Pakistan Economic & Trade Profile
The Economy
Pakistan, with an estimated GDP (nominal) of US$376 billion is the 42nd largest economy by nominal GDP and 23rd largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). Goldman Sachs has identified Pakistan as one of the ‘Next 11’ countries including Mexico, Nigeria, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea and Philippines (along with BRICS), which can become the world’s large economies in the 21st century. By 2075, Pakistan is projected to become the 6th largest economy of the world.
The country is strategically located at the crossroads of South Asia, East Asia, Central Asia and Middle East. More than 40% of entire global consumer base and an import market of US$ 2.15 trillion is available on its immediate borders. Pakistan’s own 220 million consumer base, the world’s 5th largest, and a youth bulge offers a potential demographic dividend. The institutional and regulatory reforms have improved the ease of doing business, culminating in a leap of 28 places in World Bank’s global ease of Doing Business ranking in 2019, making Pakistan one of the world’s top 5 business-climate improvers.
FTAs & PTAs
Pakistan maintains Free Trade Agreements, under bilateral and multilateral arrangements, with China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Pakistan also has Preferential Trade Agreements with Indonesia, Iran and Mauritius. Besides, Pakistan has unilateral market access in European Union under GSP Plus scheme and in United States under GSP scheme.
Major Exports
Pakistan’s major exports are textiles and garments, food products (rice, spices, horticulture products, fish and fish preparations), leather products, footwear, carpets, sports goods, surgical goods, cutlery, pharmaceutical products, light engineering and auto parts. Out of the total merchandise exports of US$ 30.9 billion in Calendar Year 2022, the top items were textiles US$ 18.7 billion (60.4%), food products US$ 5.3 billion (17%) and other manufactures US$ 4.2 billion (13.4%). The major export destinations were USA 21.3%, China 9.7%, UK 6.8%, Germany 5.5%, Netherlands 5.4%, UAE 4.3%, Spain 4.0%, Italy 3.6%, Bangladesh 3.0%, and Belgium 2.5%.
Major Imports
Out of the total merchandise imports of US$ 70.9 billion in Calendar Year 2022, the major import products were petroleum US$ 22.4 billion (31.6%), agri & other chemicals US$ 11.3 billion (16.0%), food items US$ 9.1 billion (12.9%), machinery US$ 8.2 billion (11.6%), metals US$ 5.5 billion (7.8%), textile US$ 4.5 billion (6.3%), and transport vehicles US$ 3.3 billion (4.7%). The major import sources were China 26.0%, UAE 10.4%, Saudi Arabia 6.5%, Indonesia 5.8%, USA 4.7%, Qatar 4.5%, Kuwait 3.9%, Japan 2.7%, Thailand 2.3%, South Africa 2.2%, Brazil 1.9%, and Malaysia 1.6%.