2024-07-18 14:33:41
Islamabad: Pakistan is drowning in poverty. The Shahbaz Sharif government keeps asking for alms from China, Saudi Arabia and the International Monetary Fund to run the country. Even in this period of poverty, Pakistanis are at the forefront in the world in terms of producing children. According to the latest digital population census report released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan has recorded the highest population growth in the South Asian region and globally. The speed at which the country’s population is growing, the possibility of it doubling by 2050 has increased.
8.7 million minorities
There are 21,260,079 Afghans, Bengalis, Chinese and other foreign nationals living in the country, while around 8,700,000 Hindus, Christians, Ahmadis and other religious minorities live in the country. The report also pointed out that 25,370,700 children aged 5 to 16 are currently out of school. The Bureau of Statistics stressed that the literacy rate in Pakistan has reached a record high since 2017, with overall literacy at 61%, 68% among men and 53% among women.
Most foreign Afghans
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics report, the total number of Afghans living in Pakistan is 1,923,453 as of 2023. Of these, 939,878 are living in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 310,832 in Punjab and 145,875 in Sindh. Additionally, 474,812 Afghan residents live in Balochistan, while 52,056 Afghan nationals live in the federal capital Islamabad.
3.56 lakh citizens of China
Chinese nationals number 356,800 and Bengali residents number 26,900, as well as 172,158 foreigners of other nationalities. The bureau said Pakistan has recorded one of the highest population growth rates in the region and globally, raising expectations of the population doubling by 2050.