Pakistan's constant presence on such lists is the most ominous sign of all when it comes to economic prosperity. From the 1960s till today, Pakistan has been expected by economists with diverse view points, to be part of the next group of emerging nations. Looked at, from a purely statistical point of view, our nation is a potential economic gold mine: an immense youthful population, hugely important strategic location, and neighbor to the two economic giants of the upcoming era. So for a country of such great potential to produce economic growth figures that are consistently below 5% is terrible.
We have all the tools, yet have failed over and over again. Few countries have the near perfect mix of population and location that allows them to turn around their fortunes in a short time period. Pakistan has had it from the beginning and has failed over 60 years. Terrorism exists today, it did not 20 years ago when growth was hardly better; corrupt leaders exist today, but the Indians and Chinese have them too, while they move forward...we fail continuously in very favorable circumstances, relative to other developing nations.
Instead of making us feel good about ourselves, we should question, why haven't we been promoted to the list of developed nation?...why are we still potentially emerging? Our failure is a product of the failure of every Pakistani. Blaming the government is too simplistic and unrealistic...they are from among us and they unfortunately fail like us. They are in power because we have never attempted to prevent them gaining power...just as importantly, even the greatest leader would fail if asked to build a nation with no tax revenue from the working class.