World Population Day
PAKISTAN’S rapidly growing population is no longer merely a demographic concern; it has become one of the country’s most pressing governance and development challenges. With an estimated population approaching 250 million and nearly six million people added annually, the strain on schools, hospitals, housing, employment, water resources and public finances is becoming increasingly unsustainable. Unless population stabilization is treated as a national priority, many of Pakistan’s economic reforms will struggle to produce lasting results.
The country’s development indicators reflect this reality. Despite decades of planning, millions of children remain out of school, the majority of them girls. Public health facilities are overstretched, unemployment remains high and poverty continues to affect millions of households. Each year, development gains are diluted because the demand for basic services grows faster than the state’s capacity to provide them.
Successive governments have acknowledged the importance of population planning, yet a few have demonstrated the political resolve required to sustain meaningful reforms. The subject has often been treated cautiously, with limited debate in Parliament and insufficient public engagement through the media. Population policy requires continuity over decades, but Pakistan’s frequent political transitions and changing priorities have repeatedly interrupted progress.
Historical circumstances partly explain this outcome. At independence in 1947, Pakistan inherited severe institutional and administrative constraints, alongside the enormous challenge of rehabilitating millions of refugees. Political instability during the first decade further delayed long-term social planning. Although President Ayub Khan introduced family planning initiatives during the 1960s, implementation remained uneven and public acceptance was limited. Later political developments, including the Islamization policies of the 1980s, shifted national attention away from population management and made the subject increasingly sensitive.
Yet history alone cannot explain today’s crisis. The more fundamental issue has been Pakistan’s chronic underinvestment in human development. Countries that successfully reduced fertility rates did not achieve this through coercion. They invested in education, especially for girls, expanded healthcare, improved maternal and child services, created employment opportunities for women and ensured access to voluntary family planning.
The late Dr Nafees Sadiq, Executive Director, UNFPA, expressed this principle memorably at ICPD 2014 when she observed that the greatest obstacle to better public health is not a lack of money or technology but deeply rooted discrimination against girls and women. Her words remain highly relevant. Educating girls, protecting women’s rights and expanding economic opportunities are among the most effective ways of reducing fertility while improving family welfare.
Pakistan can also learn from several Muslim-majority countries that have successfully managed demographic transition. They reduced fertility through female education, community-based healthcare and widespread access to voluntary family planning. Bangladesh, Iran, Indonesia and Türkiye adopted policies that combined literacy, healthcare and public awareness while remaining sensitive to cultural and religious values. Their experience demonstrates that responsible parenthood and population stabilization are fully compatible with Islamic principles when approached through informed public policy.
Religious engagement is, therefore, essential rather than optional. Family planning should not be portrayed as a conflict between religion and development. Governments should actively engage respected religious scholars from different schools of thought in a constructive dialogue centred on maternal health, child welfare and responsible parenthood. Public confidence will grow when credible religious voices participate in awareness campaigns based on evidence and compassion.
Pakistan’s fiscal position makes the challenge even more urgent. A substantial share of public revenue is consumed by debt servicing, defence expenditure and routine government operations, leaving relatively limited fiscal space for education and healthcare. At the same time, Pakistan continues to rank low on the Human Development Index. Without improving human capital, sustained economic growth will remain elusive. The policy response must, therefore, be comprehensive. Greater investment in education should be accompanied by universal primary healthcare, expanded reproductive health services, improved nutrition programmes and enhanced employment opportunities for women. Family planning services should be accessible, affordable and entirely voluntary. Public awareness campaigns must involve educators, healthcare professionals, community leaders, civil society organizations, the media and religious scholars.
Population policy should also become a bipartisan national agenda rather than a politically sensitive issue. Every major political party has a responsibility to acknowledge that unchecked population growth affects economic stability, environmental sustainability, food security and social cohesion. Parliament should facilitate informed national debate based on evidence rather than ideology. The challenge is formidable, but it is not insurmountable. Demographic transition is a gradual process that requires patience, consistency and political commitment. Even if comprehensive reforms begin today, meaningful results will take years because millions of young Pakistanis are entering their reproductive years. Delaying action will only increase future costs.
Pakistan has reached a defining moment. The country can either continue treating population growth as a peripheral issue or recognize it as the foundation upon which every other development objective depends. Investment in education, healthcare, women’s empowerment and voluntary family planning is not merely social policy; it is an investment in economic resilience, national stability and the well-being of future generations. The time for incremental responses has passed. Pakistan now needs a sustained national consensus that places population stabilization at the heart of its development strategy.
—The writer is former Executive Director, National Institute of Population Studied (NIPS).
