As reported by the Economic Survey of Pakistan (ESP), the population growth rate of the country has fallen. As compared to 2018, the year that saw 2.4% population growth, 2019 saw a slight depletion in the growth rate as it stood at 1.89%. If the state’s plans come to fruition, the government foresees the population growth rate coming down to 1.5% by 2025 and 1.1% by the year 2030.
The ESP report claims that the country’s population is majorly composed of working-age individuals. People aged between 15 and 64 years account for 61.4% of the population and children aged between 5-14 years are 22.1 % of the population, whereas children up to 4 years old make up 12.1% of the population. The small percentage of children serves as further proof of a downward trend in the population.
The government has attributed this declining trend to easy access to better family planning programs and more frequent use of modern contraceptives. Which is supported by the report as it states that the contraceptive prevalence stands at 34.2% while the percentage of families not using it stand at 17%.
An action plan developed for 2019 up till 2024, based on the propositions of the Council of Common Interests, foresees growth in contraceptive prevalence rate from 34% to 50% in the next 5 years and up to 60% in the next 10 years. Furthermore, the total fertility rate is likely to be reduced as well, from 3.3 births per woman to 2.8 births in the next 5 years and 2.2 births per woman in the next 10 years.
Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world with  211.17 million people overall and a high population density of 265 per kilometer, beaten by China, India, USA, and Indonesia. Pakistan is a small country by area and the resources for a better living are always a question mark for us. Therefore, out of all the reductions occurring as of late in Pakistan, the one in the population is definitely the most welcomed one.
it’s not a reduction in population. population is still growing. it’s a reduction in the growth rate. also this is not based on a census so the figures may be wrong.
I suspect it is going to go further downward once bill gates corona vaccine is injected and male are sterilized.
Population growth in year 2020 will be 10%.
Pakistan needs to control its population. Pakistan is the only country in South Asia (apart from the failed state of Afghanistan) that has an extremely fertility rate of 3.4 children / woman and a population growth rate of around 2%. This is a ticking time bomb and a demographic disaster. Pakistan should achieve fertility rate below 2.1 as soon as possible to stabilize population.
– An Indian