in the income account, mainly due to lower profit repatriations by oil and gas firms. Current account – The Current account deficit increased to US$12.4 billion in FY 2017, against US$3.2 billion in FY 2016. | wiki:25699249 |
Economy of Pakistan | External imbalances | However, the impact of high current deficit on foreign exchange reserves was not severe, as financial inflows were available to the country to partially offset the gap; these inflows helped ensure stability in the exchange rate. Net FDI grew by 12.4 percent and reached US$1.6 billion in the nine-months period, whereas net FPI saw an inflow of US$631 million, against an outflow of US$393 million last year. Encouragingly for the country, the period saw the completion of multiple merger and acquisition deals between local and foreign companies. Moreover, multiple foreign automakers announced their intention to enter the Pakistani market, and some also entered into joint ventures with local conglomerates. | wiki:25699250 |
Economy of Pakistan | External imbalances | This indicates that Pakistan is clearly on foreign investors' radar, and provides a positive outlook for FDI inflows going forward. government's successful issuance of a US$1.0 billion Sukuk in the international capital market, at an extremely low rate of 5.5 percent. Besides, Pakistan continued to enjoy support from international financial institutions (IFIs) like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, and from bilateral partners like China, in the post-EFF period: net official loan inflows of US$1.1 billion were recorded during the period. As a result, the country's FX reserve amounted to US$20.8 billion by 4 May 2017 sufficient to finance around four month of import payments. | wiki:25699251 |
Economy of Pakistan | Economic aid | Pakistan receives economic aid from several sources as loans and grants. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), etc. provide long-term loans to Pakistan. Pakistan also receives bilateral aid from developed and oil-rich countries. Foreign aid has been one of the main sources of money for the Pakistani Economy. Collection of Foreign aid has been one of the priorities of almost every Pakistani Government with the Prime Minister himself leading delegations on a regular basis to collect Foreign aid. The Asian Development Bank will provide close to $6 billion development assistance to Pakistan during 2006–9. | wiki:25699252 |
Economy of Pakistan | Economic aid | The World Bank unveiled a lending programme of up to $6.5 billion for Pakistan under a new four-year, 2006–2009, aid strategy showing a significant increase in funding aimed largely at beefing up the country's infrastructure. Japan will provide $500 million annual economic aid to Pakistan. In November 2008, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a loan of 7.6 billion to Pakistan, to help stabilise and rebuild the country's economy. Between the 2008 and 2010 fiscal years, the IMF extended loans to Pakistan totalling 5.2 billion dollars. The government decided in 2011 to cut off ties with the IMF. However the government newly elected in 2013 re-established these ties, and a negotiated a three-year $6.6 billion package which would allow it to deal with on-going debt issues. | wiki:25699253 |
Economy of Pakistan | Economic aid | In May 2019, Pakistan finalised a US$6 billion foreign aid with IMF. This is Pakistan's 22nd such bailout from the IMF. The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor is being developed with a contribution of mainly concessionary loans from China under the Belt and Road Initiative. Much like BRI, value of CPEC investments transcends any fiat currency and is only estimated vaguely as it spans over decades of past and future industrial development and global economic influence. | wiki:25699254 |
Economy of Pakistan | Remittances | The remittances of Pakistanis living abroad has played important role in Pakistan's economy and foreign exchange reserves. The Pakistanis settled in Western Europe and North America are important sources of remittances to Pakistan. Since 1973 the Pakistani workers in the oil rich Arab states have been sources of billions of dollars of remittances. The 9 million-strong Pakistani diaspora, contributed US$19.3 billion to the economy in FY2017. The major source countries of remittances to Pakistan include UAE, US, Saudi Arabia, GCC countries (including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman), Australia, Canada, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, UK and EU countries. Remittances sent home by overseas Pakistani workers have seen a negative growth of 3.0% in the fiscal year 2017 compare to previous year when remittances reached at all-time high of 19.9 billion US dollars. | wiki:25699255 |
Economy of Pakistan | Remittances | This decline in remittances is mainly due to the adverse economic conditions of Arabian and gulf countries after the fall in oil prices in 2016. However, the recent development activities in the Qatar FIFA World Cup, Dubai Expo, Saudi Arabia's implementation of its Vision 2030 and particularly the recent visit of the P.M to Kuwait should all be helpful in opening new avenues for employment in these countries . Going forward one can expect improvements in the coming years. | wiki:25699256 |
