Under the latest statistics, Pakistan becomes the fifth largest nations among the world and with its population increased from 40 million to 220 million in the last 73 years. The last census that took place in 2017 had a recorded population of 207 million while the current population under the 2017 census is recorded to be 221 million which is equivalent to 2.83% of the total world population based on the World-meter elaboration of the latest United Nations Data.
The United Nations reported that Pakistan’s population will expectedly rise to 400 million people by 2050 almost doubling the present number, making Pakistan the third most populous country of the world. The negative consequences of the large population will significantly worsen with the anticipated population increase.
The known saying of the American writer and professor, Sir Isaac Asimov, about overpopulation is “Democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity cannot survive it. Convenience and decency cannot survive it. As you put more and more people into the world, the value of life not only declines, but it disappears. It does not matter if someone dies.”
Overpopulation is perhaps the biggest predicament facing us. If we have a discussion of the major problems facing Pakistan nowadays like poverty, unemployment, socio economic problems etc. overpopulation is the main contributors to all issues which is the cause of concern in today’s world. The major factors responsible for overpopulation in Pakistan are early marriages, high fertility rates, preference of a son, religious constraints etc.
Let’s unfurl some of the major challenges the country is facing due to overpopulation,
• Pakistan has plenty of problems these days and unemployment is one of them. The people of Pakistan are considered highly talented and hardworking in the world but the engineers, doctors, scientists, accountants, technicians of Pakistan travel to foreign countries to earn their livelihood because the population is highly increased due to which the competition of job is quite high and all the people cannot get their due rights straightforwardly which cause numerous problems for the countrymen of Pakistan.
• Poverty is believed to be the leading cause of overpopulation. Since there is a gulf of a difference between the birth and the death rates, more people are being born than the ones dying which itself is the leading to the overpopulation of the country.
• Exhaustion of natural resources is also a factor contributing to overpopulation. It is the unequal and unreserved use of resources. The country has a limited capacity to generate raw materials and therefore, each year, the natural resources shortfall. In developing countries, over population causes stern rivalries to control resources.
• Overpopulation is also associated with the negative environmental and economic outcomes ranging from the impacts of over-farming, deforestation, and water pollution to eutrophication and global warming. It leads to increased industrialization and increased use of automobiles which causes environmental pollution.
• One of many menace, overpopulation also leads to eco-degradation by increasing air, water, soil and noise pollution, unhygienic conditions, with deforestation leading to floods and soil erosion. Rapid increase in population is creating increased pressure on the infrastructure, economy, environment etc.
The growing population in Pakistan has caused us many problems in terms of social, economic, and environmental ways, it is not just the public of Pakistan, the country caters to the largest numbers of immigrants in the world- especially the afghan refugees who have unignorably contributed to an increase in the outburst of population within the country.
Concluding the talk, the Pakistani government needs to resort ways to control it: by providing better education, by raising awareness of family planning, and by various ways before an unbanked number of people over flow in the limited territory and resources.
