SHAHID JAVED BURKI, former finance minister of Pakistan reviews the trends in Pakistan’s demographics and population policies in the wake of its six-fold growth in population since its inception in 1947 with a forecast of a further doubling over the next four decades for “Reaping the Dividend”, a joint study by Woodrow Wilson center’s Asia program and the fellowship fund of Pakistan.
In his wide-ranging essay titled “Historical trends in Pakistan’s demographics and population policy”, he reviews the historical trends in Pakistan’s population trajectory, the effects of large-scale migration and diasporas, growth projections, rapid urbanization and alternate future scenarios of reaping either a demographic dividend or a catastrophe for the population, which, at a median age of 21 was one of the youngest in the world.
He states that it was imperative for Islamabad to conduct a population census coupled with a household survey and then design an urban policy to enhance the human capital of the population and also address the issues arising out of rapid urbanization, failure of which would result in a high cost for Pakistan.
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