The rising population growth is critical when discussing the causes of poverty in Pakistan. 40% of Pakistan’s population lives below poverty line and any rise in inflation effects this group the most. But it is the same group that has been ignoring the fact that small families can help them cope there problems more effectively. For these people it is difficult to even pay for fundamental of livelihood including food and shelter. Therefore expecting an extra expenditure on education cannot be considered. This leads towards rising illiteracy rate further distressing the economic functionalities in the long run. Every day a new data providing statistics of rising inflation and poverty ratios is revealed in Pakistan. A backward review gives an impression that the ongoing political turmoil is one of the major factors. But a glance on the culture adopted by local people designates that the rising population and illiteracy are other attributes that work as a catalyst in forcing the economy to quench.
Today the rising food price is affecting almost 77 million people in Pakistan. And with this figure in place it can be stated that 17 million people are food insecure. There is a need of more than 23.3 million dollars to spend on the daily needs of the poor people. In order to counter economic suicides the real challenge lies in the implementation of strategies and plans made by concerned officialdoms. Any success depends upon the constant monitoring and proper execution of assigned programmes. A struggle for economic maturation is in place since 1990 but till now macro economic stability has not been achieved. Due to the poor performance of usual indicators of economic stability the country is dependent on external financial resources. 1990 is considered as a “lost decade” in economic history of Pakistan yet it saw a reviving phase which too did not last for long. In order to avoid such results and to tackle the menace of poverty, the matter in question is growing population and low literacy rate in Pakistan.
With 40% living below poverty line, growing population with a rate of 2.6 % and unemployment rate almost 12% are enough to exhaust economic resources. In order to have better per capita income and palliate poverty, the rising trends of population growth must be controlled. Education trends based on specialized fields have to be encouraged. Economic expert’s say that if these adverse trends continue the economic downfall in Pakistan will accelerate its pace in near future.
