Pakistan's economic narrative in 2024 reflected cautious optimism as the country navigated challenges and moved towards recovery.
The year marked a pivotal moment with the approval of a $7billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package, providing crucial support to the national economy. The IMF forecasted a 3.2% GDP growth rate for Pakistan in fiscal year 2025, a slight but encouraging improvement over previous estimates.
The World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) also revised their growth predictions for fiscal year 2025, raising them to 2.8% and 3% respectively, signalling positive economic signs.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a historic surge, with the KSE-100 index climbing from 58,000 points to 117,000 points by the end of the year. This jump highlighted improved investor confidence. Foreign reserves increased from $7 billion to $12 billion, covering 2.5 months of imports.
Key economic indicators saw significant improvements, including a reduction in inflation from 29.2% in 2023 to 4.9% in 2024. The interest rate decreased from 22% to 13%, providing much-needed relief to the economy.
Foreign exchange reserves surged to $12 billion, sufficient to cover 2.5 months of imports. Remittances saw an annual increase of 34.7%, reaching $11.84 billion, while exports grew by 12.57% from July to November 2024, totalling $13.7 billion.
