Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on June 8, 2023 formally launched the ‘Pakistan Economic Survey 2022-23’, the pre-budget document which shared key economic indicators and the performance of different economic sectors during the outgoing fiscal year. The launch ceremony among others was attended by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal, Minister of State for Finance Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha and senior officers.
The survey highlighted the main features of policies undertaken by the government that focused on bringing macro-economic stability and putting the economy on growth trajectory. It comprehensively covered the country’s economic situation, besides giving a detailed picture of growth and investment, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, fiscal development, money and credit, capital markets, inflation, debt and liabilities. The survey also highlighted the performance of agriculture, education, health and nutrition sectors, besides showing the overall population, labor force and employment, poverty, transport and communications, and per capita income.
The survey mentioned that severe macroeconomic imbalances, flood damages, domestic supply shocks, and international economic slowdown have dampened the economic growth to just 0.29 percent in FY2023. Following the budget announcement in June 2022, positive economic expectations and the performance of key indicators resulted in the government projecting GDP growth of approximately 5.0 percent in FY2023. However, the economy lost momentum in the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal year due to the severe downturn in the global economy and flash floods of July-August 2022 and as a result the economy suffered from significant domestic supply disruptions. The flood damage is estimated at Rs 3.2 trillion (US$14.9 billion), the loss to GDP at Rs 3.3 trillion (US$15.2 billion), and recorded need for rehabilitation of damages at Rs 3.5 trillion (US$16.3 billion).
On the international front, the prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict adversely affected global growth and inflation remained unexpectedly high. In FY2023, Pakistan’s GDP grew by 0.29 percent, with 1.55 percent growth in agriculture, -2.94 percent in industrial sector, and 0.86 percent in services sector. The GDP at current market prices recorded Rs 84,658 billion, showing a 27.10 percent growth over the previous year Rs 66,624 billion (US$ 341 billion). The per capita income decreased from US$ 1765 to US$ 1568 in FY2023. This deceleration was attributed to the significant depreciation of PKR and the contraction in economic activity. For FY2023, the Investment to-GDP ratio stood at 13.6 percent as compared to 15.6 percent in FY2022. The estimates of Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) stood at Rs 10093.5 billion showing an increase of 8.1 percent compared to FY2022. The industry-wise disaggregation of GFCF by the general government suggests an increase of 17.7 percent, 89.2 percent, and 5.9 percent in public administration & social security, education, and human health & social work, respectively.
Source: IBP