A new Population Council study, backed by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), finds Pakistan’s fertility decline has stalled and shows little change since about 2006. The report, “Unlocking the Stall in Fertility Decline and Socio-Economic Development in Pakistan,” says fertility fell rapidly in earlier decades but has since plateaued amid sluggish social and economic progress, Dawn reported.
Researchers identify several drivers of the stall: entrenched cultural preferences for larger families, weak acceptance and availability of modern contraception even among younger people, persistently low levels of female education, high child mortality, and slow income growth. Population Council Country Director Dr. Zeba Sathar noted Pakistan is one of the few South Asian countries where fertility has remained essentially unchanged for nearly 20 years, averaging about 3.6 children per woman. She warned that without stronger gains in women’s education, empowerment and economic participation, fertility is likely to stay high and hamper development.
Dr. John P. M. Bongaarts, former Population Council vice president, emphasized that other countries achieved lower population growth alongside economic progress, and cautioned that unmet family planning needs and gaps in voluntary reproductive health services could leave Pakistan facing heavy population pressures.
UNFPA Country Representative Dr. Luay Shabaneh said women increasingly prefer smaller families but face inconsistent policies, weak health systems and insufficient contraceptive supplies, and urged nationwide expansion of the Lady Health Workers programme to broaden access.
The study concludes that to reverse the stall by 2035 Pakistan would need to halve child mortality, double the share of women completing secondary education, and reduce poverty and inequality, Dawn reported.
(This report is based on a syndicated feed and is published as received; the publisher assumes no responsibility for its accuracy or completeness.)
