ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has witnessed a large number of people shifting from underdeveloped rural to urban areas, which has overcrowded the main cities in all the provinces.
Dr Ayaz Ahmad from the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Islamabad, said while talking to WealthPK that the urban population is growing at a fast pace, which has put burden on the available facilities. He said the increasing population has increased the cost of living in urban centres. The costs of rental houses witnessed a particular increase in such a situation.
He mentioned that 14.8% of urban households in Pakistan were tenants in 2008, and this number grew to 22% in 2020. At the provincial level, Sindh province is leading, with 26.1% of families living on rent, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (23%), Balochistan (22.5%), and Punjab (19%).
Dr Ayaz said the rural population often remains deprived of basic necessities of life such as clean drinking water, education, health, road infrastructure, transport etc, due to which they move to cities and have a quality life.
He suggested that the government should focus on the development of rural areas by providing basic facilities such as water, healthcare, education, roads, transport, quality food etc. He said the government should also focus on the development of the job sector in rural areas by installing industries, offices, markets etc. When local people get these facilities in their home towns, they will never migrate to cities.
Dr Ayaz said that in developing countries like Pakistan, a high population growth rate has negative consequences for economic development. In Pakistan, he said, a high rate of population growth means poverty, illiteracy, low standard of living, lack of prosperity, and a vicious cycle of poverty, unequal wealth distribution, diseases, etc.
Rising urban populations pose serious challenges for job markets and service providers. Advanced telecommunications in cities provide significant benefits to Pakistani society. The government can handle the urban transition in a better way by funding literacy and vocational training programmes. In addition, the private sector’s efforts must be aided to provide city residents with basic services.
“We can achieve a sustainable population when communities, governments and organisations act to enable people to choose smaller families through women empowerment and easy access to high-quality education and family planning. By doing so, we can ensure that, in the future, everyone can have a decent standard of living on a healthy planet,” Dr Ayaz said.
