Government finance statistics: IMF highlights key shortcomings

ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that Government Finance Statistics (GFS) compiled by the Finance Division remain subject to shortcomings that undermine transparency, including a persistent statistical discrepancy between above and below-the-line measures of the fiscal deficit.

The IMF’s latest report stressed that improvements to the macroeconomic statistics are ongoing but should be accompanied by enhanced transparency and Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

READ ALSO: Fiscal deficit contained at 6pc of GDP, NA told

The PBS completed the timely publication of full results from the fiscal year 2025 Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) in early January 2026. Work is progressing on the producer price index and on three major surveys originally planned for fiscal year 2026, though timelines for these exercises were delayed when the PBS was also tasked on an ad hoc basis with conducting a new national SME survey.

The Fund stressed that the authorities should accelerate work to strengthen the GFS, by reporting spending on a GFSM 2014 basis, and broadening the coverage of extra budgetary units in the above-the-line statistics, which should help minimize the statistical discrepancy.

Following the identification of discrepancies in the trade data, procedures for import data collection and aggregation are being strengthened, and the PBS will ensure full transparency on the impact of these issues by publishing a full set of revised monthly and annual import statistics and explanations by end-August 2026.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026