How the two countries have fared since partition

While the two countries started with nearly identical numbers, India’s GDP per capita is nearly 50 percent higher than Pakistan’s today.

After ruling for some three hundred years, the British left India in August 1947. But before leaving, they also split the subcontinent in two. The two countries, India and Pakistan, inherited similar economies, marked by neglect and underinvestment from their former colonizers. Yet 77 years later, the difference between the two could not be starker: while India is poised to become the world’s third largest economy, Pakistan is facing economic and political instability and struggling to stay afloat.

According to the World Bank, India’s GDP stood at $3.39 trillion as of 2022, more than 800 percent more than Pakistan’s $376.53 billion GDP.

Another indicator to take into account is the GDP per capita of both countries. While the two countries started with nearly identical numbers, India’s GDP per capita is nearly 50 percent higher than Pakistan’s today.

However, there were times before 2000 when Pakistan’s GDP per capita was actually higher than India’s. This trend can also be seen in regards to GDP growth, which remained higher than India’s for many years prior to the 1990s.

While the Indian government’s protectionist policies slowed growth, Pakistan benefited immensely from East Pakistani trade, which accounted for as much as 70 percent of the country’s export earnings during its early years.

Billions of dollars in foreign aid provided by the US and West Asian countries also accelerated the growth of the Pakistani economy during the period. However, this also led to the country’s overreliance on foreign aid and delayed reforms to its economy. And after the 1971 war, Pakistan also lost its crown jewel, East Pakistan (later renamed Bangladesh).

Meanwhile, India’s economic progress was much less dependent on foreign aid, and the liberalization of its economy in 1991 it allowed the country to receive more investment, accelerating growth.

The divergence of both economies is also evident when looking at the total reserves held by them over the years. From about the same until 1975, India’s total reserves have exceeded $567 billion, while Pakistan’s stands at $9.93 billion.

When it comes to the standard of living of its people, the latest data from both countries shows that the percentage of people below the national poverty line is 21.9 percent. However, more recent data on other growth contours show that India is ahead of the game.

Only 56.2 percent of people in India had access to electricity in 1998, while around 70.5 percent of people in Pakistan had access to it. But by 2021, up to 99.6 percent of Indians have access to electricity, while in Pakistan this figure is 94.9.

cross-border tension

The infant mortality rates of India and Pakistan in 1960 stood at 161.9 and 184.9, respectively. By 2021, India managed to bring its figure down to 25.5, while Pakistan remains comparatively higher at 52.8.

A major factor behind the abysmal growth of Pakistan’s economy since the 1970s is the ongoing political instability in the country. Since its creation, the country has never had a Prime Minister who has completed a full term in power. Also, including the 1953 constitutional coup, Pakistan has seen as many as 4 coups and several more coup attempts, spending decades under undemocratic military rule.

Meanwhile, except for the Emergency period of 1975-77, India has remained a politically stable democracy throughout its post-independence history.

Terrorism has also been a thorn in Pakistan’s post-independence history. The country ranked fourth with the most deaths from terrorism in 2022, accounting for up to 10 percent of global terrorism deaths, according to the Global Terrorism Index 2023.

While Pakistan was among the countries that saw the largest increase in deaths from terrorism during the year, India ranked eighth among the countries that saw the largest decrease for the same.