May 5, 2005	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 25, 1426

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ISLAMABAD, May 4: Pakistan has become the sixth most- populated country with 151.6 million people.

Statistics, provided at the start of a three-day international ulema conference on population and development on Wednesday, showed that the country was facing a serious challenge to control its ever-increasing population. Since 1901 the population of the area, now constituting Pakistan, has increased nine-fold.

The annual population growth rate has risen from one per cent in the first three decades of the country to two per cent in the next three decades. During the 1960s and 1970s, the rate even crossed three per cent, the statistics said.

In absolute numbers, almost 109 million people have been added to the population during the last 43 years.

In the country, 3.9 million children are born and a million people die each year, adding about 2.9 people to the total population.

If the population continues to grow at the current level with no drastic reduction in the fertility rate, Pakistan would simply not be able to bring about any improvement in the well- being of its population. At two per cent annually, the country’s population will be doubled in 35 years.

The statistics further revealed that Pakistan would be facing serious shortages in the years to come if the present rate of natural population increase persisted. Just to maintain the current per capita level services in various sectors, the nation in 2010 will need 3,057 additional health facilities, 39,709 primary schools, 4.6 million housing units and 8.6 million employment opportunities, besides essentials like food, water, transport which the country is already deficient in.

The state of mother and child health in the country continues to pose a great challenge. An average woman gives birth to four children, five per cent of all births being in the age group of 15-19 years. More than half of them consume less than the recommended calories.

The conference was informed that more than three-fourth of the births in the country took place at home, and 80 per cent of them were attended by untrained birth attendants or relatives. Control of population remained a crucial factor for health of the mother and child.

On the basis of the official poverty line, slightly less than one-third of Pakistanis lived below the line in 2001.

Distribution of household income reveals that more than 40 per cent of the income was held by 20 per cent of the households. As per human development index, Pakistan is ranked 144th among 175 countries. As per human poverty index, Pakistan is ranked 65the among 94 developing countries.

Pakistan has a youthful population. About half of the population is under the age of 20 and three out of four Pakistani households have one or more young people of age 10-24 years.

According to statistics, the census of 1998 counted 56 million children under the age of 15 years. There were another 13 million adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19 years and 11 million youth were aged between 20 to 24 years.

Of the 15 largest countries in the world by population size, Pakistan has by far the youngest population.

A vast majority, 65 per cent of the adolescents remain unaware of even simple matters like physical change in boys and menstruation in girls. About three quarters of young people think that this information should be given to them before hand.

Statistics say gender disparities in the country are severe and pervasive. Deep-rooted cultural and institutional constraints prevent Pakistani women from playing a fulfilling role in the development of the society. Their presence in public sphere is condemned under the guise of cultural and religious values, thus making their contribution outside the home difficult, if not impossible.

Pakistan has observed extremely high rates of urbanization which have had enormous impact on environment degradation. The urban population has more than doubled since the independence of the country.

According to UN estimation, Karachi would be among the world’s 10 largest cities by year 2010.