ISLAMABAD, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's economy grew by 3.99 percent year-on-year in the third quarter (January-March) of fiscal year 2025-26, driven mainly by strong industrial and services sector performance, according to provisional estimates released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) following a meeting of the National Accounts Committee (NAC) on Wednesday.
The agriculture, industry and services sectors grew by 3.01 percent, 4.65 percent and 4.18 percent, respectively, during the quarter.
The industrial sector emerged as the main growth driver, supported by a 9.53 percent expansion in large-scale manufacturing despite contractions in mining and quarrying, and electricity, gas and water supply.
The services sector also recorded broad-based growth, led by information and communication at 9.78 percent, public administration and social security at 8.88 percent, and wholesale and retail trade at 4.13 percent.
The NAC revised upward the GDP growth estimates for the first two quarters of the current fiscal year to 3.92 percent and 4.05 percent, respectively, compared to earlier estimates of 3.63 percent and 3.89 percent.
Pakistan's provisional GDP growth for the ongoing fiscal year was estimated at 3.70 percent, with agriculture projected to grow by 2.89 percent, industry by 3.51 percent, and services by 4.09 percent.
According to the updated national accounts data, Pakistan's economy increased to 126.9 trillion rupees (452.1 billion U.S. dollars), up from 114 trillion rupees (408.2 billion dollars) a year earlier. ■