Similarly, according to the World Bank 's population projection, Pakistan 's population will be 342 million by 2050. Keeping both figures in mind, Pakistan 's population is likely to increase 157 million in coming three and half decades. World Bank has already categorised Pakistan as the sixth most populous country in the world and has ranked Pakistan as a lower middle income country accordingly. This tremendous increase will further push World Bank to rank Pakistan in an even lower category. The core logic would be the decrease in per capita income due to the division of the total gross domestic product (GDP) on an even larger population.
Unsustainable growth in population will have dire consequences on the existing socio-economic status of Pakistan. As a result, there is a dire need to take quick preventive actions, before we lose complete hold of the situation. The foremost step to be taken in this regard is to assess the existing family planning schemes, as why they have failed to achieve the desired results. We also need to understand that the service and support offered to us by nature in each geographical area is limited and it can only sustain certain population under its threshold.
Most importantly, growing population will directly increase the consumption of food and water. It will not be out of place to mention here that Pakistan is already suffering from water scarcity and this exponential increase in population will further exploit the situation.
According to "Pakistan Strategic Country Environment Assessment Report " published by World Bank, per capita water availability in country has decreased from 5000 cubic meters in 1951 to 1100 cubic meters at present. It is further expected to drop down to 700 cubic meters by 2025. Similarly, acute shortage of water will definitely put food availability under growing risk as well. According to Global Hunger Index report 2012, Pakistan was ranked 57 out of 79 countries in the world with a total score of 19.7 in year 2012. Although, the overall score for Pakistan has improved significantly in comparison to previous years with 25.5 score in year 1990. However, if we look at the broader picture, we will come to realise that Pakistan performed even worse than Swaziland, Nigeria, Liberia, Suriname and many others in year 2012.
Now,let 's move on to what can be done to control this deteriorating situation in Pakistan. It will not be out of place to mention here, that maintaining a decent standard of living including managing formal education, residence and jobs for such a huge population would be a real challenging task in coming decades. Keeping the seriousness of the issue in mind, it is pertinent to take few bold steps as a counter strategy to control this exponential growth in population. The key initiative would be to encourage people to opt for contraceptives.
According to the World Bank, contraceptive pervasiveness in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran and Turkey is over 60%, however, in Pakistan, it is found to be 50% and on top of that, many could not carry on, due to dearth of availability. Another must step to be taken is to enforce strict prohibition on child marriages across Pakistan. Besides being morally unjustifiable, it enables a prolong child bearing time span which is amongst the key factors behind this rapid increase in population. Similarly, awareness regarding contraceptive usage and availability should be ensured especially in rural areas of the country. A breakthrough in this scenario would be to make contraceptives available at free of cost in the length and breadth of Pakistan. Government of Pakistan can also seek help from religious scholars, local Clerics, school teachers, elders in each village and people who have some influence on society to motivate couples not to have more than two children. In addition, it is equally important to concentrate on the lower class within cities, who normally consider more children as an additional source of income. Similarly, the mind set to give birth to numerous babies for the sake of a single male child should also be condemned strongly. Most importantly, policy makers in Pakistan need to focus emphatically on ways to create job opportunities to accommodate rapidly growing population. The best way is to endorse the entrepreneurship culture in Pakistan which would not only promote small and medium enterprises but would also give boom to local business and stock markets as well. Most importantly, it will attract foreign investment which will serve as a catalyst for socio-economic development of Pakistan.
All in all, exponential growth in population is stressing out nature services, which are provided to us free of cost. A most common example is the decrease in per capita water availability. However, we still have time to pay heed to what's Cassandra's telling us and opt for sustainability. The first and foremost step to achieve sustainability is to put a hold on population growth. Remember, it is wise to feed a few in a decent manner than to starve a lot without having adequate sources to satisfy their basic needs.
Sustainable growth in population can be achieved through collective awareness creation among masses and to make contraception easily available for all at free of cost. Only this way, we would be able to achieve a green future for us and our coming generations.