Nawaz Sharif (R) with Shehbaz Sharif (L)/File photo

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is headed for another five-year term after the general elections in mid-2018, predicts a report published in The Economist.

In its annual report titled ?The World in 2018?, the leading weekly magazine predicts that the PML-N would win the next elections, ?buoyed by infrastructure investments and a fairly smooth economic trajectory, as well as the advantages of incumbency?.

The Economist report 'The World in 2018'

The report observes that the ?business environment will remain difficult and reform will progress slowly, but the economy will respond to relative stability and maintain healthy growth?.

According to the report, the rupee is due a depreciation, but it would be delayed until after the election.

Pakistan?s GDP growth stands at 5.5 percent, GDP per head at $1,661, inflation at 3.8 percent, budget balance at -4.6 percent of GDP and population at 200.8 million.