Economy of Pakistan | Revenues and taxation | Pakistan has a low tax/GDP ratio, which it is trying to improve. The current tax-to-GDP ratio is 12.6% (2016),/ which is a little less than its neighbour India 16.6% (2016) while a slight more than Sri Lanka 12.3% (2015). The pace of revenue mobilization has witnessed an upward trajectory since FY 2013. Overall revenues increased to 15.3 percent of GDP in FY 2016, compared to 13.3 percent of GDP recorded in FY 2013. Among those, tax revenues increased from 9.8 percent of GDP in FY 2013 to 12.6 percent of GDP in FY 2016. | wiki:25699257 |
Economy of Pakistan | Expenditures | Government expenditures were 4,383.6 billion rupees (FY 2016–2017 July to March). Total expenditures witnessed a downward trajectory without compromising the expenditures on development projects and social assistance. Particularly, expenditures under Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) have been raised adequately in order to meet the investment requirements. During FY 2017 the size of federal PSDP has increased to Rs 800 billion from Rs 348.3 billion during FY 2013, showing a cumulative increase of over 129 percent. During first nine months of current fiscal year, the fiscal deficit stood at 3.9 percent of GDP against 3.5 percent of GDP recorded in the same period of FY 2016 on account of higher development expenditures along with various tax incentives to promote investment and economic activity in the country and security related expenditures. | wiki:25699258 |
Economy of Pakistan | Expenditures | On the basis of previous estimates of GDP at Rs 33,509 billion, the fiscal deficit was recorded at 3.7 percent during first nine months of current fiscal year against 3.4 percent registered in the comparable period of FY 2016. Total revenues grew at 6.2 percent to Rs 3,145.5 billion during July–March, FY 2017 against Rs 2,961.9 in the comparable period of FY 2016. | wiki:25699259 |
Economy of Pakistan | Corruption | The corruption is on-going issue in the government, claiming to take initiatives against it, particularly in the government and lower levels of police forces. In 2011, the country has had a consistently poor ranking at the Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index with scores of 2.5, 2.3 in 2010, and 2.5 in 2009 out of 10. In 2011, Pakistan ranked 134 on the index with 42 countries ranking worse. In 2012, Pakistan's ranking dropped even further from 134 to 139, making Pakistan the 34th most corrupt country in the world, tied with Azerbaijan, Kenya, Nepal, and Nigeria. However, during Sharif regime (2013–17), Pakistan got improved ranking of 117/180 in 2017 (with an improvement in score 28, 29, 30, 32, 32 [2013–17]), equal to Egypt (better than 59 countries).. | wiki:25699260 |
Economy of Pakistan | Circular debt and spending priorities | Since before the collapse of the USSR in 1991, progressive economic liberalization has been carried out by the government both at the provincial and the national level. Pakistan has achieved FDI of almost $8.4 billion in the financial fiscal year of 2006–07, surpassing the government target of $4 billion. Despite this milestone achievement, the Foreign investment had significantly declined by 2010, dropping by ~54.6% due to Pakistan's military operations, financial crises, law and order situation in Karachi, according to the Bank of Pakistan. From the 2006 estimate, the Government expenditures were ~$25 billion. Funding in science and education has been a primary policy of the Government of Pakistan, since 1947. | wiki:25699261 |
Economy of Pakistan | Circular debt and spending priorities | Moreover, English is fast spreading in Pakistan, with 18 million Pakistanis (11% of the population) having a command over the English language, which makes it the 3rd Largest English Speaking Nation in the world and the 2nd largest in Asia. On top of that, Pakistan produces about 445,000 university graduates and 10,000 computer science graduates per year. Despite these statistics, Pakistan still has one of the highest illiteracy rates in the world and the second largest out of school population (5.1 million children) after Nigeria. | wiki:25699262 |
Economy of Pakistan | Debts and deficit | As per the CIA World Factbook, in 2010, Pakistan ranks 63rd in the world, with respect to the public external debt to various international monetary authorities (owning ~$55.98 billion in 2010), with a total of 60.1% of GDP. Since 2009, Pakistan has been trying to negotiate debt cancellation currently Pakistan spends $3 billion on debt servicing annually to largely western nations and the International Monetary Fund. | wiki:25699263 |
