The Pakistani population growth rate continues to be steep
25 June, 2018
Pakistan is in a precarious position. With only China willing to assist it in return of surrendering some sovereignty and other countries not so interested in investing there, Pakistan continues to plough hard in debt and danger. High population is mudding the muddled waters further.
A Look at the Statistics
The increase in annual rate of population for this country has slowed down somewhat. However, it is still increasing at almost double the rate of its neighbours - India and Bangladesh. That is not a happy position. With an explosive mix of super-dense population of 207,750,335 excluding Azad Kashmir and Baluchistan, countered only by shrinking industries, Pakistan is knee deep in trouble.
To put things in perspective, that’s a whopping 207 million excluding these two areas. Sure, there are fewer women having children today than ever before, but the statistics still remain alarming.
The fertility rate has come down to 2.62 from 3.48 in 2016, 3.55 in 2015 and 3.62 in 2014, but, it is still a virtual time bomb. With fertility rates still not below 2.00, the future new-borns will only add to the burgeoning army of teenagers snapping at their heels to ferment trouble.
What is contributing to the Situation?
A massive population without the support of state education or any sort of training leads to millions of kids out of school. Then out of poverty distress and without any constructive guidance, they wade in religious fundamentalism.
Coming down of Fertility Rates is obstructed by religious strictures. The neighbouring countries of Pakistan have adopted “contraceptives by choice method” to curb population. However, in case of Pak, instead of medical contraceptive, natural method of spacing is encouraged. This method can be partially effective for the months of intense breastfeeding, but not more than that.
The maximum safe period from conceiving that the breastfeeding can reluctantly offer (Unsafe failure-prone method) is a window of 24 months. After that, contraceptives are required. Unfortunately, artificial tried and tested contraceptives are still discouraged by radical religious teachers. This has been a major barrier in preventing unwanted pregnancy, and Pakistan, population growth rate, continues to be steep.
Pakistan has a whopping 2.63 percentage of total world population.
The precipice at which Pakistan is staring gets to you when you combine this info with the fact that area-wise Pakistan is just double of a Federal state like California.
All of this results in a super-dense population of more than 260 people per square kilometre. Living in such congested conditions is a sure recipe for all sorts of tension, whether it be communal or racial.
Steep population increase coupled with lack of industries in rural areas creates a mass exodus to the urban areas. In turn, this leads to more unemployed youngsters gathering into cities without jobs. This leads to increasing urban crime rates and instability, driving away foreign nationals and further, leads to a mass exodus of foreign nationals, making Pakistan more dependent on China.
Unless methods like incentives for having maximum two children, spreading of sex education in schools and colleges, increasing knowledge of safe sex via electronic media and female government workers, popularising and distributing of contraceptives, is done at a war footing, Pakistan population growth rate continues to be steep and will remain so in foreseeable future.
|
