The multilateral lender said the economy would grow at 5.6 percent in 2023-24, lower than the South Asian average of 6 percent for 2024. Annual GDP growth averaged 6.6 percent in the decade before the pandemic struck the world in 2020.

The government has trimmed its growth forecast for this fiscal year by a whole percentage point to 6.5 percent as the energy shortage and inflation dampened economic activities.