By IANS,
Islamabad: High population growth rate is undermining Pakistan’s economic progress, says Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
On World Population Day Monday, Gilani called for steps to check the rapid rise in population. The country’s population is over 170 million, half of which are women.
The prime minister said it was important to plan and balance population growth with country’s resources, equitably and prudently, reported the Associated Press of Pakistan.
He said Pakistan was the sixth most populous country in the world with the highest population growth rate at 2.03 percent among the SAARC countries, resulting in annual addition of 3.6 million people.
He said it was projected to reach 210.13 million by the year 2020,and would double in next 34 years.
Gilani said socio-economic gains already accomplished were largely diluted by the increase in population.
If the population grows faster than economic development, he added, the country would never be able to meet people’s needs for economic and social services.
“Arresting the population growth rate will, therefore, serve the twin objectives of increasing the nation’s capacity to save and invest and simultaneously improve the per capita availability of goods and social services,” he said.