Representational file photo
Islamabad: Pakistan's economy posted a 2.4 percent growth in the third quarter (January-March) of fiscal year 2024-25, according to provisional estimates released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) following the 113th meeting of the National Accounts Committee (NAC) on Tuesday.
The modest recovery was supported by solid expansion in the services and agriculture sectors, which offset a contraction in industrial output, the NAC said in a statement.
The services sector remained the top-performing segment, registering a 3.99 percent growth. Key contributors included information and communication, which grew by 18.44 percent; finance and insurance, up 10.65 percent; and public administration and social security, which expanded by 13.73 percent.
Health and social work rose by 5.06 percent, education by 4.63 percent, wholesale and retail trade by 1.57 percent, and transport and storage by 0.67 percent.
Agriculture grew by 1.18 percent during the quarter. While important crops fell sharply by 11.14 percent, the decline was offset by gains in other sub-sectors. Livestock grew 4.42 percent, forestry 4.25 percent, and fishing 0.50 percent.
In contrast, the industrial sector contracted by 1.14 percent in the reporting period, with mining and quarrying down 3.96 percent, large-scale manufacturing down 0.89 percent, and electricity, gas and water supply declining by 7.72 percent. The construction sector suffered the steepest fall at 9.12 percent.
The committee also revised the GDP growth figures for the first two quarters. The updated growth rates now stand at 1.37 percent for the first quarter and 1.53 percent for the second quarter, slightly adjusted from earlier estimates of 1.34 percent and 1.73 percent, respectively.
According to the NAC, Pakistan's provisional full-year GDP growth for fiscal 2024-25 is projected at 2.68 percent, falling short of the government's target of 3.6 percent.
The committee also finalized growth data for previous years. The economy contracted by 0.21 percent in fiscal 2022-23, slightly revised from an earlier estimate of -0.22 percent. For fiscal 2023-24, GDP growth was revised upward to 2.51 percent from 2.50 percent.
The updated national accounts data showed that the size of Pakistan's economy has reached 114.7 trillion rupees (410.96 billion U.S. dollars), up from 105.1 trillion rupees (371.66 billion dollars) in the previous year. Per capita income also rose to 509,174 rupees, or 1,824 dollars.
