By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Nearly half of Pakistani businessmen believe the country is on the right track, a Gallup Pakistan survey showed Monday, marking the highest confidence level since late 2021 as economic and political stabilisation efforts gain traction.
The survey’s “direction of country” score, the percentage of respondents who think Pakistan is heading in the right direction minus those who see it on the wrong path, jumped to –2 percent in Q2 2025, up 62 points from –64 percent a year earlier. The results stem from interviews with 524 businesses in manufacturing, services, and trade, conducted from July 23 to 27.
The optimism follows Pakistan’s $7 billion IMF bailout in September 2024, which staved off a sovereign default, and the government’s subsequent fiscal and structural reforms to steady its crisis-hit economy.
The Gallup report noted that 46 percent of businessmen rated the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government’s economic management as better than its predecessor, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), up from 24 percent a year ago.
Sixty-one percent of respondents described their current operations as “good” or “very good,” a six-point rise from the prior survey. Trade and services sectors outperformed manufacturing, which showed slower recovery.
Inflation topped concerns, with 28 percent of respondents urging the government to prioritize price control. Consumer inflation climbed to 4.1 percent year-on-year in July, from 3.2 percent in June, driven by rising food, fuel, and medicine costs. High utility costs and taxes were also cited, by 18 percent and 11 percent of respondents, respectively.
Bribery reports dropped sharply, with only 15 percent of businesses admitting to paying a bribe in the past six months, down from 34 percent in Q4 2024. Traders reported the highest rate at 20 percent, followed by service providers at 13 percent and manufacturers at 12 percent.
“While the score remains marginally negative, it reflects the highest confidence in national direction since Q4 2021,” the report said, pointing to easing political and economic uncertainty.
Gallup Pakistan Executive Director Bilal Ijaz Gilani called the findings a sign of a “cautiously improving mood” among businesses. “The shift is incremental but signals growing stabilization,” he said. “Sustained progress hinges on continued macroeconomic reforms, policy consistency, and better institutional support, particularly for informal-sector businesses.”
Gilani highlighted improved perceptions of the country’s direction and rising trust in government economic management as key shifts.
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