Pakistan's twin deficit fell from 12.5 percent of GDP to 2.6 percent of GDP during the last fiscal year. The country reached a 22-year low in its fiscal deficit over the same period.
Primary surpluses were recorded for three consecutive years as the economy recovered from a 0.3 percent contraction. Foreign exchange reserves improved from approximately two weeks of import cover to more than three months.
Tax revenues climbed by 40 percent over the previous two fiscal years. The Federal Board of Revenue saw its tax-to-GDP ratio rise from 8.8 percent to 10.3 percent.
Enforcement efforts contributed 0.9 percentage points to the 1.5-percentage-point increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio over the last two and a half years. New policy measures accounted for the remaining 0.6 percentage points of that same ratio increase.
External debt stock grew by roughly $4 billion over the preceding four years. Annual external liabilities increased from $6 billion to $7 billion between 2015 and 2022.
Jihad Azour said, "Pakistan had made significant progress in restoring macroeconomic stability, rebuilding confidence, strengthening external buffers and supporting a gradual economic recovery despite repeated shocks and global uncertainty." Azour added that the next milestone is to turn the stabilization into stronger and more durable growth.
Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister for Finance and Revenue, stated, "We will not let that repeat."
