KARACHI: Nearly half of Pakistani businessmen believe the country is heading in the right direction, according to the Gallup Pakistan survey released on Monday, with overall sentiment reaching its highest level since 2021.
This rise in business confidence comes despite ongoing challenges such as inflation, high utility costs, and frequent electricity load-shedding, which continue to disrupt operations.
According to Gallup Pakistan, the “direction of country” score — calculated by subtracting the percentage of respondents who believe Pakistan is headed in the wrong direction from those who think it’s on the right track — jumped 62 points in the second quarter of 2025, rising to -2 percent from -64 percent a year earlier.
The findings are based on interviews with 524 businesses across the manufacturing, services, and trade sectors, conducted between July 23 and 27.
This marked improvement follows Pakistan’s $7 billion IMF bailout secured in September 2024, which helped the country avoid a sovereign default and initiated a series of fiscal and structural reforms aimed at stabilising its struggling economy.
“46 percent of businessmen rated the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government’s management of the economy as better than its predecessor, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), compared to just 24 percent a year ago,” the Gallup report said.
Pakistan Business Confidence Continues to Climb – Gallup Survey
As per the latest Survey by Gallup for Q2 2025 (Apr-May-Jun25):
– Confidence in Country Direction Hits 4-Year High – Best since Q4 2021.
– Current Business Conditions Strongest in Years – 61% rate performance… pic.twitter.com/LIMhalx2FJ
— Khurram Schehzad (@kschehzad) August 11, 2025
“While the score remains marginally negative, it marks the highest level of confidence in national direction since Q4 2021,” it added. “This uptick suggests a moderate easing of political and economic uncertainty from the perspective of the business community.”
Sixty-one percent of surveyed business owners rated their current operations as “good” or “very good,” marking a six-point increase from the previous survey round. However, the manufacturing sector continued to recover more slowly compared to the trade and services sectors.
Key concerns among respondents included rising prices, high energy costs, and heavy taxation. Controlling inflation was identified as the top priority by 28 percent of those surveyed.
Pakistan’s consumer inflation rose to 4.1 percent year-on-year in July, up from 3.2 percent in June, largely driven by increases in food, fuel, and medicine prices.
High utility costs were cited by 18 percent of respondents, while 11 percent pointed to taxation.
One of the more notable shifts in the 2Q survey is a substantial decline in reported bribery. Only 15 percent of respondents said they had paid a bribe in the past six months, down from 34 percent in Q4 2024.
The prevalence of bribery was highest among traders (20 percent), followed by service providers (13 percent) and manufacturers (12 percent).
Still concerning, the Gallup survey said, this decline may point to improving transparency or risk aversion among firms.
Overall, the survey indicates a measured improvement in private sector sentiment, especially regarding businessmen’s perceptions of national direction and current business operations.
Gallup’s Business Confidence Index is an important barometer capturing the sentiments of the business community in any country and is used across the world by policymakers.
Gallup Pakistan Executive Director Bilal Ijaz Gilani described the results as reflecting a “cautiously improving mood” among businesses.
“While the shift is incremental, it reflects a growing sense of stabilisation among economic actors,” he said.
“As always, sustained momentum will depend on continued macroeconomic reforms, policy consistency, and greater institutional responsiveness, especially toward businesses operating outside the formal sector.”
