As of the fiscal year 2024, every Pakistani owes Rs. 302,000 to national and international lenders, marking an 11.3% increase compared to FY23, according to the Fiscal Policy Statement 2025 presented to the National Assembly. The report highlights significant fiscal challenges, including a growing budget deficit and rising public debt.

The federal government failed to contain the budget deficit, which reached Rs. 7.7 trillion, or 7.3% of GDP. This represents a violation of fiscal management principles, which legally require the federal deficit to be restricted to 3.5% of GDP. Despite this, the federal deficit was set at 7.1% of GDP in the June 2023 budget, breaching the law without sufficient justification.

Total public debt surged by nearly 15% during the year, reaching Rs. 72.3 trillion, primarily due to higher interest payments and currency depreciation. However, as a percentage of GDP, public debt declined from 74.8% in June 2023 to 67.2% in June 2024, signaling some improvement in debt sustainability.

The report also revealed that current expenditures exceeded budget estimates by 5.5%, driven by a sharp rise in markup payments amid high interest rates. To manage costs, expenditures under the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) were slashed by Rs. 218 billion, reducing the allocation to Rs. 1.03 trillion.

Despite these challenges, the report noted some signs of economic stability, including reduced inflation, a surplus in the primary fiscal balance, a stable exchange rate, and a negligible current account deficit. However, underperforming revenues contributed to the fiscal deficit, which stood at 7.3% of GDP.