Telecommunications in Pakistan | Introduction | Telecommunications in Pakistan describes the overall environment for the mobile telecommunications, telephone, and Internet markets in Pakistan. In 2008 Pakistan was the world's third-fastest growing telecommunications market. Pakistan's telecom infrastructure is improving dramatically with foreign and domestic investments into fixed-line and mobile networks; fiber systems are being constructed throughout the country to aid in network growth.. The major growth in mobile telephony was triggered by two steps taken by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS when he was Federal Minister of Science & technology. These were to introduce a "Calling Party Pays" (CPP) regime under which no charges are paid by the call receiving party on mobile phone calls. | wiki:25699264 |
Telecommunications in Pakistan | Introduction | The second was the launching of UFone as a government owned mobile phone company that competitive call rates that led to strong market competition. The impact of these two measures has been the expansion of mobile telephony from 0.3 million mobile phones in 2001, to 160 million mobile phones by 2018. | wiki:25699265 |
Telecommunications in Pakistan | Regulatory environment | The Telecommunications Ordinance of 1994 created the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Pakistan's first independent telecommunications regulator, and the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL), a state-owned monopoly. Due to a lack of competition, local telephone call rates were high and international call rates were even higher. During the 1990s, a call to United States cost $5 per minute (300PkRs per minute), which was not affordable for the majority of the population. In addition, customer service was poor; fixing a problem might take an average of 10 to 15 days. Despite this, consumers had to stick with PTCL, as they had no other options. | wiki:25699266 |
Telecommunications in Pakistan | Regulatory environment | This prompted the government to take a series of actions to improve the service by opening the telecommunications market. This was critical, but required a fine balance because opening the market and preserving PTCL were both important for the government. | wiki:25699267 |
Telecommunications in Pakistan | Perception survey | LIRNEasia's Telecommunications Regulatory Environment (TRE) index summarizes stakeholders’ perception of the regulatory and policy environment and provides insight into how conducive the environment is for further development and progress. The most recent survey was conducted in July 2008 in eight Asian countries, including Pakistan. The tool measured seven dimensions: (i) market entry; (ii) access to scarce resources; (iii) interconnection; (iv) tariff regulation; (v) anti-competitive practices; (vi) universal services; and (vii) quality of service; for the fixed, mobile, and broadband sectors. The survey found that in Pakistan the mobile sector was most active, followed by broadband; while the fixed-line sector remained somewhat static. | wiki:25699268 |
Telecommunications in Pakistan | Perception survey | The parameters that improved compared to the 2006 survey were: interconnection, tariff regulation, regulation of anti-competitive practices, and universal service obligation in the mobile sector; and market entry, interconnection, regulation of anti-competitive practices and universal service obligation in the fixed sector. Market entry received a low score in the mobile sector due to the perception that the cost of a new or renewal mobile license was prohibitive, thus posing a serious barrier to entry. However, this conclusion may have been incorrect, as the license fee, at least in the case of renewal by Mobilink GSM, was paid in installments over a period of three years. | wiki:25699269 |
Telecommunications in Pakistan | Perception survey | Thus, lack of complete information on the part of survey participants may have skewed the results. | wiki:25699270 |
Telecommunications in Pakistan | Mobile telecommunications | Instaphone and Paktel were the pioneers in mobile communication in Pakistan during the 1990s. They were joined by Mobilink in 1998 which was owned by Motorola until its sale to ORASCOM. The trio offered AMPS services before switching to GSM in the early 2000s. Ufone joined the mix in 2001. The sector was highly regulated which led to high call rates and poor service quality. In January 2004 the Ministry of Information Technology issued its "Mobile Cellular Policy" with objectives to: The deregulation bore fruit as international companies Telenor (Norway) and Warid Pakistan set up operations in the country in 2005. | wiki:25699271 |
Telecommunications in Pakistan | Subscriber base | The mobile telecommunications sector is seeing very large year-to-year growth in Pakistan. Approximately 90 percent of Pakistanis live within areas that have cell phone coverage and more than half of all Pakistanis have access to a cell phone. With 118 million mobile subscribers in March 2012, Pakistan has the highest mobile penetration rate in the South Asian region. According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Jazz leads the market with 59 million subscribers, followed by Telenor with 29.3 million, Ufone with 23.1 million and Zong with 15.6 million. All telecom companies are working to broaden their networks in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Northern Areas, which were largely ignored until recently. | wiki:25699272 |
