A post is being shared widely on social media with a claim that India’s annual GDP growth rate is less than Pakistan’s annual GDP growth rate for the first time in the last 70 years. Let’s try to analyze the claim made in the post
Claim: Under Modi, India’s annual GDP growth rate went lower than Pakistan’s annual GDP growth rate for the first time in the last 70 years.
Fact: India’s GDP annual growth rate went lower than Pakistan’s annual GDP growth rate multiple times before. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The data regarding the annual GDP growth rates of India and Pakistan (for the years 1961 – 2018) can be found on the World Bank website. On comparison of the available data, it can be found that Pakistan’s annual GDP growth rate has surpassed India’s annual GDP growth rate multiple times in the past. In the graph below, it can be seen that Pakistan’s growth rate surpassed India for some years in the 60s, 70s, 80s and also, in 90s. The last time Pakistan surpassed India was in 2000.
Also, the comparison made between the GDP growth rates of India and Pakistan in the post is improper. The Q1 (Quarter-1) 2019-20 GDP growth rate of India (5%) is being compared with some random number because the annual GDP growth rate of Pakistan in the last financial year (2018-19) was just 3.3% and the Q1 2019-20 growth rate of Pakistan was not found.
To sum it up, India’s GDP growth rate went lower than Pakistan’s GDP growth rate multiple times in the last 70 years.
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