Economic Survey: Govt puts population at 188.2m

The projected population for the year 2014 is 188.2 million, of which the youth population is approximately 56%.

A number of social indicators account for the growth or lack thereof of the economy. The Economic Survey 2013-14 sheds light on three main factors that play a role in economic growth.

Population

According to the Economic Survey, the projected population for the year 2014 is 188.2 million, of which the youth population consists of approximately 56% of the total population.

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In regard to population control, the present government’s family planning programmes; Family Welfare Center, Regional Training Institutes, Mobile Services Units and Health Services Centers, will assist in reducing the fertility rate, infant mortality rate, population growth and the maternal mortality rate in the country, according to the document.

Empowering the unemployed youth

Under the Prime Minister Youth Initiative, the government aims to create opportunities for the unemployed youth in order to spur economic growth.

The programmes for students from less developed areas include Youth Training Scheme, Free Loan Scheme, Youth Skill Development, Business Loan Scheme, Provision of Laptop Scheme and the Free Re-imbursement Scheme.

This will further focus on “capturing the population dividend” as well as make positive use of the potential of the youth population.

Independent analysts insist successive governments have deliberately delayed a comprehensive employment survey.

Labour Force

Pakistan’s labour force consists of 59.74 million people, which has an added 2.5 million people as compared to the figures in 2010-11.

The main area of labour force employment works in the rural area where the dominant sector is agriculture.

The agriculture sector had witnessed a decrease in the total labour force from 45% in 2010-11 to 43.7% in 2012-13.

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On the other hand, the labour force in the manufacturing sector has risen from 13.7% in 2010-11 to 14.1% in 2012-13.

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However, the overall rate of unemployment has also increased. During 2010-11 it stood at 6% and had increased to 6.2% in 2012-13.

A breakdown of the unemployment rate for rural areas increased from 4.7% in 2010-11 to 5.5% in 2012-13, while urban unemployment remained 8.8% in 2012-13.

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There has been an increase in unemployment due to low growth and few job opportunities as well as a rise in the population.