Muhammad Riaz was attempting to travel abroad. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Finance Ministry said on Tuesday that over 762,000 Pakistanis left the country in last one year, becoming part of the pool that is helping the nation to economically stay afloat, amid steep reduction in foreign direct investment and exports.
In calendar year 2025, the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment registered 762,499 workers who left Pakistan, according to the monthly outlook report by the Ministry of Finance. There was an increase of over 5% or nearly 37,000 more souls who left the motherland in search of better job opportunities.
The Finance Ministry said that in December 2025 alone the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment registered 76,207 workers who left Pakistan, marking 18.7% surge over an annual basis.
Out of the total, 530,000 people went to Saudi Arabia in search for good future. From unskilled to highly qualified and highly skilled people are leaving Pakistan amid prolonged period of low economic growth and heightened period of political instability.
The money sent by overseas Pakistanis is now the single largest source of non-debt creating foreign inflows that are keeping the country afloat. During the first half of this fiscal year, the Pakistani workers sent $19.7 billion in remittances, up by 11%.
The government is getting around $40 billion annually from these workers without any support to them. Compared to this the entire state machinery is focused on enhancing exports and foreign direct investment but is failing.
The foreign remittances were 23 times more than the $808 million foreign direct investment that Pakistan received during the first half of this fiscal year. It was also $4.2 billion higher than the $15.5 billion worth of exports during this period.
Despite making efforts at multiple fronts, the foreign direct investment decreased nearly 44% during the first half of this fiscal year. The Finance Ministry said that the foreign direct investment dipped from $1.4 billion to mere $808 million during July-December period of this fiscal year.
Pakistan’s inconsistent economic policies, high taxes and energy prices and unrealistically higher interest rates are keeping the foreign investors away. The authorities are still struggling to resolve inter-provincial issues that are also hampering foreign investment.
The Finance Ministry report stated that the current account is projected to remain in a deficit in January but this would be backed by higher foreign remittances.
The “robust remittance inflows and steady performance in information technology and services exports are likely to cushion external pressures”, said the ministry. The improved fiscal management is also expected to continue supporting the macroeconomic stability, said the ministry.
The current account posted a deficit of $1.2 billion during July-December period of this fiscal year compared to a surplus of $960 million recorded last year.
But the Finance Ministry said that despite these challenges, the government has achieved a fiscal surplus during July-Nov period owing to a growth in revenue and a considerable reduction in mark-up payments. Gross federal revenue receipts recorded a growth of 8% during the first five months of this fiscal year contributed by growth in both FBR’s taxes and non-tax revenues.
The government achieved a consolidated fiscal surplus of 0.8% of GDP or Rs982 billion during the first five months of this fiscal year. Similarly, a primary surplus of 2.8% of the GDP or Rs3.7 trillion was recorded.
The central bank said on Monday that it would be challenging to achieve the annual primary budget surplus target set by the International Monetary Fund. The FBR taxes are falling far behind the target.
Against the seven-month downward revised target of Rs7.5 trillion, the FBR pooled Rs6.8 trillion till Tuesday evening. During this week, it needs another Rs715 billion just to achieve the downward revised target.
Inflation
The Finance Ministry said that inflation would remain stable this month within the existing range of 6%. However, despite stable outlook the central bank did not reduce the interest rates this week, contributing to fatten the already fattened commercial banks.
Last month, the inflation recorded at 5.6%.
The ministry said that Pakistan’s economy is well positioned to sustain its growth momentum in the current fiscal year, supported by the encouraging performance of large-scale manufacturing and other high-frequency indicators. This positive trajectory reflects the impact of prudent policies, ongoing structural reforms, and easing of monetary conditions due to subsiding inflationary pressures, it added.
Pakistan’s economy has completed first half of this fiscal year with continued macroeconomic stability, reflected in contained inflation, rebound LSM growth and strengthened foreign exchange reserves with stable exchange rate.
The sustained growth momentum has been complemented with fiscal discipline resulted in fiscal and primary surpluses. LSM has gained momentum, signalling improved growth prospects for the remaining period of the fiscal year. Remittances remained robust, supporting the external account.
The ministry said that the LSM registered a growth of 6% during first five months of this fiscal year reaching its highest level since FY2016. In November 2025, LSM grew by 10.4% on year-on-year basis, as automobile, coke & petroleum products and wearing apparel remained the major contributing factors to overall growth.
