In what comes as a surprise in Pakistan, the country recorded 4 percent GDP growth in the last fiscal year, beating all dire predictions. All main sectors of the country’s economy recorded good recovery momentum. 

The figure, 4 percent, is almost double the official target which was 2.1 percent. Pakistan’s State Bank had predicted a growth rate of maximum 3 percent. Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance had even called the figure “unrealistically high” in an earlier meeting which was convened to approve the figure, reported The Express Tribune.

The World Bank, too, had predicted no more than 1.5 percent growth for Pakistan. The agriculture sector maintained its last year’s growth rate of 2.8 percent but the industrial and services sectors surpassed the annual targets with wide margins amid shocks to business activities from the third wave of the Covid-19. 

Asad Omar, Pakistan’s planning minister, tweeted, “The size of the economy also increased from $263 billion last year to $296 billion this year, implying an increase of $33 billion in a single year which is the highest ever.”

“The per capita income in dollar terms has increased by 13.4 percent from $1,361 a year ago to $1,543 in 2020-21 due to strengthening of the rupee,” He added.