THE United Nations estimates that by 2025 nearly half of Pakistan’s population will be living in the cities. It is a generally believed that rural-urban migration is beneficial for an economy as cities that are technologically advanced generate more revenue, thereby contributing a major chunk to the overall GDP and creating more job opportunities that result in lower unemployment.

For this reason alone, the more urbanised a country is, the more developed it is considered to be. However, in my opinion, it is not correct at all.

Predominantly, the cause of rapid rural-urban migration in Pakistan is owing to the scarcity of resources and job opportunities in rural areas which prompt people to move to the cities. There are a few reasons for increased opportunities in major urban centres. Cities are agglomerated economies, which means a large number of goods and services exist close to one another, and firms enjoy the benefit of cost reduction and increased efficiency.

Other than that, consumers in cities are educated and aware, unlike people in and from rural areas. As a result, companies try to be competitive in terms of providing superior quality. Finally, urban gigantism is also one reason for more working opportunities and improved living standards in the cities. Also, governments allocate heavier budgets to cities like Lahore and Karachi. Consequently, people migrate to such centres.

Urbanisation in developing countries is due to unequal growth opportunities and is considered a barrier to economic growth. Although people migrate from rural to urban areas to improve their quality of life, most of them are uneducated and unskilled people who cannot afford to improve their lifestyle. As a result, cities have a large number of people working in informal sectors and living in shantytowns.

The government must get rid of its bias towards the bigger cities, and should focus on making rural areas more liveable by making quality education accessible to people in the villages and by providing training to employees working in informal sectors. Pakistan is an agrarian society, and the government must acknowledge that by extending wage subsidies to the farmers.

Ayesha Muhammad
Hyderabad

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2021