Only 16 percent of Pakistan's population believes that local economy is getting better

According to Gallup survey report, this is the lowest expectation registered in the region.

The survey by Gallup World Poll shows how the unrest in the country is rooted in its economic woes, as the national economy gets from bad to worse, reports Dawn News.

Underlining the causes of this nationwide despondency, the survey notes that perceptions of corruption in Pakistan have hit record highs, living standards have plummeted and millions are struggling to meet their basic needs. Sindh is hit the hardest by this economic slump.

“Except for Afghanistan, where the economy has crumbled since the Taliban’s takeover, Pakistan ranks lower than all other countries in the Asia-Pacific region in perceptions of improving economic conditions,” the report’s authors Hashim Pasha and Benedict Vigers point out. “It’s (also) one of the lowest points on record.”

A record 86 percent Pakistanis perceive corruption to be widespread in the country’s government and 80 percent believe that corruption in businesses has also reached record highs.

Highlighting the link between the recent political turmoil and a long-running economic crisis, the authors point out that in recent years, Pakistan’s economy has seen record inflation, soaring commodity prices, and significant declines in foreign investment and remittances, reports Dawn News.

Catastrophic floods in the latter half of 2022, partly overlapping the timing of Gallup’s fieldwork in Pakistan, also caused an estimated $15 billion in economic losses.

“Imran Khan’s arrest — and the subsequent civil unrest it sparked — have added to the economic misery, as the rupee’s valuation against the dollar dropped to a historic low,” the report argues.

“Recent mass protests coupled with an ongoing constitutional crisis have compounded the already chronic sense of instability in the South Asian nation and have made its efforts to avoid a sovereign default more precarious,” it added.