Country explorer: Pakistan

Pakistan's economy has shown resilience with consistent growth in its GDP per capita, but significant challenges remain, notably in managing its inflation rate and reducing the large proportion of its population living below various poverty thresholds, a common pattern seen amongst its lower-middle-income peers.

Pakistan has experienced significant shifts in its demographic landscape, highlighted by a consistently growing population, marked fluctuations in net migration, a gradual decrease in fertility rates, and a steady improvement in life expectancy, reflective of trends seen in lower-middle-income countries, but with the distinct challenge of balancing substantial population growth with improvements in health and migration management.

Pakistan has shown incremental but steady progress in improving access to basic needs, including a gradual increase in clean cooking fuels, electricity, and safely managed drinking water, highlighting its ongoing efforts to address infrastructure and health disparities, a common challenge shared with its lower-middle-income country peers.

Pakistan has experienced moderate progress in human development, marked by gradual improvements in the Human Development Index, decreases in child mortality rate, slight increases in literacy rate, and modest gains in average learning-adjusted years of schooling, reflecting a trajectory similar to lower-middle-income countries but with distinctive challenges in educational quality and health outcomes.

Pakistan has witnessed significant shifts in its environmental and energy landscape, including a decline in per capita renewable freshwater resources and forest area, alongside a substantial increase in coal consumption for electricity production and efforts to enhance its renewable energy sources, reflecting a complex balance between resource depletion and a push towards sustainable energy alternatives.

Pakistan has demonstrated significant strides in technological adoption and innovation, evidenced by substantial increases in internet usage, mobile subscriptions, and contributions to scientific journals, although its investments in research and development as a percentage of GDP lag behind those of its peers, showcasing a mixed but positively evolving landscape in technology and innovation.

Pakistan has seen a significant cultural and social transformation, characterized by an increased international population, gradual improvements in self-reported life satisfaction and gender equality, though still grappling with challenges, and a steady state in its age dependency ratio, mirroring a balance similar to its lower-middle-income peers.

Pakistan has exhibited variable progress in governance, with improvements in corruption perception and modest gains in the rule of law and political civil liberties, amidst challenges in press freedom, highlighting a complex trajectory of governance reforms that shares elements with its lower-middle-income peers yet underscores distinct national struggles and achievements.