Only 3% of Pakistanis are a member of any club. The proportion generally remains low across the country; however, slightly more people are members of any club/organization in urban Pakistan (4%) than rural (2.5%).
Among the four provinces, Balochistan has the largest proportion (6.5%) of the population that is a member of any club/organization, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (3.6%) and Sindh (3%).
Punjab has the lowest proportion of 2.4%. On the other hand, Gilgit Baltistan has the largest proportion (13.9%) of club/organization members across all provinces, territories, and regions. This was revealed in a recent study conducted under the supervision of PIDE Pro Vice Chancellor Dr. Durre Nayab.
The research shows the trends by age and sex that Pakistani males (5%) have a higher rate of club/organization membership than their female counterparts, among whom only 1.1% have any form of membership. The rates generally remain low for all ages but are lowest among the young, i.e., those aged 15-24.
The rate is highest for males aged 45-59 and 60 years and above. For females, the rates are extremely low, with those aged 25-34 years (1.9%) having a comparatively higher rate than those in other age groups. While narrating the research, Dr. Durre Nayab said that Bowling alone is an idea Putnam (2000) gave in his study on the changing American behavior over the decades.
Putnam believed Americans were becoming increasingly individualistic and disconnected from structured social structures like clubs, associations, organizations, or bowling leagues.
To him, more and more Americans preferred to bowl alone instead of with others or in leagues. She further added that communities develop when opportunities for social and civic engagement emerge.
In the PIDE-BASICS Survey-3, we examined whether they were members of any club or organization and whether they did any volunteer work. If they were, we asked them about the nature of the club/organization and the kind of volunteerism they did. —NNI
