India vs Pakistan: Economic Comparison (2024–25)

Overview

India and Pakistan—two South Asian neighbors—present starkly contrasting economic realities in 2024–2025. From GDP to foreign reserves, India stands out as a growing global power while Pakistan continues to recover from recent economic turbulence. Let’s explore key metrics including GDP, inflation, unemployment, exports, foreign exchange reserves, and foreign relations through data and comparative graphs.

1. Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

India’s nominal GDP for 2024–25 is projected at approximately $4.3 trillion, making it the fifth-largest economy globally, well on track to become third. Pakistan’s GDP is around $341 billion, nearly one-tenth the size of India’s.

🔹 Per Capita GDP:

• India: ~$2,600
• Pakistan: ~$1,300

India’s per capita income is nearly twice that of Pakistan’s, reflecting better wealth distribution and economic scale.

📊 GDP Comparison (USD Trillions)

India:    ████████████████████████  $4.3T 

Pakistan: █                          $0.34T

2. Inflation

🔹 India:

• 2024 average inflation: 4.6%
• March 2025: 3.3%

🔹 Pakistan:

• Mid-2023: 38%
• End-2024: ~4.1%

Pakistan’s inflation has significantly improved, but it followed a period of severe price instability.

📊 Inflation Rate (%)

India (2024):    ████  4.6%

Pakistan (2023): ████████████████████████████  38%

Pakistan (2024): ████  4.1%

3. Unemployment

🔹 India:

• 2024: 4.9%
• Strong labor absorption in IT, retail, and manufacturing sectors.

🔹 Pakistan:

• Estimated around 5.5%
• Informal employment remains dominant.

📊 Unemployment Rate (%)

India:    ████  4.9%

Pakistan: █████ 5.5%

4. Exports

🔹 India:

• Total Exports (2023–24): $778 billion
• • Goods: $437 billion
  • Services: $341 billion

🔹 Pakistan:

• Goods Exports (2024): $32.5 billion
• Services exports are significantly smaller.

📊 Total Exports (USD Billion)

India:    █████████████████████████████████████  $778B

Pakistan: ███                                      $32.5B

5. Foreign Exchange Reserves

🔹 India:

• May 2025: $686 billion
• Enough to cover ~10 months of imports.

🔹 Pakistan:

• Early 2025: ~$13 billion
• Increased from a crisis low due to IMF support.

📊 Forex Reserves (USD Billion)

India:    ████████████████████████████████████████  $686B

Pakistan: ██                                         $13B

6. Foreign Relations & Trade Partnerships

🔹 India:

• Strong ties with the USA, EU, Japan, UAE
• Member of G20, BRICS, and negotiates multiple trade deals
• Exports widely diversified

🔹 Pakistan:

• Heavily reliant on China, Gulf countries, and UK
• Major remittances from the Middle East
• Ongoing support from IMF and bilateral lenders

🌐 India-Pakistan Bilateral Trade:

• Remains negligible (around $1.2 billion) due to political tensions.

Conclusion

India is emerging as a major global economic force with:

• High GDP growth
• Diversified exports
• Stable inflation
• Large forex reserves

Pakistan is in a recovery phase with:

• Falling inflation
• Modest GDP growth
• Rising but limited foreign reserves

While India’s strengths are scale, stability, and investor confidence, Pakistan’s key risks remain external debt, low exports, and reliance on aid and remittances.