Pakistan revises up 2020-21 ‘GDP to 5.37%’

Planning Minister Asad Umar says revised number shows second-highest growth in the last 14 years

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan has revised up its economic growth rate for 2020-21 to 5.37% from 3.9%, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said on Thursday.

"The growth in 2020-21 was 5.37%," Umar said in a tweet, adding that the National Accounts Committee (NAC), a government body that reviews the economic indicators, had approved the revised estimate of GDP growth.

NAC approved revised estimate of GDP growth for 2020-21 . The growth in 2020-21 was 5.37%. This is the 2nd highest growth in last 14 years. Higher growth versus provisional estimates which were based on jul-mar numbers, was mainly due to very strong industrial growth in apr-jun.

— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) January 20, 2022

This is the second time the GDP rate for 2020-21 has been revised, from an initial 2.3% set in the 2020 annual budget then later to 3.9%.

The country's statistics bureau also shifted its economy's baseline, which pushed the figure up further to 5.57%, a statement from the planning ministry said.

With the new 2015-16 baseline, it said, Pakistani total GDP has reached at $346.76 billion with a per capita income of $1,666.

Also read: As gloomy year ends, 2022 shows ‘economic uplift’

The Pakistani economy recovered between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021, its fiscal year. The South Asian nation's GDP contracted in the previous fiscal year due to the global impact of Covid-19 shutdowns.

For 2021-22, the country has set a target of 4.8%, but policymakers are hopeful growth will cross 5%.

پاکستان کی معیشت پچھلے سال %5.37 کی شرح سے ترقی کی۔ یہ کامیابی تحریک انصاف حکومت نے اپنے تیسرے سال حاصل کی۔ ذرمبادلہ میں بھی اضافہ، گردشی قرضوں کے بہاؤ میں نمایاں کمی اور کرنٹ اکاؤنٹ خسارہ معمولی رہا۔
نون حکومت نے یہ شرح اپنے آخری سال میں حاصل کرنے کی خاطر ملک دیوالیہ کر دیا تھا

— Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar) January 20, 2022

Umar said the revised number showed the second-highest growth in the last 14 years. The higher growth was mainly due to strong industrial growth between April and June, he said.

With inflation at 12.3%, surging food and energy prices have put Prime Minister Imran Khan under increasing pressure from the middle classes, his main base of support.

His government presented a mid-year budget earlier this month to end tax exemptions on a variety of sectors to raise $1.93 billion for the current fiscal year under IMF conditions.

The IMF has made further budgetary tightening a condition for the revival of a stalled $6 billion funding programme before the next tranche could be approved in a board review set for Jan 28.