ISLAMABAD, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan recorded a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.71 percent in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025-26 (FY2026), Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said on Tuesday.
The minister said the growth rate was 2.15 percentage points higher than that recorded in the corresponding quarter of FY2025, describing it as a qualitative improvement in the country's economic trajectory.
He said the growth was driven mainly by the industrial sector, which expanded by 9.38 percent in the first quarter of FY2026, compared with 0.12 percent in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
The minister noted that the economic performance was achieved despite challenges, including flood-related disruptions in 2025, fiscal tightening measures, the withdrawal of energy subsidies, and food inflation.
According to estimates released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics in October, the country's GDP grew by 3.04 percent in FY2025, higher than the 2.68 percent projected earlier by the National Accounts Committee. ■
