FAISALABAD:
Countries like Italy, Japan and Germany are concerned about their ageing rate and low population growth rate. At the same time, developing countries like Pakistan are dealing with a surge in population. The country has been placed at the fifth position in the list of most populous countries in the world.
A country’s population is considered an asset since it brings an additional amount of earnings, adds to productivity levels, and is used as human capital to strengthen the economy. But Pakistan’s population has long been a liability due to low productivity. The truth is that Pakistan neither has the resources nor the opportunities to cater to the 225 million registered people. This is because we spend a meagre 2% of our GDP on education and are ranked 2nd in the list of out-of-school children. Above all, we have failed to adequately invest in human capital and the majority of the labour class is unable to make a decent living because they are uneducated and unskilled. Overpopulation breeds wicked problems such as unemployment, poverty, inequality, illiteracy, conflicts, etc. These problems in turn give rise to social evils such as crime and terrorism.
The need of the hour is to regulate and control the ever-increasing population through various methods such as promoting family planning. The government should bring religious stakeholders on board to quash the myth that population control is a Western conspiracy against Muslims. Elected representatives must assume responsibility rather than blame people for their irrational behaviour.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2022.
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