OF OVERPOPULATION IN PAKISTAN BY MR.ALLAH DAD KHAN

What Are The Causes ,Effects of Overpopulation in

Pakistan By

Mr. Allah Dad Khan

WHAT IS POPULATION?

In human biology, the whole numbers of residents take up an area (such as a country or the world) and frequently being changed by increases (births and migrations) and losses (deaths and migrations).

WHAT IS OVER POPULATION?

The term “Over Population” or “Population Explosion” is used to express the idea of more population for fewer resources

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES, EFFECTS AND MEASURES OF OVER-POPULATION IN PAKISTAN?

POPULATION SITUATION IN PAKISTAN:

Population of Pakistan 2015 As of 1 January 2016, the population of

Pakistan was estimated to be 190 814 320 people. This is an increase of 1.59 % (2 982 765 people) compared to population of 187 831 555 the year before. In 2015 the natural increase was positive, as the number of births exceeded the number of deaths by 3 360 307. Due to external migration, the population declined by 377 541. The sex ratio of the total population was 1.033 (1 033 males per 1 000 females) which is higher than global sex ratio

PAKISTAN POPULATION 2016

During 2016 Pakistan population is projected to increased by 3 030 131 people and reach 193 844 451 in the beginning of 2017. The natural increase is expected to be positive, as the number of births will exceed the number of deaths by 3 413 668. If external migration will remain on the previous year level, the population will be declined by 383 537 due to the migration reasons. It means that the number of people who leave Pakistan to settle permanently in another country (emigrants) will prevail over the number of people who move into the country (to which they are not native) in order to settle there as permanent residents (immigrants).

PAKISTAN POPULATION HISTORY 2010-2016

2010 173 149 306 1.80 %

2011 176 166 353 1.74 %

2012 179 160 111 1.70 %

2013 182 005 174 1.59 %

2014 184 895 416 1.59 %

2015 187 831 555 1.59 %

2016 190 814 320 1.59 %

Causes of Overpopulation

BELIEF THAT GOD IS RAZIQ.  Muslim have a firm

belief that God gives food to everyone even to an ant living in a stone. So why reduce the size of family?

NO OR LESS OPPORTUNITY COST

71 % Women are not active in economic activities in Pakistan. Women have no any economic loss while having a childe. Opportunity cost for having a childe is very low or zero in Pakistan.

ENERGY CRISIS:

Could you believe country with plenty of natural resources and atomic power is lacking of energy crisis? There are many sources of producing of energy in Pakistan but due to lack of proper planning and efforts Pakistan is having problem of energy crisis. The government of Pakistan is unable to provide electricity to residential areas in Pakistan than how can energy or electricity can be provided to factories and industries.

LOW PER CAPITA INCOME

We know that per capita income derives by dividing national income on total population. Low per capita income shows population explosion. Per capita income in Pakistan is $ 1254.

LOW STANDARD OF LIVING.  It is an established

fact that people with low income have more children. The poor persons are not afraid of a further fall in their standard of living as a result of large number of children.

TROPICAL CLIMATE . The warm climate

where puberty is attained at an early age

UNEMPLOYMENT

Unemployment is also a symbol of over population. It is difficult to adjust the huge population in economic activities. Rate of unemployment is 5.6 % in Pakistan

HIGH POPULATION GROWTH RATE

The birth rate is very high which shows that our country is over populated. Rapid growth rate of population is 2.1 % in Pakistan.

SOURCE OF POWER

A single person cannot sport his large family in developing countries like Pakistan. He thinks to have more children to be more earning hands.

THE INFLUX OF REFUGEES

An arrival of refugees from India and especially from Afghanistan is also resulting in more population.

DROP IN DEATH RATE

Reduction in death rate is another cause of over population. Death rate in 1951 was 2.8 % while it is just 0.73 % in 2010-11.

FEMALE ILLETRACY Female illiteracy is

high in Pakistan. Illiterate females are more likely to have more children than educated ones who have materialistic goals and can benefit from Family Planning Programmes and birth control.

JOINT FAMILY SYSTEM Joint family system

lesser the bringing up of children on the parents . They having minimum responsibility,they had tend to produce more children

RURAL POPULATION Since 60% of Pakistan's

population is concentrated around the rural areas and suburbs where people generally rely on manual labor and are usually semi skilled or unskilled. Having more members of he family means more helping hands and a greater potential to earn. This causes bigger numbers of families.

LOW STANDARD OF LIVING

It is observed that in Pakistan people with low income have more children. It is difficult to support such large size family. It results in low living standard of the population

DESIRE FOR A SON Desire for a son is

common amongst these people as they are not well off and would prefer a child who would grow up to help them in old age. These people keep on having children until they get a son.

FARMERS FAMILY Farmers in rural

areas cannot afford mechanisation in their farms and are intent on having more children so that they can have more helping hands.

