Nikkei Asia, November 18 report, Pakistan's population is growing rapidly, which may severely hinder the process of poverty reduction and improvement of people's livelihoods. The latest census results show that Pakistan's population reached 241 million in 2023, a significant increase from 207 million in 2017, with an annual growth rate as high as 2.55%. The United Nations predicts that by 2053, Pakistan's population may surpass that of the United States, becoming the third most populous country in the world, after India and China. However, at the same time as the population is expanding, Pakistan's economy has not achieved synchronized development - the supply and demand in the market for goods, services, and employment are imbalanced, and income growth for all social strata has not kept pace with inflation, leading to a stagnation in improving people's livelihoods. According to World Bank data, nearly 45% of Pakistan's population lives below the poverty line of $4.20 per day. A World Bank report released in April explicitly warned that under the dual pressures of slowing wage and employment growth and high population growth rates, Pakistan's poverty reduction efforts will have little breakthrough in the short term. Pakistan has also tried to control population growth in the past, including establishing population welfare programs, expanding family planning services, and increasing publicity, but the influence of Islam on Pakistani society is huge, and its doctrines generally oppose controlling population growth, leading to limited effectiveness of these measures. Experts believe that in addition to conventional means, the Pakistani government should also face religious opposition directly to control rapid population growth.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849488972236811/
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