Overview: Pakistan is a poor Third World country faced with the usual problems of rapidly increasing population, sizable government deficits, and heavy dependence on foreign aid. In addition, the economy must support a large military establishment. Rapid economic growth, averaging 5%-6% over the past decade has helped Pakistan cope with these problems. However, growth slumped to 3% in FY93 because of severe flooding, which damaged the key export crop, cotton. Almost all agriculture and small-scale industry is in private hands. In 1990, Pakistan embarked on a sweeping economic liberalization program to boost foreign and domestic private investment and lower foreign aid dependence. The SHARIF government denationalized several state-owned firms and attracted some foreign investment. Pakistan likely will have difficulty raising living standards because of its rapidly expanding population. At the current rate of growth, population would double in 25 years.

National product: GNP - purchasing power equivalent - $239 billion (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate: 3% (FY93 est.)

National product per capita: $1,900 (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12.7% (FY91)

Unemployment rate: 10% (FY91 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $9.4 billion
expenditures: $10.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.1 billion (1993 est.)

Exports: $6.8 billion (f.o.b., FY92)
commodities: cotton, textiles, clothing, rice, leather, carpets
partners: US, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany, UK

Imports: $9.1 billion (f.o.b., FY92)
commodities: petroleum, petroleum products, machinery, transportation equipment, vegetable oils, animal fats, chemicals
partners: Japan, US, Germany, UK, Saudi Arabia

External debt: $24 billion (1993 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 7.3% (FY92); accounts for 23% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 10,000,000 kW
production: 43 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 350 kWh (1992)

Industries: textiles, food processing, beverages, construction materials, clothing, paper products, shrimp

Agriculture: 22% of GDP, over 50% of labor force; world's largest contiguous irrigation system; major crops - cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; livestock products - milk, beef, mutton, eggs; self-sufficient in food grain

Illicit drugs: major illicit producer of opium and hashish for the international drug trade; despite some success in reducing cultivation, remains world's fourth largest opium producer (140 metric tons in 1993)

Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $4.5 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $91 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.3 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $3.2 billion
note: including Bangladesh prior to 1972

Currency: 1 Pakistani rupee (PRe) = 100 paisa
Exchange rates: Pakistani rupees (PRs) per US$1 - 30.214 (January 1994), 28.107 (1993), 25.083 (1992), 23.801 (1991), 21.707 (1990), 20.541 (1989)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

NOTE: The information regarding Pakistan on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Pakistan Economy 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Pakistan Economy 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.