Telecommunications in Pakistan | Subscriber base | Five of the seven Agencies of the tribal areas have mobile coverage. | wiki:25699273 |
Telecommunications in Pakistan | SMS | Pakistanis collectively sent over 151 billion text messages during the year 2009. Nokia has cited Pakistan to be producing the third-highest SMS traffic in the world in 2010. | wiki:25699274 |
Telecommunications in Pakistan | Fixed-line telephones | Fixed-line subscriptions declined from a peak of 5.2 million in 2005–06 to 3.4 million in 2009–10. When dialing on landlines, calls made within cities are considered local calls and you just dial the local number. Calls to other cities (e.g. "Karachi" to "Lahore") are considered long-distance calls, e.g., when dialing to "Lahore" from "Karachi" you have to dial the code for "Lahore" then followed by the number of the destination, therefore you dial 042-XXXX-XXXX. For international calls, you dial "00" followed by the country code, e.g., for calls to the UK from Pakistan you dial 00 - 44 - XXXXXX. | wiki:25699275 |
Telecommunications in Pakistan | Fixed-line telephones | The country code for Pakistan is 92. | wiki:25699276 |
Transport in Pakistan | Introduction | Transport in Pakistan () is extensive and varied, and serves a population of over 212.2 million people. In recent years, new national highways have been built, with the addition of motorways which have improved trade and logistics within the country. Pakistan's rail network owned by Pakistan Railways is also undergoing expansion in recent years. Airports and seaports have been built with the addition of foreign and domestic funding. | wiki:25699277 |
Transport in Pakistan | History | The history of transport in modern-day Pakistan dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization. The Grand Trunk Road was a major road commissioned by Sher Shah Suri in the 16th century and used during the Suri and Mughal periods. Trees were planted, and mosques and temples built along the road. Caravanserais were built for travelers to spend the night. Railways and Airways were developed during the British Raj. The first railways in Pakistan were built from 1885. | wiki:25699278 |
Transport in Pakistan | Motorways | The construction of motorways began in the early 1990s, with the idea of building a world-class road network and reducing the load on the heavily used national highways throughout the country. The M-2 was the first motorway completed in 1998, linking the cities of Islamabad and Lahore. In the past 5 years, many new motorways have opened up, including the M-1 and M-4. The M4 is operational and connects the cities of Pindi Bhatian (M-2), Faislabad and Multan via Gojra, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang, Shorkot, Pir Mahal and Khanewal. In 2019 M-3 became operational, which connect Lahore with Multan through Abdul Hakeem and the existing M4 near Multan. | wiki:25699279 |
Transport in Pakistan | Motorways | It terminates at the M5, which became operational in 2019. The M-5 lead to the Sukkur District of Sindh. There, the M-6 (which is proposed with construction work to begin soon) will start; the M6 will end at Hyderabad, where it will meet the existing M9 motorway to Karachi. In addition to this, the M-8 in Baluchistan province, the longest motorway of Pakistan, is half under construction, half operational. In central Punjab, the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway (M-11) is under construction and will be operational by next year, and in KPK province, the Hakka-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway (M14) is also under construction. | wiki:25699280 |
Transport in Pakistan | Motorways | Swat Motorway and Hazara Motorway are two more expressways under construction in KPK province. | wiki:25699281 |
Transport in Pakistan | National highways | During the 1990s, Pakistan began an ongoing project to rebuild all national highways throughout the country specifically to important financial, cargo and textile centers. The National Highway Authority or NHA is responsible for the maintenance of all national highways in Pakistan. | wiki:25699282 |
Transport in Pakistan | Flyovers and Underpasses | Many flyovers and underpasses are located in major urban areas of the country to regulate the flow of traffic. The highest number of flyovers and under passes are located in Karachi, followed by Lahore. Other cities having flyovers and underpasses for the regulation of flow of traffic includes Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Quetta, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Sukkur, Larkana, Rahim Yar Khan and Sahiwal etc. Beijing Underpass, Lahore is the longest underpass of Pakistan with a length of about . Muslim Town Flyover, Lahore is the longest flyover of the country with a length of about . | wiki:25699283 |
