Pakistan’s GDP grows 3.04pc in FY2025, says NAC

Islamabad: Pakistan’s economy expanded by 3.04 per cent during FY2025, according to provisional estimates released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday — slightly higher than the 2.68pc growth projected earlier by the National Accounts Committee (NAC).

In its 114th meeting, the NAC reported revised growth rates of 1.51% in agriculture, 5.26% in industry, and 3% in services, compared to previous estimates of 0.56%, 4.77%, and 2.91%, respectively.

Sectoral Performance

In agriculture, major crops showed a minor improvement from –13.49% to –13.12%, while other crops rose sharply from 4.78% to 19.55%, driven by double-digit growth in green fodder (16%), vegetables (12%), fruits (10%), and tobacco (25.7%).

Livestock growth fell from 4.72% to 2.94%, owing to higher fodder costs. Forestry and fishing recorded updated growth rates of 2.66% and 1.40%, respectively.

In industry, overall growth improved to 5.26%, up from 4.77%. The mining and quarrying sector contracted less sharply — from –3.38% to –2.35% — due to gains in oil (3.5%), limestone (31.6%), marble (11.6%), and reduced exploration costs (26.1%).
Large-scale manufacturing (LSM), measured through the Quantum Index of Manufacturing (QIM), improved from –1.53% to –0.69%.

The services sector grew marginally to 3%, with broad-based improvement. Wholesale and retail trade rose to 0.46% from 0.14%, while transport and storage advanced to 2.43% from 2.20%, supported by stronger data from NTRC, PIA, domestic and foreign airlines, CAA, KPT, and storage operators.
Information and communication dipped slightly from 6.48% to 5.85%, whereas finance and insurance improved from 3.22% to 3.90%, largely due to stronger performance in the insurance industry.

Economic Size and Per Capita Income

The NAC reported that Pakistan’s nominal GDP now stands at Rs113.7 trillion ($407.2 billion), compared to Rs105.2 trillion ($371.8 billion) last year. Per capita income has risen to Rs506,188 ($1,812).

Quarterly Growth

Revised quarterly GDP figures showed upward adjustments:

• Q1: from 1.37% to 1.80%

• Q2: from 1.53% to 1.94%

• Q3: from 2.40% to 2.79%

“These improvements reflect upward revisions in agriculture benchmarks,” the NAC noted.

During Q4 FY2025, the economy grew by 5.66%, driven by 0.18% growth in agriculture, 19.95% in industry, and 3.72% in services.