# External sector

Pakistan's account with the rest of the world. This is the largest module, with 9,176 series from the **SBP**.

| | |
|---|---|
| Module | `external` (plus `remittances.total` in `economic`) |
| Frequency | Mostly monthly; some quarterly, annual and weekly |
| Endpoint | [`/v1/series/{id}`](https://pakdatahub.com/docs/api-series.md); discover with `/v1/catalog?module=external&q=...` |
| Units | Mostly US$: `usd_mn` = millions, `usd_th` = thousands |

## Balance of payments

| Id | What it is | History |
|---|---|---|
| `bop.current_account_balance_3` | Current account balance, monthly, US$ mn | Jul 2013 -> |
| `bop.current_account_balance_4` | Current account balance, quarterly | 2002 -> |
| `bop.goods_export_fob` - `bop.goods_import_fob` | Goods exports and imports (FOB) | 2005 -> |
| `bop.goods_services_balance` | Goods & services balance | 2005 -> |
| `bop.total_export_as_bop` | Total exports as per BOP, US$ th | 2003 -> |

## FX reserves (monthly, US$ mn)

| Id | What it is | History |
|---|---|---|
| `reserves.total_sbp_reserves` | SBP's reserves | **1948 ->** |
| `reserves.total_banks_reserves` | Commercial banks' reserves | 1971 -> |
| `reserves.gold_reserves` | Gold | 1948 -> |
| `reserves.special_drawing_rights_holdings` | SDR holdings | 1971 -> |
| `reserves.imf_reserve_position` | IMF reserve position | 2020 -> |

## Remittances

| Id | What it is | History |
|---|---|---|
| `remittances.total` | Workers' remittances, total (monthly) | 2000 -> |
| `remittances.total_inflow_workers_remittances` | Total inflow, long series | **1972 ->** |
| `remittances.workers_remittances_received_<country>` | By sending country, e.g. `..._dubai`, `..._abu_dhabi`, `..._canada`, `..._germany` | monthly |

```bash
curl "https://api.pakdatahub.com/v1/catalog?module=external&q=remittances&limit=100"
```

## Foreign investment

- `investment.foreign_direct_investment_net_received_<country>`: net FDI by source country (monthly, 2012 ->).
- `investment.foreign_direct_investment_inflows_received_<country>`: gross FDI inflows by country.
- `investment.fdi_inflows_<sector>_sector`: FDI by sector (e.g. `..._communications_sector`, `..._cement_sector`).
- Portfolio investment flows are under `investment.*` too. Search `q=portfolio`.

## Trade, and more

- `trade.exports.by_country.total_export_as_bop`, plus exports by destination country: `trade.exports.by_country.*`.
- Export receipts by commodity (HS2) and services trade are in `external.*`. Search `q=export receipts` or `q=services`.
- **Roshan Digital Account** (overseas Pakistanis): `roshan_digital.total_funds_received_abroad_into_rdas_since` and related series, 2020 ->.
- International investment position, external-account detail and more: browse with `/v1/catalog?module=external`.

For **monthly trade by commodity with quantities** (PBS), use [`/v1/trade`](https://pakdatahub.com/docs/api-trade.md). For **external debt**, see [Debt](https://pakdatahub.com/docs/data-debt.md).

Use cases: balance-of-payments dashboards, reserve-adequacy and sovereign-risk models, remittance-corridor analysis, FDI tracking.

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Source: https://pakdatahub.com/docs/data-external - PakDataHub docs index: https://pakdatahub.com/docs/llms.txt