Multiple Economic Targets for FY 2024-25 Missed, Reveals National Economic Survey

Islamabad: The federal government has failed to meet several of its set economic targets for the fiscal year 2024-25, as revealed in the key highlights of the National Economic Survey prepared by the government. The survey indicates that while inflation was successfully kept well below the target, the overall economic growth fell short of expectations.
According to sources, the government’s economic performance for FY 2024-25 has been disappointing in many key areas. The target for economic growth, set at 3.6%, was missed, with the actual growth recorded at 2.7%. Meanwhile, inflation, which had a target of 12%, remained limited to just 5%, significantly lower than the set target.
The survey also reveals that the per capita income was 34,794 rupees below the target, with the annual per capita income recorded at 509,174 rupees compared to the target of 543,968 rupees. Furthermore, the indirect tax revenue for the year stood at 8,393 billion rupees, surpassing the set target of 7,799 billion rupees.
The agricultural sector also underperformed, with a growth target of 2% not being met. The actual growth in the sector was just 0.6%. Additionally, the production of major crops such as cotton, maize, and sugarcane declined by 30.7%, 15.4%, and 3.9%, respectively. The production of rice and wheat also saw a decline of 1.4% and 8.9%, respectively.
However, the industrial sector exceeded expectations, with a growth rate of 4.8%, surpassing the target of 4.4%. Sectors such as textiles, vehicles, clothing, tobacco, and petroleum saw an increase in production. On the other hand, large industries recorded a negative growth of 1.5%, failing to meet the target of 3.5%. Small industries exceeded their growth target, with a recorded performance of 8.8%, compared to the target of 8.2%.
The services sector underperformed, with a growth of only 2.9%, falling short of the 4.1% target. However, the construction sector performed well, recording a growth of 6.6%, surpassing the target of 5.5%.
The survey also showed that several key sectors like electricity, gas, and water saw impressive growth, reaching 28.9%, significantly above the 2.5% target. Health and education sectors also performed well, with growth rates of 3.7% and 4.4%, respectively, exceeding their targets.
In a positive development, the private sector received loans that increased from 294 billion rupees to 870 billion rupees. The overall revenue also saw a 36.7% increase, totaling 13,367 billion rupees. The tax-to-GDP ratio rose from 6% to 8%.
The government is expected to officially release the National Economic Survey on June 9.