Pakistan faced an estimated economic cost of $132 billion in 2023 due to administrative hurdles, equivalent to 39 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), according to a document attributed to the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA).

The document identifies inefficient procedures and poor coordination between government institutions as major barriers to economic performance. It highlights the need to simplify administrative processes and improve cooperation across public sector organizations.

According to the document, fragmented government procedures can create delays, increase compliance burdens and prevent the effective use of available resources. These problems can affect government operations as well as broader economic activity.

The document also highlights the lack of connectivity between government systems and limited interoperability among departments. These gaps can make information sharing difficult, disrupt public service delivery and weaken coordination between institutions.

To address these challenges, the PDA calls for common frameworks, consistent standards and stronger coordination among government bodies.

Simplifying procedures and eliminating duplicated processes could help improve the efficiency of public institutions and the delivery of government services.

The document does not provide a detailed breakdown of how the estimated $132 billion economic cost was calculated.