The following table provides a comparative analysis of Pakistan’s economy from 2000-2025 in relation to other regional countries. For that purpose the countries taken into consideration are India, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
The people/parties who remained in power and their exit from power are given in the following table. In all the three governments from 2008 to 2022 the Prime Ministers’ exit from power was not graceful. Yousuf Raza Gilani was replaced by Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Nawaz Sharif by Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and the exit of Imran Khan came through a non-confidence motion against him. In all the cases, by the end of the term there was tension with the establishment.
In India, during these 25 years, there had been rule of Congress-led NDA’s rule (2004-2014) and BJP-led NDA’s governments (1998-2002) and since 2014. In Bangladesh, there was a term for BNP of Khalida Zia for 5 years, a military government’s for 2 years, which was followed by continuous rule of 15 years by Awami League (2009 to 2024), and an 18-month administration. In Vietnam for the whole period it was ruled by Communist Party of Vietnam. This means political stability.
The Table about the rule (from 2000 to 2025) in these countries reveals that Pakistan has been mostly unstable politically during this period. This can be described as the main reason for the economic downturn. This writer, however, does not fully agree with this proposition. The problem is different, which has been identified in the following paragraphs:
Before proceeding further it would be good to mention positive factors also. In comparison to India, Pakistan’s home remittances have increased from USD 1 billion to USD 38 billion in 2025. In other words, the country has witnessed a significant surge in workers’ remittances, recording a 26.6 percent increase to a record USD 38.3 billion in the 2024-25 fiscal year, surpassing previous figures and demonstrating strong growth compared to regional peers like India and Bangladesh.
In fact Pakistan is surviving economically on this amount. These are remittances mostly from unskilled labourers and workers. In other words, these unskilled workers and labourers of Gujranwala, Wazirabad, Sialkot, Jhelum, Karachi and Mansehra etc., living in foreign countries, away from their families, are feeding the elites of Gulberg, Defence and Clifton of Pakistan and rulers in Islamabad. It is however important to note that remittances from unskilled labour can never provide sustainable growth to any country and in this respect the best case study is the Philippines.
The fundamental problem in Pakistan is an exceptional increase in population. Over this period our population has increased by 80 percent, whereas in all the other countries it remained within the range of 30 percent. No country can prosper economically with this population explosion. Pakistan’s population increase rate is +2 percent. No civilized country has such population growth rate. On the world level, only some African countries measure above 2 percent population increase rate.
In 1970 when Bangladesh was still part of Pakistan in the shape of “East Pakistan” its population was 55 percent of Pakistan. Now Pakistan’s population is much greater than Bangladesh’s. The primary problem about population increase is not only the rate. It is the lack of interest on the part of successive governments. There used to be a family planning programme in the periods prior to 2000; however, for some strong disguised reasons this has died down in the last quarter of the century. It is hoped that this is not the result of capture of such economic issues by the proponents of obscurantism. All the problems emanate from the primary problem of unmanageable population explosion.
(To be continued)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026