A survey by Ipsos, one of the world’s largest market research companies, has found that only two in every 10 Pakistanis think the country is moving in the right direction, with economic anxiety, unemployment and inflation topping the list of concerns among respondents.
The poll, carried out last month, drew on interviews with over 1,000 people spanning all four provinces, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Broader confidence in where the country is headed has dropped to 22 percent, a steep fall from the 40 percent high recorded earlier this year when United States (US)-Iran tensions were at their peak. The numbers now sit roughly where they were during the Covid-19 years.
On the economy, only one in five respondents said that they thought it was in good shape. Expectations of a recovery were similarly thin, with just two in 10 anticipating any strengthening ahead. That optimism, where it existed, was largely confined to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan, rural pockets and older age groups.
“Expectations for the economy have declined as rising economic pressures drive a gradual return of pessimism. Personal financial optimism has fallen to 31pc amid weaker sentiment and continued sensitivity to geopolitical shocks such as US–Iran tensions,” the survey stated.
Investment confidence came in at 14 percent, while comfort around major purchases stayed at five percent steadying somewhat after a brief uptick that followed the Pakistan-India conflict. Only seven percent of respondents said they felt at ease with everyday household spending, a figure that tracked higher among youth, urban dwellers and those in Sindh.
Job security painted a similarly bleak picture, with only one in five saying they felt stable in their employment. Confidence on this front, which had nearly doubled over the past two years, has since retreated to 17 percent.
