Economic importance in Pakistan

Pakistan has a semi-industrialized econDespite

being a very poor country in 1947, Pakistan’s 

economic growth rate has been better than the global average during the subsequent four decades, but imprudent policies led to a slowdown in the late 1990s

. GDP growth was steady during the mid-2000s at a rate of 7%; however, slowed down during the Economic crisis of 2008 to 4.7%. A large inflation rate of 
24.4% and a low savings rate, and other economic factors, continue to make it difficult to sustain a high growth rate. Pakistan’s GDP is US$167 billion. The structure of the Pakistani economy has changed from a mainly agricultural base to a strong service base. Agriculture now only accounts for roughly 20% 

of the GDP, while the service sector accounts for 53% of the GDP. Significant foreign investments have been made in several areas including telecommunications, real estate, and energy. Other important industries include apparel and textiles (accounting for nearly 60% of exports), food processing, 

chemicals manufacture, and the iron and steel industries. Pakistan’s exports in 2008 amounted to 
$20.62 billion (USD). Pakistan is a rapidly developing country.
Historically, Pakistan’s overall economic output (GDP) has grown every year since the 1951 recession.
Despite this record of sustained growth, Pakistan’s economy had, until a few years ago, been 
characterized as unstable and highly vulnerable to external and internal shocks.