Transport in Pakistan | Buses | Within cities, buses provide a significant role in commuting a large number of travelers from one city to another. Recently, large CNG buses have been put onto the streets of various cities, primarily Karachi and Lahore, and recently Islamabad, as the minivans which were originally used were beginning to cause large traffic problems. Private yellow and white minivans have services throughout cities in Pakistan and get commuters from one point of the city to the other at a low cost. Since 2000, however, the government has taken a comprehensive initiative to modernize the existing bus fleets and minimally impact the environment. | wiki:25699284 |
Transport in Pakistan | Buses | This public-private enterprise would gradually introduce 8,000 CNG buses throughout the country and 800 buses in Karachi. This venture will ensure high standards of efficiency and cleanliness. Bus service in urban areas and between cities is well established with services run by both public and private sectors. Bus services like Daewoo Express, Faisal Movers, Bilal Travels, Niazi Express, Skyways, Potohar Express, Baloch Transport,Q Connect, Falcon Lines, Road Master, Islamabad Express, Bahawalpur Express, Waraich Buses, Kohistan and NEW Khan Brothers have set up a modern intercity service which connects to most cities in Pakistan and runs 24 hours a day. Intercity buses tend to be more modern and well kept. | wiki:25699285 |
Transport in Pakistan | Buses | International bus services are also well established in Pakistan and connect to various countries: | wiki:25699286 |
Transport in Pakistan | Taxis | Another very common form of transport, seen mainly at hotels and airports, are yellow taxis. Drivers charge according to a meter located on the dashboard of the car, but fares can be negotiated if there is no meter. The cab drivers are reliable and will take passengers to any destination required. There are also numerous privately run services that use cars and minibuses of various types throughout Pakistan, providing a reliable and quick means of transport. Recently, the Radio Cab was introduced in Pakistan, which allows riders to call a toll-free number to get in touch with the closest taxi stand. | wiki:25699287 |
Transport in Pakistan | Taxis | This service is currently offered in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Peshawar and Lahore. Services for Hyderabad and Faisalabad are now being set up. Another local cab service was introduced in August, 2017 with the name iCAB, claiming to be the first cab service of the country with a centralized platform for all kinds of road transportation services, providing app-based services and getting stupendous response from the people of Pakistan. Launched from the capital territory, iCAB will expand its operations to overall 13 cities of the country. | wiki:25699288 |
Transport in Pakistan | Cars | Over the years, the number of cars on Pakistani roads has tripled. Traffic jams are a common scene in major cities across Pakistan. The most popular cars on Pakistani roads are the Suzuki Mehran, Suzuki Cultus, Suzuki Alto, Suzuki Bolan, Daihatsu Coure, Hyundai Santro, Honda Civic, Honda City, Honda Accord, Toyota Corolla, Daihatsu Mira, Nissan Dayz, and Toyota Vitz. Luxury SUVs and cars are owned by the elite in urban cities and by many large landowners in the villages and rural areas, thus making them a fairly common sight in Pakistan. The most popular models are the Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota Prado, Land Rover Range Rover, along with several Mercedes-Benzes, BMWs and Audis. | wiki:25699289 |
Transport in Pakistan | Cars | To meet future needs, students and teachers from the National University of Science and Technology developed Pakistan's first ever hybrid gasoline car, the Devrim II, inspired by the Turkish model Devrim. Before that, students from Naval College Karachi and Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute also made a successful hybrid car, but Devrim II is the most effective one. The current team leader of the Pak-Wheelers said, | wiki:25699290 |
Transport in Pakistan | Auto rickshaws | Auto rickshaws are a popular method of travelling in cities and are found in almost every city and town in Pakistan. The fare is usually negotiable before commencing a journey; however, due to the level of pollution contributed by auto-rickshaws, the government has recently begun banning older ones and replacing them with CNG auto rickshaws, which tend to be less noisy, form less pollutants and are much bigger and more comfortable. The Punjab government decided in 2005 to replace two-stroke three-wheelers with CNG-fitted four-stroke rickshaws in Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Gujranwala. Three manufacturers were ordered to produce 60,000 four-stroke vehicles, but they reportedly supplied 2,000 to the government which are now plying on city roads. | wiki:25699291 |
