India vs Pakistan: the story of two economies

NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan – two of the largest countries in South Asia – have started their economical travel around the same time after gaining independence. Not many people know that there was a time in the 1960s when Pakistan’s GDP per capita was previously higher than India’s. However, over the years, India has not only exceeded Pakistan’s GDP per capita, but has taken a dominant position on almost every economic front.
Pakistan now faces global criticism for failing to bring local terrorist groups under control even as it grapples with a struggling economy and growing global debt. India, on the other hand, has become a global trailblazer that recently overtook the UK to become the world’s fifth largest economy. The stark economic contrast between the two neighbors shows that Pakistan’s unstable government, conflicting power centers, covert support for terrorist groups, and involvement in global terrorist strikes such as the 11/26 attacks in Mumbai, have bled his economy.

Here is an overview of the economic performance of the two countries:
* India is now the world’s fastest growing trillion dollar economy and fifth largest, according to data compiled by the IMF’s World Economic Outlook. He went from 9th place in 2010 to 5th place in just nine years. India’s GDP is almost 10 times that of Pakistan, which ranks 45th.

* India’s rise to power has been even more dramatic over the past two years. Since 2008, its GDP has grown by almost 140 percent compared to an increase of about 63 percent for Pakistan.

* According to World Bank estimates, in 2019 India’s GDP (in current dollars) was $ 2.875 trillion while Pakistan’s was $ 278.22 billion.
* In terms of purchasing power parity, India ranks third in the world with a GDP of $ 9.612 trillion in 2019, while Pakistan ranks 24th with a GDP of $ 1.058 trillion.

* In the World Bank’s 2020 Ease of Doing Business ranking, Pakistan is in 108th place, while India is better placed in 63rd place.
* India’s journey after independence began as an agrarian nation. However, the manufacturing and service sector has emerged strongly over the years. The service sector is the fastest growing sector, contributing over 60 percent of its economy and accounting for 28 percent of employment. Manufacturing remains one of its crucial sectors and is receiving due impetus through government initiatives, such as “Make in India”.