Few resources in the past have been devoted to socio-economic development and infrastructure projects.
NIDDERAU, GERMANY: This is with reference to Dr Pervez Tahir’s article “Dismal economic performance” (September 7). The writer has given a good assessment of the country’s economic situation. I feel it is important to know about how poverty levels have fared in recent years and I will try to highlight some key facts and figures here. With a per capita GDP of over $3,000 compared with $2,600 previously, the World Bank considers Pakistan a medium-income country. It is also recorded as a medium development country on the Human Development Index, 2010. Pakistan has a large informal economy, which the government is trying to document and assess. Approximately 56 per cent of adults are literate and life expectancy is about 64 years. The population, about 168 million in 2007, is growing at about 1.8 per cent.
Relatively few resources in the past had been devoted to socio-economic development or infrastructure projects. Inadequate provision of social services, high birth rates and immigration from nearby countries in the past have contributed to the persistence of poverty. A recent study concluded that the fertility rate in Pakistan peaked in the 1980s and has since fallen sharply.
Sharif Lone
Published in The Express Tribune, September 8th, 2012.