Transport in Pakistan | Auto rickshaws | Similar ordinances are now being considered in other provinces of Pakistan. A new form of transport in Pakistan is the Qing-Qi (pronounced "ching-chee"), which is a cross between a motorcycle and auto-rickshaw. It runs just like a motorcycle but has three wheels instead of two and can carry a much heavier load. It is an urban transport vehicle and is used mostly for short distances. | wiki:25699292 |
Transport in Pakistan | Motorcycling and ride-hailing | Motorcycling is another means of transportation in Pakistan. It is considered to be the most quickest way of getting to areas where vehicles cannot reach. There are also motorcycling operators in the cities. Some of them make use of helmet while others don't. There are also companies such as Bykea that offer ride-hailing services with bikes or motorcycles in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and others. Ride-hailing services such as Uber and Careem are also available. In 2019, 2 more private ride-sharing services introduced specifically in the city of Karachi named Airlift and SWVL. Airlift is a Pakistan-based company while SWVL is an Egyptian company. | wiki:25699293 |
Transport in Pakistan | Domestic | Rail services in Pakistan are provided by the state-run Pakistan Railways, under the supervision of the Ministry of Railways. Pakistan Railways provides an important mode of transportation in Pakistan, catering to the large-scale movement of people and freight. The railway network comprises 8,163 km all of which is gauge, including 293 km of electrified track. Passenger earnings comprise 50% of the total revenue. During 1999–2000 this amounted to Rs. 4.8 billion. Pakistan Railways carry 65 million passengers annually and daily operate 228 mail, express and passenger trains. Pakistan Railways also operate special trains for various occasions. The Freight Business Unit with 12,000 personnel operates over 200 freight stations on the railway network. | wiki:25699294 |
Transport in Pakistan | Domestic | The FBU serves the Port of Karachi and Port Qasim as well as in various other stations along the network and generates revenue from the movement of agricultural, industrial and imported products such as wheat, coal, fertiliser, cement and sugar. About 39% of the revenue is generated from the transportation of petroleum, 19% from imported wheat, fertiliser and rock phosphate. The remaining 42% is earned from domestic traffic. The freight rate structure is based on market trends in road transport, which is the main competitor to rail transport. | wiki:25699295 |
Transport in Pakistan | High speed rail | Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that a high-speed rail network will be built which will connect Peshawar to Karachi via all major cities of Pakistan during his visit to China in June 2016. The Government is making plans for this project. | wiki:25699296 |
Transport in Pakistan | Rail links with adjacent countries | India - Thar Express to Karachi and the more famous Samjhauta Express international train from Lahore, Pakistan to Amritsar (Attari) and Delhi, India. The weekly Thar Express also runs between Karachi and Bhagat Ki Kothi (near Jodhpur, Rajasthan). A railway line runs from Zahedan to Quetta, and a line is finished from Zahedan to Kerman in central Iran, linking with the rest of the Iranian rail network. On May 18, 2007, a MOU for rail cooperation was signed by Pakistan and Iran under which the line will be completed by December 2008. Now that the rail systems are linked up at Zahedan, there is a break-of-gauge between the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways tracks and Pakistan Railway's Indian gauge tracks. | wiki:25699297 |
Transport in Pakistan | Rail links with adjacent countries | Currently there is no rail link to Afghanistan since no railway network is present in that country, however Pakistan Rail has proposed to help build an Afghan Rail Network in three phases. The first phase will stretch from the Chaman to Spin Boldak in Afghanistan. The second phase will extend line to Kandahar and the third phase will eventually connect to Herat. From there, the line will be extended to Khushka, Turkmenistan. The final phase would link with Central Asian . It is not clear where the break-of-gauge station will be. The proposed line will also be connected the port town of Gwadar via Dalbadin and Taftan, thus connecting the port town to Central Asia. | wiki:25699298 |
Transport in Pakistan | Heritage | In Ghangha Pur, a narrow gauge horse-drawn tramway is operational. It was first opened in 1898, closed in 1998, and re-opened in 2010. | wiki:25699299 |
Transport in Pakistan | Air | Pakistan has 151 airports. The major airports are: There are also several smaller airports which have flights to and from the Gulf because of the large Pakistani diaspora working in the region. There are 91 airports with paved runways, of which 14 have runways longer than 3,047 meters. The remaining 48 airports have unpaved runways including one airport with a runway longer than 3,047 meters. Pakistan also has eighteen heliports. | wiki:25699300 |