The World Bank has shown a shocking economic picture of Pakistan in its biannual report. It has warned that over 10 million more people are at risk of descending into poverty in the cash-strapped country.
The Washington-based lender’s concern comes from a slow economic growth rate of 1.8 per cent coupled with soaring inflation, a staggering 26 per cent in the current fiscal year.
The biannual Pakistan Development Outlook report of the World Bank revealed that Pakistan is set to miss almost all major macroeconomic targets. The international lender said India’s neighbour is expected to fall short of its main budget target, remaining in deficit for three consecutive years.
Sayed Murtaza Muzaffari, lead author of the report, stated despite a board-based yet nascent economic recovery, poverty relief efforts remain inadequate. The economic growth is projected to stagnate at a nominal 1.8 per cent while maintaining the poverty rate at around 40 per cent, with about 98 million Pakistanis people already wrestling with poverty, said the World Bank report.
The World Bank’s report emphasized the vulnerability of those hovering just above the poverty line, with 10 million people at risk of slipping into poverty.
This fiscal year, the wages of daily labourers increased only five per cent in insignificant terms during the first quarter when the inflation was above 30 per cent, it said.
Food security
The report added that food security remains a concern in parts of Pakistan. Among 43 rural districts across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan (many of which were impacted by the 2022 floods) the prevalence of critical food insecurity is also projected to increase from 29 per cent to 32 per cent in the third quarter of the present fiscal year.