Pakistan’s Population Bomb..!

Amongst the tide of dismal economic data released ahead of thebudget presentation are building the currents of the next crisis that could inundate Pakistan.

While media attention remains fixated – rightly so – on shorter-term problems such as the ever-growing threat of militancy, the cresting polarization of society, a recurring power crisis and an inflation rate that only seems to rise, the greater demographic problem facing the country is too often relegated to the sidelines. While actions taken to address the population explosion in Pakistan may appear less urgent – and will yield results evident only in the long-term – action must be taken now lest the currents building around this crisis crest into a tsunami.

The statistics are sobering, according to a piece in The Express Tribune:

• At 2.1 percent, Pakistan has the dubious honour of havingSouth Asia’s highest population growth rate.
• On average, two people died and eight were born every minute in Pakistan in 2010, meaning the country’s population increased by six people every minute of the year, on average.
• This translates into a growth in the Pakistani population of half a million people in the last year. This would be added to the estimated population of 177.1 million as of July 1st 2010.

The implications of these statistics are both enormous and alarming. While power shortages, inflation and unemployment may be the current fault lines upon which the country’s economy is stumbling, adding this many people to the population every year could stretch even the strongest and most vibrant economy to the max. This issue needs immediate attention. And this need is very strong..!