Pakistan GDP to grow by 4.2pc annually in coming five years: Report

• Pakistan had a PPP adjusted GDP per capita of $5,872 in 2019, making it a lower middle-income country.
• Pakistan GDP set to have risen by 3.3pc in 2019, down from 5.5pc in 2018, said the report.

Pakistan’s annual rate of GDP growth will rise to an average of 4.2 percent, between 2020 and 2025, forecasted UK based consultancy Cebr in its latest report.

As per the World Economic League Table 2020, published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), Pakistan had a PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) adjusted GDP per capita of $5,872 in 2019, making it a lower middle-income country.

The economy of Pakistan has carried forward the momentum from last year, with GDP set to have risen by 3.3 percent in 2019, down from 5.5pc in 2018, said the report.

“This growth coincides with the country’s clear objective of cutting down political corruption, increasing overall confidence of the country’s economic future. The unemployment rate remained steady at 6.1% in 2019.

“The weakness of the labour market stands in contrast with the strong performance of the overall economy and suggests that successfully drawing down the rate of unemployment could help to transition the country onto an even higher growth path,’ stated the report.

The report pointed out that Pakistan’s per capita incomes have increased steadily over the last few years, with the robust rate of economic expansion twinned with a low rate of population growth, which has averaged just 1.9% per year between 2014 and 2019.

Between 2020 and 2025, Cebr forecasts that the annual rate of GDP growth will rise to an average of 4.2pc. “Over the remainder of the forecast horizon, economic growth is expected to accelerate further to an average of 5.0pc per year. However, between 2019 and 2034, Pakistan is forecast to move from 44^th place to 50th place in the World Economic League.”

Meanwhile, neighboring India has overtaken both France and the UK to become the world’s fifth largest economy in 2019. “It is expected to overtake Germany to become fourth largest in 2026 and Japan to become the third largest in 2034. India is also set to reach a GDP of $5 trillion by 2026 – 2 years later than the current government target,” said the report.