WARM AND TROPICAL CLIMATE

Due to the warm climate, youth and maturity is attained at an early age. It also results in rapid population growth.

ABSENCE OF FAMILY PLANNING

Effective family planning is not available in Pakistan. People are not familiar with the methods of family planning. They feel hesitation to consult a doctor

JOINT FAMILY SYSTEM

There is competition among the family member in accordance with the family size in joint family system. It is also a cause for rapid growth of children.

EARLY MARRIAGES

 Early marriages are a common feature in rural areas of Pakistan.The marriages take place usually between 16 to 22 years of age in Pakistan. The duration for re-productivity is very lengthy.

ILLITERACY

Due to lack of education, people are not aware of with the economic problems caused by high birth rate. Literacy rate is 57.7 % in Pakistan.

INEFFICIENT POPULATION

Dependency ratio is very high in our county. Only 32.17 % population take part in economic activities and other 67.83 % depends upon them. It views as a pressure on land and population expulsion.

EXISTANCE OF POLYGAMY PRACTICE

Polygamy is the condition or practice of having more than one wife at one time. The existence of polygamy also contributes to the increase in population.

URBANIZATION

Due to rural urban migration and lack of facilities in cities, there are many social problems. It results in increase in urban population. Higher rate of urbanization is an indicator of over population.

LOW SAVING & INVESTMENT

The rate of saving and investment of GDP are only 9.5% and 13.4% respectively in Pakistan. Rate of investment and employment is also very low due to low rate of savings. So these indicate that Pakistan is over populated.

POOR NUTRITION People in Pakistan

get poor diet, which affects the health and working capacity. It reduces the per capita income, which is a sign of population explosion.

CONCEPT OF LARGE FAMILY Large family size is

considered as a source of power to influence people and to control the persons around them. People feel pride to have a large family.

VICIOUS CIRCLE OF POVERTY

Very high population growth rate reduces the per capita income, saving, investment and productivity. A country is thus caught up in vicious circle of poverty. Vicious circle of poverty is also a symbol of over population.

UNIVERSALITY OF MARRIAGE

All men and women of marriageable age enter into wedlock. As such the birth rate is higher in Pakistan.

ABSENCE OF OTHER ACTIVITIES

There is absence of recreational facilities and employment opportunities in Pakistan. Time passing and any other enjoyments in Pakistan are very costly. So, people have a more time to spend with their wives.

RESISTANCE TO POPULATION CONTROL DRIVE.  The population

control drive has not been pursed by the Government of Pakistan in right manner due to resistance on ethical grounds.

Effects of Over Population in Pakistan

DEPLETION OF NATURAL RESOURCES:  The effects of overpopulation are

quite severe. The first of these is the depletion of resources. The Earth can only produce a limited amount of water and food, which is falling short of the current needs. Most of the environmental damage being seen in the last fifty odd years is because of the growing number of people on the planet. They are cutting down forests, hunting wildlife in a reckless manner, causing pollution and creating a host of problems. Those engaged in talking about overpopulation have noticed that acts of violence and aggression outside of a war zone have increased tremendously while competing for resources.

DEGRADATION OF ENVIRONMENT : With the overuse of coal, oil

and natural gas, it has started producing some serious effects on our environment. Rise in the number of vehicles and industries have badly affected the quality of air. Rise in amount of CO2 emissions leads toglobal warming. Melting of polar ice caps, changing climate patterns, rise in sea level are few of the consequences that we might we have to face due to environment pollution

CONFLICTS AND WARS:  Overpopulation in developing

countries puts a major strain on the resources it should be utilizing for development. Conflicts over water are becoming a source of tension between countries, which could result in wars. It causes more diseases to spread and makes them harder to control. Starvation is a huge issue facing the world and the mortality rate for children is being fuelled by it. Poverty is the biggest hallmark we see when talking about overpopulation. All of this will only become worse if solutions are not sought out for the factors affecting our population. We can no longer prevent it, but there are ways to control it.

RISE IN UNEMPLOYMENT: When a country

becomes overpopulated, it gives rise to unemployment as there fewer jobs to support large number of people. Rise in unemployment gives rise to crime as people will steal various items to feed their family and provide them basic amenities of life.

HIGH COST OF LIVING: As difference between

demand and supply continues to expand due to overpopulation, it raises the prices of various commodities including food, shelter and healthcare. This means that people have to pay more to survive and feed their families.

