ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government is taking proactive measures to control population growth and fertility rates, according to the Economic Survey 2023-24, presented by the country’s Finance Minister on Tuesday.
It said the rapid population growth and high fertility rates are straining the country’s economic development significantly and its ability to provide basic services like education, healthcare and social protection.
According to the Economic Survey, the government creates awareness through media campaigns and provides Family Planning services through Reproductive Health Services Centers (RHS-A), Family Welfare Centers (FWC), Regional Training Institutes, and Mobile Service Units.
In 1998 the urban population of Pakistan was 63.56 percent. In 2017 and 2023 the urban population was 61.18 percent.
In 1998 the rural population of the country was 32.5 percent, in 2017 the population was 36.44 percent and in the year 2023 was 38.82 percent.
Pakistan’s urban population increased from 75.67 million to 93.75 million between 2017 and 2023, making it one of the most urbanized nations in the region.
Almost 39 percent of Pakistan’s population lives in urban areas and it strongly impacts the country’s economy and development, leading to changes in areas like labour market opportunities, education, health, family structures, environment management, governance and security systems.
This trend is observed in most provinces of the country except in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the share of the urban population decreased from 16.55 percent in 2017 to 15.01 percent in 2023.
Similarly, the urban population in Islamabad declined from 50.37 percent in 2017 to 46.90 percent in 2023. The data shows that from 2017 to 2023, the share of the urban population in Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan increased due to better education, health, and earning opportunities in urban areas.
Among all the provinces, Sindh has the highest urban population, from 51.89 percent in 2017 to 53.73 percent in 2023. Punjab stands second with an increase from 36.86 percent to 40.70 percent in the same period. Similarly, Balochistan’s urban population rose from 27.62 percent in 2017 to 30.96 percent in 2023.
However, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had a different trend as the percentage of the rural population increased due to the merger of FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
