Out of 50 countries, Pakistan has been ranked first in The Economist’s World Normalcy Index.
The index aims to track which countries are returning to their pre-pandemic levels, while using eight different indicators of human behaviour that include; time not at home, retail, office use, public transport, road traffic, flights, cinema and sports attendance.
Pakistan is followed by Nigeria, Britain and Germany on the list which was last updated on Friday. The easing of restrictions and better mobility, along with the gaining momentum of the vaccination drive, have led to a gradual recovery of the economy.
Speaking on this achievement, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhay said “this shows our huge success in fighting against the pandemic“.
“The world appreciated Pakistan’s brilliant strategy against coronavirus. We are in a much better position than the rest of the world today,” he tweeted.
He noted that it is a fact that Pakistan’s industry has been revived as the construction sector is fully operational, the agricultural economy is prosperous, IT exports have tripled, and the incomes of workers, farmers and people working in the industrial sector have increased.
He hoped that in six to eight months, the global commodity prices will also begin to normalise and that in turn will provide impetus to Pakistan’s economy.
The normalcy index report said although most of the population in developed countries are vaccinated, still, Covid-19 poses a threat. The positive ratio or cases are likely to increase in the coming months as cold weather in the northern hemisphere forces people to spend more time inside, it added.
In recent months, with the easing of sanctions, the index has risen to 79 points (equivalent to the 100 average pre-epidemic behaviour) – its highest level since March 2020.
The pre-pandemic level of activity has been set at a score of 100.
In recent months, the global normalcy index rose to 79 points as Covid restrictions were eased off.
