Pakistan’s business confidence soars in Q4 2024, Gallup survey reports

February 17, 2025 (MLN): Pakistan’s businessmen are gaining confidence about the prospects of their businesses, with 55% of them believing their businesses are performing well, according to the latest Gallup Pakistan Business Confidence Index Q4 2024 survey.

The survey reveals a 10% increase in business confidence compared to the previous survey conducted in Q2 2024.

Despite this improvement, a majority of businessmen still believe that the country is not heading in the right direction, a sentiment linked to the political situation rather than economic management.

The report also highlighted a decline of 7% in the number of businesses rating their performance as very bad.

The manufacturing sector showed a slower recovery compared to the services and trade sectors.

Looking ahead, business optimism is on the rise, with a 19% increase in positive future expectations. 60% of businesses expressed hope for the future, while 40% predicted a decline.

The Net Future Business Confidence score has risen by 36% since Q2 2024. The report attributes this shift to factors like inflation reduction, macroeconomic stability, and interest rate cuts.

However, concerns remain, as the 'direction of the country' score remains negative, indicating that many businesses still feel Pakistan is moving in the wrong direction.

This perception, however, improved by 20% from the previous survey, moving from negative confidence to poor confidence.

When asked about which government managed the economy better, 41% of businesses cited the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), while 38% favored the government of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Twenty-one percent saw no significant difference between the two.

Inflation, which erodes consumers' purchasing power, was identified by 30% of businesses as the most critical issue they want the government to address.

Additionally, the survey noted a 17% reduction in power outages, with 56% of businesses reporting no loadshedding during the survey period.

The survey also revealed that more service-providing businesses, compared to manufacturers and traders, had to reduce their workforce.

Overall, the survey indicates growing optimism among Pakistan’s business community, marking a positive trend since the previous quarters.

The survey, which is the 14th edition of Gallup Pakistan’s quarterly Business Confidence Survey, was conducted across more than 30 districts and included 482 small, medium, and large businesses.

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