Pakistan Reports 2.1% GDP Growth in First Quarter FY24, Eyes 3.5% Annual Target

Karachi, Pakistan’s economy has shown a notable recovery in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2024, with a GDP growth of 2.1%, marking a significant improvement from the previous year’s figures. This upturn comes after a challenging period in FY23, where the GDP was revised down from an initial estimate of 0.29% to -0.17%, albeit still higher than the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) projection of -0.50%.

According to JS Research, the provisional data for FY23, initially indicating a 0.29% growth, was based on the first nine months of the fiscal year. However, a sharp decline in Large-Scale Manufacturing (LSM) and construction in the fourth quarter led to the downward revision. In contrast, the agriculture sector showed a significant improvement, with its growth rate rising from 1.6% to 2.3%. The rebound in the first quarter of FY24, registering a growth of 2.13% compared to 1QFY23’s 0.96%, was primarily driven by the agriculture sector, which posted a robust growth of 5.06%. It’s noteworthy that the GDP growth in 1QFY23 was severely impacted by devastating floods in Sindh, a region contributing 30% to the agricultural GDP. Looking ahead, the government has set a target for GDP growth at 3.5% for the full fiscal year 2024.

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