IMF Projects Decline in Pakistan’s Gross Debt in FY23 and FY24

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected a decrease in the gross government debt for Pakistan from 75.8 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2022 to 73.6 percent in 2023 and projected a further decline to 68.9 percent in 2024. According to the IMF report “Fiscal Monitor, on the Path to policy normalization,” the net debt for Pakistan is projected to decrease to 68.7 percent of the GDP in 2023 against 69.5 percent in 2022. The net debt is projected to further decline to 65 percent in 2024. The government revenue is projected at 12.2 percent of GDP for 2023 and 12.5 percent for 2024 against 12.1 percent during the same period in 2022 and 12.4 percent in 2021. The Fund has projected the government primary balance at -0.5 percent for 2023 against -3.0 percent in 2022. Further, the government’s overall balance is projected at -6.8 percent for 2023 and -8.3 percent for 2024 against -7.8 percent in 2022. The report has projected government expenditure to decrease to 19.1 percent of GDP in 2023 compared to 19.9 percent in 2022 but projected to increase to 20.8 percent in 2024. According to the report the country’s debt to average maturity in 2023 is estimated at 26.8 percent of GDP. There would be a total financing need of about 26.8 percent of GDP in 2023.