Ipsos survey: Confidence in economy declines despite positive indicators, says survey

ISLAMABAD: The confidence of people in the economic situation is decreasing despite several positive news about the stability of the country’s economy, including upgrade in Pakistan’s credit rating. It was revealed in a recent survey by IPSOS Pakistan, in which more than 1,000 people participated from across the country.

The number of people who said the economy is strong was seen at 13% after a decrease of 3%, while the number of those who said the economic situation was weak increased by 1% and 69% expressed concern about the economic situation. Some 17% said there was no difference.

In the survey, an increase in the percentage of people disappointed with the economic future was also seen. Compared to the previous survey, the rate of pessimistic Pakistanis increased by 19%, and 70% said the economic situation would remain weak in the next six weeks. While the percentage of Pakistanis optimistic about the improvement of the economy was seen at 12% after a 10% decrease, while 18% of people said that there was no difference.

IPSOS also asked Pakistanis about an improvement in their financial conditions in the next six months, to which an increase of 19% was seen in the percentage of people who said that their financial conditions were getting weaker and 67% said that there would be no improvement. While the number of optimistic Pakistanis for improvement in financial conditions was also seen at 13% after a 15% decrease, while 20% of people said that there would be no difference.

In the survey, the percentage of Pakistanis saying that they have difficulties in purchasing daily household items also increased by 4% and 94% complained of difficulties in purchasing daily-use items. For big purchases like a house or a car, the confidence of Pakistanis decreased by 1% and 94% said that they are not confident of a big purchase. The percentage of Pakistanis who expressed their inability to save money also increased by 5% to 90%.