Pakistan - News and Discussion 6

[Naresh]

<b>Pakistani Economic Survey 2005-06 – Overview of the Economy</b>

<b>Salient Features :</b>

1. (iii) <b><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>real per capita GDP grew by 4.7 percent*</span> and <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>per capita income in current dollar term was up by 14.2 percent**, reaching $ 847.</span></b> (Page I)

2. Per Capita Income Per capita income is one of the main indicators of development. It simply indicates the average level of prosperity in the country or average standard of living of the people in a country. Per capita income defined as Gross National Product at market price in dollar term divided by the country’s population, grew by an average rate of 13.9 percent per annum during the last four years – <b>rising from $582 in 2002-03 to $847 in 2005-06. Per capita income in dollar term registered an increase of 14.2 percent over last year – <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>rising from $ 742 to $ 847.</span> </b>The main factor responsible for the sharp rise in per capita income include: a sharp pick up in real GDP growth, stable exchange rate, and rise in inflow of workers’ remittances. (Page V)

3. <b>Poverty The fight against poverty represents the greatest challenge of our times. Considerable progress has nevertheless been made in different parts of the world in reducing poverty. The proportion of people living in extreme poverty on global level fell from 28 percent in 1990 to 21 percent in 2001 <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>(on the basis of $1 a day)</span></b>. In absolute numbers the reduction during the period was 130 million with most of it coming from China. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the absolute number of poor actually increased by 100 million during the period. The Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS also witnessed a dramatic increase in poverty. While incidence of poverty declined in South Asia; Latin America and the Middle East witnessed no change.(Page XV)

The latest estimate of inflation – <b><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>adjusted poverty Iine is Rs.878.64***</span> per adult equivalent per month</b> ─ up from Rs.723.40 in 2001. Headcount ratio, i.e., percentage of population living below the poverty line has fallen from 34.46 percent in 2001 to 23.9 percent in 2004-05, a decline of 10.6 percentage points. In absolute numbers the count of poor persons has fallen from 49.23 million in 2001 to 36.45 million in 2004-05. The percentage of population living below the poverty line in rural areas has declined from 39.26 percent to 28.10 percent while those in urban areas, has declined from 22.69 percent 14.9 percent. In other words, rural poverty has declined by 11.16 percentage points and urban poverty is reduced by 7.79 percentage points. Consumption inequality increased marginally during the period. These findings are consistent with the developments on economic scene that have taken place in Pakistan since 2000-01. A strong growth in economy, rise in per capita income, a large inflow of remittances and massive spending on poverty-related and social sector programs were expected to reduce poverty in Pakistan.(Page XVII)

4. Pakistan’s per capita real GDP has risen at a faster pace during the last three years (5.6% per annum on average in rupee terms) leading to a rise in average income of the people. Such increases in real per capita income have led to a sharp increase in consumer spending during the last three years. Per capita income defined as Gross National Product at market price in dollar term divided by the country’s population, <b>grew by an average rate of 13.9 percent per annum during the last four years – rising from $579 in 2002-03 to $847 in 2005-06. Per capita income in dollar term registered an increase of 14.1 percent over last year – rising from $ 742 to $ 847.</b> ( Page XX & XXI)

5. For promotion of Information Technology, 2339 cities/towns/villages have been provided Internet facility, by March, 2006. Total fixed telephone lines installed by March 2006 were 5.2 million as against 5.1 million up to June 2005 last year. (Page XXII)

In respect of I T there is neither a mention of the Total Industry Turnover nor the Value of Exports.

<b><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>* Real GDP rises by 4.7%</span>

<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>** Per Capita Income Rises by 14.2%</span></b>

<b><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>*** Equates to US 48 Cents Per Day.</span></b>

Pakinomics at its Best. <!--emo&tupid--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/pakee.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='pakee.gif' /><!--endemo-->

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