INCREASED GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE

According to the Center for Biological Diversity "The largest single threat to the ecology and biodiversity of the planet in the decades to come will be global climate disruption due to the buildup of human-generated greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

LOSS OF FRESH WATER

According to UN-Water 75% of planet Earth is covered in water. 97.5% of that is ocean and 2.5% is freshwater. 70% of freshwater is divided into glaciers and ice caps and the remaining 30% into land surface water, such as rivers, lakes, ponds and groundwater. Most of the freshwater resources are either unreachable or too polluted, leaving less than 1% of the world's freshwater,or about 0.003% of all water on Earth readily accessible for direct human use. According to the Global Outlook for Water Resources to the Year 2025, it is estimated that by 2025, more than half of the world population will be facing water-based vulnerability and human demand for water will account for 70% of all available freshwater

SPECIES EXTINCTION

Human beings are currently causing the greatest mass extinction of species since the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago at rates 1000 to 10,000 times faster than normal.The 2012 update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species shows that of the 63,837 species examined worldwide, 19,817 are threatened with extinction - nearly a third of the total. If present trends continue, scientists warn that within a few decades, at least half of all plant and animal species on Earth will be extinct as a result of climate change, habitat loss pollutionacidifying oceans, invasive species, over-exploitation of natural resources overfishing poachingand human overpopulation

LESS FREEDOM, MORE RESTRICTIONS

As population densities increase, laws, which serve as a primary social mediator of relations between people, will more frequently regulate interactions between humans and develop a need for more rules and restrictions to regulate these interactions. Aldous Huxley predicted in 1958that democracy is threatened due to overpopulation and could give rise to totalitarian style governments and it turns out he was righ

MORE INTENSIVE FARMING PRACTICES

Intensive farming practices produce more and cheaper food per acre and animal, which has helped feed a booming human population and may prevent surrounding land from being converted into agricultural land, but has grown to become the biggest threat to the global environment through the loss of ecosystem services and global warming, has led to the emergence of new parasites and re-emergence of parasites previously considered to be 'under control' by creating the conditions for parasite growth and is responsible for 80% of tropical deforestation

ELEVATED CRIME RATE

As human overpopulation drives resources and basic necessities, such as food and water, to become scarcer there will be increased competitiveness for these resources which leads to elevated crime rates due to drug cartels and theft by people in order to survive. As Aisha Tariq of the Pakistan Times states.It has been observed that the countries which have balanced population, crime rate is very low in such regions. When people are not provided with the basic necessities, it elevates crime rate.

LANDFILLS

For decades, many landfill managers have been emphasizing just how quickly they are running out of space. The more people there are on the planet, the more waste is being produced. Some of this waste is quite toxic, and even landfills which are double-lined are finding that some toxic substances are leaching into the soil and the groundwater supply. This poses even more of a risk to our freshwater supply, and can contribute to the decimation of many species sharing the earth today

MEASURES TO CONTROL OVER POPULATION

PROPER FAMILY PLANNING

The high birth rate i. e., 2.1% should be discouraged to reduce the population size. Effective and successful family planning should be introduced.

BEST HOSPITAL FACILITIES

More contraceptive medicines should be introduced to people. By using these medicines; people will control the birth rate.

Government should open the health clinics in all the regions of the country. These clinics will be useful for reducing the high birth rate.

LATE MARRIAGES

Marriages should take place in late age to control the rapidly rising population. It will be helpful to control the over population

BETTER EDUCATION:  One of the first

measures is to implement policies reflecting social change. Educating the masses helps them understand the need to have one or two children at the most. Families that are facing a hard life and choose to have four or five children should be discouraged.

HIGH LITERACY RATE

Government should provide the more educational facilities to the backward population. This will provide the true picture of the economy, resources and population growth rate. Literacy rate is 57.7% in Pakistan.

BIODIVERSITY

Another problem we face is the lack of biodiversity. As the population grows, there is more demand for certain plants: trees for paper, food, plant fibers for clothing, etc. We thought the solution was to simply re-plant whatever we consume. This has led to problems, however, in biodiversity. Because many of the plants and crops we sow are of the same age and genetic makeup, they are more susceptible to problems from disease and pests.

TAX BENEFITS OR CONCESSIONS: Government of various countries might have

to come with various policies related to tax exemptions to curb overpopulation. One of them might be to waive of certain part of income tax or lowering rates of income tax for those married couples who have single or two children. As we humans are more inclined towards money, this may produce some positive results

WOMEN EMPLOYMENT

Only 29 % women take an active part in the economic activities in Pakistan. They live full time at home and have no opportunity cost to have a baby

INCREASE IN EMPLOYMENT

More employment opportunities must be provided to the young, talented, trained and educated population. It will be helpful to decrease the fast birth rate.

PROVISION OF CREDIT FACILITIES

Government should provide the easy credit facilities to population to adjust the existing population in economic activities. It will lead to reduce the population explosion. 

GROWTH OF SMALL SCALE AND COTTAGE INDUSTRIES

Growth and development of small-scale and cottage industries is also necessary to reduce the pressure on land. It will provide more jobs to men and also to women.