Pakistan missed GDP growth target; donkey population increased by 1 lakh: Economic Survey 2023-24

The population of donkeys in Pakistan has increased by around 100,000 to 5.9 million as compared to the previous year, according to the country's Economic Survey 2023-24. Pakistan, with the world's third-largest donkey population, plans to earn millions by exporting donkeys to China.

Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday presented the Economic Survey 2023-24, a pre-budget document detailing the country’s major socio-economic achievements during the outgoing fiscal year.  

According to the survey, the population of the "beasts of burden" has been increasing steadily during the past few years as there were 5.5 million of them in 2019-2020, 5.6 million in 2020-21, 5.7 million in 2021-22, and 5.8 million in 2022-23. 

Animal husbandry is a cornerstone of Pakistan's rural economy, with more than 8 million rural families deeply engaged in livestock production, GeoTV said. 

The Economic Survey also revealed that Pakistan missed the growth target for the financial year 2023-24 and achieved 2.38 per cent GDP growth against the target of 3.5 per cent. 

The growth remained below the estimated target of 3.5 per cent for the outgoing year and the government failed to achieve it, mainly due to underperformance of industries and services sectors. However, agriculture outperformed every other sector by posting 6.25 per cent growth against a target of 3.5 per cent.

The industrial growth was 1.21 per cent against 3.4 per cent and the services sector also showed 1.21 per cent growth against 3.6 per cent target. “The robust growth in the agriculture sector, the highest in the last 19 years, emerged as the key driver of economic growth in FY 2024," Aurangzeb said.

The fiscal deficit was recorded at 3.7 per cent, which is the same as was for the last year. The trade deficit remained at 4.2 per cent.

According to the survey, inflation has been reduced to 11.8 per cent as the prolonged inflationary impact has been gradually fading in FY2024 steadily since the third quarter. The GDP at current market prices increased to Rs.106,045 billion in FY2024, showing a growth of 26.4 per cent over (Rs.83,875 billion) last year.

The per capita income increased by $129 to $1,680 as compared to $1,551 last year on account of an increase in economic activity and appreciation in the exchange rate.

The finance minister said the government was committed to offloading the loss-making state-owned enterprises, with the government leading the drive by privatising the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines.

(With inputs from PTI)