The Pakistan Demographic Survey (PDS)—2020 depicts that the expectancy of life at birth in Pakistan is 65 years — 64.5 for males and 65.5 for females.
However, the life expectancy increases across ages one to four in both males and females — 70.6 and 72 respectively, and 71.3 overall, according to the PDS data published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The survey determined the major cause of death to be cardiovascular diseases (14.74 percent), followed by fever (9.28 percent), paralysis (6.45 percent), cancers (5.5 percent), and diabetes (5.63 percent). Additionally, the details about the leading causes of death in 2020 revealed that cardiovascular diseases (ischemic heart disease and strokes) are the top global cause of death.
Life Expectancy at Birth is a summary measure index that is obtained from a life table. It shows the average number of years that a person is expected to live from the time of birth if they experience currently prevailing age-specific death rates throughout their life. The expectation of life at birth is independent of the age structure of a population and provides a more reliable index for international comparisons of the levels of a country’s mortality, social, and economic conditions.
Females have higher chances of survivorship in almost all the countries of the world. In the past, female life expectancy was lower than that of males in Pakistan but this universal pattern has been observed in Pakistan as well in recent times. Female life expectancy is higher than male life expectancy, and females have lower death rates than males for most ages.
Age-Specific Fertility Rate is a refined way to measure fertility trends. Fertility rates are calculated for specific age groups to determine the differences in fertility behaviors at different ages or for comparisons over time. In general, fertility is comparatively low among women of ages less than 20 years and after 39 years, and is concentrated in the ages between 20 and 39.
The distribution of the Population for PDS—2020 depicts that the proportion of children under 15 years is 35.5 percent for females and 37.84 percent for males. The census figure for 2017 indicates that the proportion of children under 15 is 39.65 and 40.95 percent for females and males respectively. The proportion of old persons (65 years and over) is quite low. Only about three to four percent of the population falls in this age group, and the majority of the population lies in the age group of 15 to 64 years, which comprises 57.18 percent males and 57.78 percent females.
A comparison of the PDS—2020 with the Census 2017 shows that the percentage of the dependent population under 15 is declining and the percentage of the population ranging from 15 to 64 years of age, in which the working class is expected to be highly concentrated, is rising slowly.
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) measures the mortality below one year of age and ii the number of infant deaths during a calendar year per 1,000 live births in the same year. It is an important indicator to judge socio-economic conditions, cultural factors, status of hygiene, and the availability and utilization of medical services. IMR has been declining in Pakistan but is still high. It is much higher in rural areas (59) than in urban areas (50) where better neo-natal and post-natal facilities are available. The Male IMR is 58 which is higher than the Female IMR of 55 in all areas.
Crude Birth Rate (CBR) is the number of births in a year in a population of 1,000 and is a simple way to measure the current fertility level in any population. The CBR obtained from the PDS—2020 for the year 2020 is 27 per 1,000 persons, and the PDHS figure indicates that it was 29 in 2017-18. Like IMR, CBR is higher in rural areas (29) as compared to urban areas (23).
