PAKISTAN is one of the most populous countries in South Asia and has seen rapid population growth over the past few decades.
By 2025, the population of Pakistan is projected to be 242 million.
While population growth is a positive sign of a growing nation, Pakistan’s ballooning population comes with her own problems of urbanization, governance and economic stability.
The population has gone up while urbanization in Pakistan has gone into an explosion.
The people of rural areas are moving to cities, like Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
While views of urbanization tend to be a strong indicator of economic well-being, urbanization also imposes severe pressures on infrastructure, from housing to healthcare to education to transportation.
As urban centres grow, they face overcrowded slums, traffic congestion, and inadequate public services.
Unchecked population growth drives up demand for resources, risking depletion, environmental damage, and reduced quality of life.
The issue is compounded by local governments’ inability to manage rapid urbanization, straining infrastructure and governance.
Major cities become overburdened, with political instability affecting service delivery.
Effective population management is essential to maximize benefits and minimize negative impacts.
Pakistan’s government, at both federal and provincial levels, faces significant challenges in addressing the needs of its expanding population.
Ensuring access to education, healthcare and employment opportunities for all citizens is no small feat, when population growth exceeds the capacity of the government’s resources.
Despite successive governments’ efforts in addressing population growth through family planning programs, it struggles to meet ground due to cultural, religious and social factors.
Because of this, family planning policies give only limited effect in reducing fertility rates.
Successful control of your population tells a valuable story of governance.
There is a need to curate greater public awareness campaigns and generalize family planning services especially in rural and underserved areas.
Education is one of the most powerful ways to control population growth among all – and particularly women.
Countries that have been successful in reducing the growth of their population have placed emphasis on the education of women so that they exercise informed choices regarding their reproductive health.
The national dialogue and awareness about the social and economic benefits of smaller families must also include incorporation of the family planning education.
Family planning not only assists in population control however it has economic benefits by enabling families with lesser kids to actualize more assets toward education, medical services and financial stability, which truly assists them in creating a more advantageous and prosperous society.
Despite Pakistan’s rapid population growth, which is an undeniable challenge, it brings transformational opportunities as well.
This prompts Pakistan to adopt a proactive approach on the issue of population control to have a future with a balance of growth and sustainability.
With effective urban planning, better governance as well as improved education systems, Pakistan’s population will be able to muster her highest potential to help her be a more prosperous and stable society.
Higher living standard, better economic development and equity in resource distribution can be achieved with successful population control.
Pakistan must balance the population and prosperity with family planning policies, education and strategic governance measures in place.
—The writer is an alumnus of QAU, MPhil scholar &a freelance columnist, based in Islamabad. (fa7263125@gmail.com)
