Economy - overview:
Decades of internal political disputes and low levels of foreign investment have led to slow growth and underdevelopment in Pakistan. Agriculture accounts for more than one-fourth of output and two-fifths of employment. Textiles account for most of Pakistan's export earnings, and Pakistan's failure to diversify its exports has left the country vulnerable to shifts in world demand. Pakistan's human development continues to lag behind most of the region. Official unemployment was 6.5% in 2015, but this fails to capture the true picture, because much of the economy is informal and underemployment remains high.As a result of political and macroeconomic instability, the Pakistani rupee has depreciated more than 40% since 2007. The government agreed to an International Monetary Fund Standby Arrangement in November 2008 to prevent a balance of payments crisis, but the IMF ended the Arrangement early because of Pakistan's failure to implement required reforms. Although the economy has stabilized, it continues to underperform. Foreign investment has not returned to levels seen during the mid-2000s due to investor concerns related to governance, electricity shortages, and a slow-down in the global economy. Remittances from overseas workers, averaging more than $1 billion a month, remain a bright spot for Pakistan.After a small current account surplus in fiscal year 2011 (July 2010/June 2011), Pakistan's current account turned to a deficit spurred by higher prices for imported oil and lower prices for exported cotton. Falling global oil prices in 2015 contributed to a narrowing current account deficit and decreasing inflation, despite weak export performance. In September 2013, after facing balance of payments concerns, Pakistan entered into a three-year, $6.7 billion IMF Extended Fund Facility. The SHARIF government has since made modest progress implementing fiscal and energy reforms, and in December 2015 the IMF described Pakistan's near-term economic outlook as “broadly favorable.”Pakistan remains stuck in a low-income, low-growth trap, with growth averaging about 3.5% per year from 2008 to 2014. Pakistan must address long standing issues related to government revenues and the electricity and natural gas sectors in order to spur the amount of economic growth that will be necessary to employ its growing and rapidly urbanizing population, more than half of which is under 22. Other long term challenges include expanding investment in education and healthcare, adapting to the effects of climate change and natural disasters, and reducing dependence on foreign donors..

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$930.8 billion (2015 est.) $884.2 billion (2014 est.) $836.3 billion (2013 est.)
note: data are in 2015 US dollars
country comparison to the world: 27
[see also: GDP country ranks ]

GDP (official exchange rate):
$247.8 billion (2015 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]

GDP - real growth rate:
4.2% (2015 est.) 4.1% (2014 est.) 3.7% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 59
[see also: GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$4,900 (2015 est.) $4,700 (2014 est.) $4,600 (2013 est.)
note: data are in 2015 US dollars
country comparison to the world: 171
[see also: GDP - per capita country ranks ]

Gross national saving:
14.3% of GDP (2015 est.) 13.7% of GDP (2014 est.) 13.9% of GDP (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 123
[see also: Gross national saving country ranks ]

GDP - composition, by end use:
household consumption: 79.2%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - household consumption country ranks ]
government consumption: 11.8%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - government consumption country ranks ]
investment in fixed capital: 13.5%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - investment in fixed capital country ranks ]
investment in inventories: 1.6%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - investment in inventories country ranks ]
exports of goods and services: 10.9%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - exports of goods and services country ranks ]
imports of goods and services: -17.1% (2015 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - imports of goods and services country ranks ]

GDP - composition, by sector of origin:
agriculture: 25.5%
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 19%
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - industry country ranks ]
services: 55.5% (2015 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - services country ranks ]

Agriculture - products:
cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; milk, beef, mutton, eggs

Industries:
textiles and apparel, food processing, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, paper products, fertilizer, shrimp

Industrial production growth rate:
3.6% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 67
[see also: Industrial production growth rate country ranks ]

Labor force:
63.34 million
note: extensive export of labor, mostly to the Middle East, and use of child labor (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 43.7%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 22.4%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - industry country ranks ]
services: 33.9% (FY2013 est.)
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - services country ranks ]

Unemployment rate:
6.5% (2015 est.) 6.7% (2014 est.)
note: substantial underemployment exists
country comparison to the world: 77
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]

Population below poverty line:
22.3% (FY2011 est.)
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.2%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10% country ranks ]
highest 10%: 25.6% (FY2011)
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - highest 10% country ranks ]

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
29.6 (FY2011) 31.4 (FY2008)
country comparison to the world: 123
[see also: Distribution of family income - Gini index country ranks ]

Budget:
revenues: $38.75 billion
[see also: Budget revenues country ranks ]
expenditures: $53.11 billion (2015 est.)
[see also: Budget expenditures country ranks ]

Taxes and other revenues:
15.6% of GDP (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 188
[see also: Taxes and other revenues country ranks ]

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-):
-5.8% of GDP (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 179
[see also: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) country ranks ]

Public debt:
64.8% of GDP (2015 est.) 65.1% of GDP (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 55
[see also: Public debt country ranks ]

Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4.5% (2015 est.) 8.6% (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 167
[see also: Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks ]

Central bank discount rate:
6% (18 December 2014) 9.5% (31 December 2013)
country comparison to the world: 63
[see also: Central bank discount rate country ranks ]

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
6.46% (31 December 2015 est.) 9.74% (31 December 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 126
[see also: Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks ]

Stock of narrow money:
$87.01 billion (31 December 2015 est.) $77.03 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 39
[see also: Stock of narrow money country ranks ]

Stock of broad money:
$107 billion (31 December 2015 est.) $97.95 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54
[see also: Stock of broad money country ranks ]

Stock of domestic credit:
$112 billion (31 December 2015 est.) $100 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 51
[see also: Stock of domestic credit country ranks ]

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$43.68 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $32.76 billion (31 December 2011) $38.17 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 55
[see also: Market value of publicly traded shares country ranks ]

Current account balance:
-$2.627 billion (2015 est.) -$3.13 billion (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 154
[see also: Current account balance country ranks ]

Exports:
$23.67 billion (2015 est.) $25.11 billion (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 68
[see also: Exports country ranks ]

Exports - commodities:
textiles (garments, bed linen, cotton cloth, yarn), rice, leather goods, sporting goods, chemicals, manufactures, carpets and rugs

Exports - partners:
US 15.6%, China 9.2%, Afghanistan 8.3%, UK 6.7%, Germany 4.9%, UAE 4.3% (2014)

Imports:
$45.83 million (2015 est.) $45.07 million (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 219
[see also: Imports country ranks ]

Imports - commodities:
petroleum, petroleum products, machinery, plastics, transportation equipment, edible oils, paper and paperboard, iron and steel, tea

Imports - partners:
China 22.7%, UAE 14.7%, Saudi Arabia 7.8%, Kuwait 5.4%, Indonesia 4.5% (2014)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$18.68 billion (31 December 2015 est.) $14.41 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 60
[see also: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold country ranks ]

Debt - external:
$63.58 billion (31 December 2014 est.) $61.97 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 58
[see also: Debt - external country ranks ]

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$31.17 billion (31 December 2015 est.) $29.37 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 68
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home country ranks ]

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$1.897 billion (31 December 2015 est.) $1.847 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 79
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad country ranks ]

Exchange rates:
Pakistani rupees (PKR) per US dollar - 101.45 (FY2015 est.) 102.89 (FY2014 est.) 101.1 (FY2013 est.) 93.4 (2012 est.) 86.3434 (2011 est.)