WORLD Population Day or International Population Day is celebrated globally today to share knowledge, findings and to sensitize people about world population issue, its adverse impacts on nations/societies/environment, and to propose solutions for its settlement. In the context of Pakistan’s population problem, Pakistan is facing the issue of overpopulation and high fertility rate, which needs urgent attention of the Government to resolve.
Pakistan has a population of 241.49 million people with a growth/fertility rate of 2.55 percent as reported in the results of 7th Population and Housing Census 2023 by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Pakistan’s population growth/fertility rate in 1998 was 2.69 percent and in 2017 it was 2.4 percent. The current fertility rate (2.55 percent) is significantly higher than the economic growth rate of Pakistan and if current fertility rate continues unchecked, the population of Pakistan will likely touch the figure of 290 million people by 2030. In 2017 population census in Pakistan, the population of Pakistan was estimated at 207 million, which reflects an increase of approx. 35 million people in 2023 census. The increase of 35 million people in just six years is an alarming figure for economically unstable nation, where inflation, unemployment rates are very high.
According to Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data, the current population of Pakistan is 245.215 million people, fertility rate is 3.28 percent, fifth most populous country in the world, second largest Muslim population country and its population is equivalent to 2.99 percent of the total world population. These figures are a matter of great concern for a developing nation, which has inadequate resources/infrastructure/prospects/land area/socio-economic status. If the fertility rate is not controlled, the resources/infrastructure of the country will be overburdened and its already weak economy will be deteriorated more.
The factors contributing to overpopulation in the country inter alia are high birth rate, insufficient reproductive health and family planning services, disowning of modern contraceptive methods, high child/maternal mortality rates, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, early marriages, social/cultural/religious practices to have many children. A recent research study declared that women in Pakistan have an estimated 3.8 million unintended pregnancies annually, because of ignoring modern contraceptions.
The consequences of overpopulation inter alia are increased demand for food, water, housing, energy, education, healthcare, and transportation etc., leading to environmental pollution, climate change, malnutrition, unemployment, poverty, substandard education/healthcare facilities, increase in crime rate and sluggish economy.
Nations across the world have adopted population control best practices to address the problem of overpopulation for the development of their countries. A good example of such best practice and a success story is that of a Muslim country Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), which adopted effective strategies for population management in the country. In 1971, the population of Bangladesh was around 70 million, whereas that of Pakistan was approx. 60 million. After passing of 52 years, Bangladesh’s population is 174 million, whereas Pakistan’s is over 245 million. Policymakers in Bangladesh focused on overpopulation, education and preventive measures by introducing National Family Planning Programme in 1976. This programme aimed to provide accessible and affordable family planning services to couples across the country. Media and in-person campaigns were conducted in Bangladesh to educate people about the importance of family planning, instant availability and usage of contraceptives across the country. In this way, the families realized the importance of having fewer children for the betterment of the economy and their personal health. As a result of this government policy, the fertility rate in Bangladesh has decreased from 7.5 percent in the 1970s to a current rate of 1.9 percent in 2024. As Pakistan and Bangladesh have similarities in the social, cultural, religious and economic aspects, Pakistan can follow such best practice to reduce its fertility rate to optimal level. Based on the above discussion on Pakistan’s abnormal population growth, following strategies/reforms need to be adopted by the Governorment to address the overpopulation problem in the country;
The Governorment should formulate a five-year national action plan to control the overpopulation in the country by mutual deliberations of all relevant stakeholders. In the national action plan, the result-oriented family planning services and reproductive health education programs, using of contraceptives, availability of free and compulsory quality education, promotion of gender equality, poverty elimination, employment opportunities and fulfillment of fundamental rights must be ensured. The plan shall be effectively monitored by the oversight body to check the fertility and contraceptive prevalence rates on yearly basis and ultimate target would be to achieve the optimal fertility rate (less than 2 percent) and contraceptive prevalence rate (100 percent) in five years period.
The Government should pay special attention on empowerment of girls/women through provision of education and healthcare. This will lead to an increase in women’s participation in the workforce. Educated and empowered girls/women are more likely to make informed decisions about their marriages, family planning and contraceptives. Minimum age of marriage (18 years or above) be legislated and enforced across Pakistan and pre-marital family planning counselling be made mandatory. Moreover, couples must be incentivized to have two children only and delay the first pregnancy till the age of 20 years. The Government should integrate family planning services with general/special health care facilities across the country.
The Government should, in collaboration with NGOs and community-based groups/organizations, must ensure 100 percent coverage of families and homes across Pakistan for delivery of family planning counselling and contraceptive services. The contraceptives should be easily available to general public free of cost at community access points. Political leaders, corporate sector, academia, judiciary, media, intelligentsia, civil society, religious leaders and youth must be sensitized about the overpopulation problem, so that they could take part in family planning campaigns. In Pakistan, religious leaders play a significant role in building the mindset of general public on any particular issue. So, religious leaders of all faiths must be engaged to advocate and endorse the national narrative on family planning. Family planning messages must be disseminated by the clerics in their sermons in the worship places.
—The writer is a former Programme Policy Advisor at National Commission on the Rights of Child, Govt of Pakistan, Islamabad.
