Economic data
Breaking the cycle
THE World Bank’s latest Pakistan Development Update sets out what faster reforms could deliver for the economy. If policies and institutions matched those of an average middle-income country, it estimates, annual growth could reach 6.2-6.9pc, enough to reach Vietnam’s current income level, and incomes would triple by 2050. The distance from here is long. Real GDP growth rose to 3.65pc in FY26 and the primary surplus reached 2.9pc of GDP. But per capita income is currently growing at only about 1.6pc, which means the economy has been put in better financial order without making most people bett