Govt unveiled Economic Survey 2025-26 before federal budget

ISLAMABAD: Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that the Economic Survey reflects the overall economic performance of any financial year, and Pakistan has shown better economic performance in the current financial year despite internal and external challenges.

Presenting the Economic Survey 2025-26 in Islamabad, the Finance Minister said that the country was facing an uncertain situation at the beginning of the financial year.

Heavy monsoon rains affected various sectors of the economy, while exceptional conditions also arose at the global level.

He said that the imposition of tariffs by the United States on various countries created uncertainty in the global trade environment, which also had an impact on international economies.

However, the government faced these challenges through timely measures and kept the economy on the path of stability.

Muhammad Aurangzeb said that the government was successful in dealing with various crises, and despite internal and external pressures, the national economy showed positive indicators.

He said that the country’s economic growth rate during the current fiscal year was 3.7 percent, which is an encouraging development despite the difficult economic conditions. The growth rate was expected to be more than 4 percent this fiscal year.

The Finance Minister said that despite global uncertainty and geopolitical and trade tensions, Pakistan’s economy has shown resilience.

The Economic Survey presents a detailed review of the performance of various sectors, the results of government policies and the future economic direction.

He expressed his determination that the government will continue its efforts to achieve the goals of economic reforms, financial discipline, investment promotion and sustainable development so that the country’s economy can be built on a more stable foundation.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that despite global economic uncertainty and various geopolitical and trade challenges, Pakistan’s economy has shown resilience and recorded improvements in key economic indicators.

He said that the government has maintained economic stability even in difficult circumstances and has achieved positive progress in several sectors.

He said that the size of the country’s economy has increased to over $452 billion, which reflects the increase in economic activities and improvement in overall economic performance. Similarly, the per capita annual income has increased from $1,751 to $1,901, which can be estimated from the improvement in economic indicators.

According to the Finance Minister, the petroleum sector also showed better performance during the current fiscal year and recorded 5 percent growth in this sector. He said that the promotion of activities in the energy and petroleum sectors has strengthened the economy.

Muhammad Aurangzeb said that from July to March, the current account remained in surplus of $72 million, which is a sign of stability in the external sector.

According to him, the improvement in the external account situation is an encouraging development for the economy.

Highlighting the performance of the agricultural sector, he said that the growth rate of the agricultural sector was 2.89 percent, while dairy and livestock account for about 60 percent of the agricultural economy, which shows the importance of this sector.

The Finance Minister said that the country’s foreign exchange reserves have reached $17.1 billion, which is a positive indicator of external payments and financial stability.

He said that the government will continue its efforts to maintain economic stability and further accelerate the growth process.