Pakistan’s Economy and Challenges
Pakistan’s Economy and Challenges Pakistan is experiencing severe economic challenges reflecting long-standing structural we aknesses. Pakistan made significant progress towards reducing poverty between 2001 and 2018 when the expansion of off-farm economic opportunities and increased inflow of remittances allowed over 47 million Pakistanis to rise out of poverty. However, this rapid poverty reduction has not fully translated into improved socio-economic conditions, as human capital outcomes have remained poor and stagnant, with high levels of stunting at 38 percent and learning poverty at 75 percent. In addition, reflecting a consumption-driven growth model, with limited productivity-enhancing investment and exports, strong economic growth often comes at a cost of economic imbalances and frequent macroeconomic crises. Long-term growth of real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita therefore has been low, averaging only around 2.2 percen...