KARACHI: According to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad, speaking at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Monday, remittances from overseas Pakistanis are expected to hit a record $4.1 billion in March. The SBP chief highlighted the growing strength of remittances in supporting the country’s economy.
In February 2025, remittances reached $3.12 billion, showing a sharp 40% increase compared to the same month last year. The inflows also rose by 3.8% from January, helping boost foreign reserves and provide liquidity to importers.
During the first nine months of the fiscal year (July to March), Pakistan received $28.07 billion in remittances, a 33 per cent rise from the same period last year. The main sources of these inflows in March were Saudi Arabia ($987 million), UAE ($842 million), the UK ($684 million), and the US ($419 million), according to data from AKD Securities.
Governor Ahmad also shared that Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves are projected to exceed $14 billion by June. While the country has $26 billion in foreign debt repayments due this fiscal year, around $16 billion is expected to be rolled over or refinanced, easing the burden to roughly $10 billion.
He added that the economy is starting to show signs of revival. However, weaker performance in agriculture has led to revised GDP growth estimates between 2.5% and 3 per cent, down from the potential 4.2 per cent if agriculture had matched last year’s output.
On the inflation front, the SBP chief noted positive developments. Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation slowed to just 0.7 per cent last month, a major improvement after months of high inflation that once peaked at 38 per cent in May 2023.
The sharp growth in remittances comes at a critical time, as Pakistan continues to recover from one of its worst economic crises in 2023. The country had to turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for support, receiving a $7 billion bailout.
With remittances rising steadily, and inflation slowing down, officials remain hopeful that economic stability is within reach.
Journalist Shahbaz Rana also tweeted, “State Bank has announced that in March 2025 workers’ remittances amounted to a record US$ 4.1 billion, highest ever in the history in a single month.”
Despite political noise and calls for a boycott by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), remittances remained resilient. Analystn Shahbaz Rana noted that even after adjusting for the seasonal Eid related boost, inflows were significantly strong.
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