Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Jameel Ahmad announced on Monday that Pakistan received a record $4.1 billion in workers’ remittances in March 2025, a significant boost to the country’s external account.
The SBP governor made this announcement during his address at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as part of the country’s observance of Financial Literacy Week.
Meanwhile, the SBP also released the latest data on remittances received in March 2025. According to the SBP, overseas Pakistanis sent over $4.1 billion in remittances back home, the highest inflows in a month for the first time. These inflows are up by 37.3% year-on-year and 29.8% compared to the previous month.
Cumulatively, during the first nine months (July to March) of fiscal year 2025, workers’ remittances totaled $28 billion, marking a 33.2% increase compared to $21 billion during the same period in the previous fiscal year.
The majority of these remittances were sourced from key countries, with Saudi Arabia contributing $987.3 million, the United Arab Emirates at $842.1 million, the United Kingdom at $683.9 million, and the United States at $419.5 million.
Due to a 33.2% increase in worker inflow in nine months, the central bank has revised Pakistan’s annual remittance forecast from $36 billion to $38 billion for the ongoing fiscal year 2025.
The SBP governor said that the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves were expected to reach $14 billion by June 2025, up from an earlier estimate of $13 billion. Despite a $2 billion decrease in foreign exchange reserves in recent months due to debt repayments, Ahmad remains optimistic that reserves will continue to grow.
He projected that Pakistan would receive an additional $4-5 billion from external sources by the end of the fiscal year, including funds from global financial institutions.
The governor also expressed optimism about the current account surplus for the year, citing the strong inflow of remittances as a primary driver. “With this level of remittances, there will be a substantial surplus, marking the best external account performance Pakistan has seen in two decades,” he said.
Discussing broader economic indicators, Ahmad noted that Pakistan’s economic activities had strengthened, with monthly imports reaching $5.7 billion. He projected a growth rate of 3% for FY25, although he acknowledged that the agricultural sector’s underperformance—compared to last year’s growth of 8%—had led to a revised growth outlook.
On the inflation front, Ahmad warned that inflation readings would begin to rise following the historically low rate of 0.7% recorded in March 2025. Despite this, he highlighted the broader positive trends in the economy, particularly in remittances and foreign reserves, which have supported Pakistan’s fiscal outlook.
