The contribution of digital and information technology (IT) sectors to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will escalate to 13 percent by 2025 as the scale of the digital economy rises sharply in the next five years, as estimated by The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT).
According to the official documents of the ministry, the integration of digital technologies is strengthening in Pakistan thus the scale of the digital economy will expand sharply in the next five years. The digital economy’s contribution to GDP will continue to grow in the coming years.
MoITT further said that the contribution of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) core industry to GDP will grow from 1.2 percent to 8.15 percent whereas the contribution of digital and IT sectors to GDP is expected to increase from 2.7 percent to 13 percent.
Read more: IMF tells Pakistan to lower budget deficit down to 4.9% of the GDP
On the basis of available data, Pakistan’s digital economy is measured in two folds, including the ICT core industry and digital and IT sectors. Back in 2019, the contribution of the ICT core industry to the overall GDP was 1.2 percent whereas the contribution of the IT and Telecom sector to Pakistan’s GDP is 2.7 percent.
After the maturity of four enabling technologies including IoT, big data analytics, cloud computing, and AI, modern ICTs’ potential will be further expected to accelerate economic and social progress.
Moreover, Huawei’s study revealed that modern ICTs will result in a digital economy valued at $23 trillion in 2025. It is further predicted that there will be 100 billion networks by 2025, assisting to drive digital transformation in the fields like public utilities, manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, agriculture, and finance.
At that time, 85 percent of enterprise applications will be expected to adopt the cloud, 86 percent of global companies will use AI, and data utilization rates will surge to 80 percent. This indicates that 180 billion terabytes of data will be produced yearly, consequently, it will act as a continuous source of innovative intelligence and value creation.
ICT infrastructure and services are the basis for countries to make digital economies and increase their overall economic well-being and competitiveness. They can contribute to reducing poverty and hunger, boosting health, creating new jobs, mitigating climate change, improving energy efficiency, and making cities and communities sustainable.
