A decade ago: Pakistan’s federal budgets show nearly five-fold increase

ISLAMABAD: The total size of Pakistan’s federal budget has increased nearly five times over the past decade, rising from PKR4.3 trillion in 2014-15 to a staggering pkr18.8 trillion for the ongoing fiscal year 2024-25, official figures reveal.

An analysis of budget documents by HUM News shows consistent annual growth in budget allocations, with particularly sharp increases in recent years. The budget crossed the PKR5 trillion mark in 2017-18, reached PKR8.2 trillion in 2019-20, and surpassed PKR14 trillion last fiscal year.

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The current year’s budget of PKR18.8 trillion represents a massive PKR4.4 trillion increase over the previous year’s allocations – the largest single-year jump in the country’s history. This expansion comes amid high inflation and economic challenges that have required greater government spending.

Budget experts note that while nominal figures have grown substantially, inflation-adjusted increases have been more modest. The rupee’s depreciation against the dollar has also contributed to the higher rupee-denominated budget totals in recent years.

The data shows Pakistan’s public finances have undergone significant transformation since 2015, with the budget now encompassing nearly four times its value from a decade ago when adjusted for inflation. This growth reflects both expanding government operations and the rising costs of debt servicing and development projects.