In South Asia, Pakistan and India have the largest public sectors, accounting for 60% of all formal wage employment, according to a recent World Bank analysis. The Worldwide Bureaucracy Indicators survey also discovered that South Asian nations’ salary costs are typically seven percentage points lower than the 28 percent global average.
The report’s conclusions imply that South Asia’s public sector is comparatively large and ineffective. Numerous adverse effects, such as a rise in government debt, slower economic growth, and a reduction in the standard of public services, could result from this.
Across South Asia, there are also considerable differences in the size and makeup of the public sector. For instance, public sector salaries account for 50% of all public spending in Afghanistan, but only 3% of public spending in Pakistan.
The survey also discovered that South Asia’s proportion of women employed in the public sector is far lower than the worldwide average. Women make up 50% of the workforce in the Maldives’ public sector, compared to only 13% in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The report’s findings emphasize the necessity of transformation in South Asia. The public sector’s size could be reduced, public services could be rendered more effectively, and the proportion of women working in the public sector might be increased.
