Approximately 13 Crore 6 Lakh

7/28/2019 Approximately 13 Crore 6 Lakh

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Approximately 13 crore 6 lakh. But according to latest estimates till March 2008, our

population has increased to 1509 lakh.

After analyzing the above mentioned statistics it is clear that population of our country is

rapidly increasing than other developed countries of the world. As is evident that in 1951 our

population was 3.5 crore but in 1998 our population has increased to 1306 lakh. It means that

in the last 47 years our population increased by four times and this is increasing rabidly.

POPULATION OF PAKISTAN & GROWTH OF

IT CENSUS WISE:

YEAR POPULATION

(In lakh)

% + OR -

1951 338 20.2%+

1961 430 27.1%+

1972 653 33.0%+

1981 842 29.1%+

1998 1306 55.0%+

MID 2008 1609 59.4%+

It is also estimated by the experts that according to1981 census the growth rate was 3% butthe government took many measures & thus now every year it is decreasing, March 2008, ithas decreased to 2.2% as is event from the following table:


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% OF POPULATION GROWTH IN PAKISTAN:

(1981 to 2008)

YEAR OF

CENSUS

POPULATION IN

LAKH

% INCREASE

1981 842 3.0%

1990 1080 2.6%

1998 1306 2.3%

Mid 2OO8estimate

1609 2.2%

According to the statistics it becomes clear that there was not any considerable increaseaccording to the 1981 census in different Pakistan provinces, and areas. For example there is

a slight increase in the population of NWFP, Sindh & Federal capital, Islamabad. NWFP 13.1to 13.4 Sindh 22.6 to 23.0 & Islamabads population increased 0.4 to 0.6% where as in

Punjab, FATA, Balochistan areas there was decrease in population. For example Punjab 56.2to 55.6, FATA 2.6 to 2.4, Balochistan 5.1 to 5.0 is noticed. This kind of slight variation in the

population in inside or outside the country shows migration of people.


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CAUSES FOR THE GROWTH OF POPULATION

IN PAKISTAN:

Pakistan has one of the highest rates of population growth in the world. It was 3.5% perannum during 1961-72 and 3.1% during 1972-81. The present rate of growth of population isroughly estimated at 2.9%. By the turn of the century it goes up to 150 million much morethan the resources of the country can bear. Demographers have indicated the followingreasons for this phenomenal rate of growth:

1)Hot climate:

The climate of our country is hot. So our children become adults soon. As they reach to thestage of marriage they are married without losing any time. It causes rapid growth of

population in the country.

2)Early Marriages:

We are living in a region of such state where marriages are performed in early ages. It is thetradition of this reason. Due to this custom of marriage in young age the population increases

rapidly.

3)Religion:

Our religion also teaches us to perform marriage at young age. Especially it is strictinstruction about girls that as soon as they reach to the age of marriage, their marriage should

be performed without further delay.

4)Social attitude of the people:

In our region people like large families they have a desire to have more children. Especiallythe males are of the opinion that having more children (boys) they would prosper more &more. It is also thought that the boys support their parents financially. They support in old agewhen their parents are old weak and they can do nothing.

5)More than one Marriage:

As our religion permits to have more than one wives so people have liberty. They say veryproudly: We can have wives up to four because our religion permits it. Although Islampermits it with the condition of equality between all of them, but people do not care about

these conditions. They attain their right and perform many marriages and it is also cause ofrapid growth in population.


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6)Poverty:

Poverty is also a cause of rapid growth of population. The Poor man likes to have morechildren so that they would become his financial support. But when girls are born then his

burden increases.

7)Illiteracy:

An educated person knows the reality. He is fully aware of the loss of having more childrenand of early marriage. But the illiterate people do not know the facts. They are unable to looktowards the future. They are also unaware of the responsibilities of a married life. They arenot ready to listen about the uses of family planning.

8)Joint family system:

This system lesser the burden of bringing up of children on the parents. Having minimumresponsibility, they tend to produce more children.

MEASURES TO FACE RAPID GROWTH OF

POPULATION:

Employment facilities:

Government should prepare employment schemes to provide employment to every Pakistani:When an individual will be employed he would not think about children to support him.

Educational facilities:

All citizen of Pakistan should be educated. Education will give them light. They will becomebroad minded. They will think the loss of early marriages and of having more children.

Effective publicity of family planning:

In our country the family planning schemes are working but these are not effective. The staffof these schemes is not fully trained. They are unable to teach people specially the illiterates.These schemes should be publicized effectively. Radio, T.V. and other Medias should beeffectively used. It needs to tell the people about horrors of rapid growth of population. Theyshould be fully aware of the shortage of countrys resources.


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DENSITY OF POPULATION:

MEANING:

The density of population in a country means how many persons persquare kilometer or mile are living in a particular area.

DEFINATION:

Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square

kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population,

which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenshipexcept

for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are

generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Landarea is a countrys total area, excluding area under inland water bodies,

national claims to continental shelf and exclusive economic zones. In most

cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.


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FACTORS AFFECTING POPULATION

DENSITY:

There are a range ofhuman and natural factors that affect population density. The tablesbelow illustrate this.

Physical Factors High Density Low Density

Relief(shape and height of land)

Low land which is flat e.g. GangesValley in India

High land that is mountainouse.g. Himalayas

Resources

Areas rich in resources (e.g. coal,oil, wood, fishing etc.) tend todensely populated e.g. WesternEurope

Areas with few resources tend tobe sparsely populated e.g. The

Sahel

Climate

Areas with temperate climates tendto be densely populated as there isenough rain and heat to grow cropse.g. UK

Areas with extreme climates ofhot and cold tend to be sparselypopulated e.g. the SaharaDesert

Human Factors High Density Low Density

PoliticalCountries with stable governmentstend to have a high populationdensity e.g. Singapore

Unstable countries tend to havelower population densities aspeople migrate e.g. Afghanistan.

SocialGroups of people want to live closeto each other for security e.g. USA

Other groups of people prefer tobe isolated e.g. Scandinavians

Economic

Good job opportunities encouragehigh population densities, particularlyin large cities in MEDCs and LEDCsaround the world.

Limited job opportunities causesome areas to be sparselypopulated e.g. AmazonRainforest


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DENSITY OF POPULATION IN PAKISTAN:

The progress and development of a country and distribution of its resources can be estimated

by the density of population. Although there are number of causes for the difference ofdensity in a country. In the light of the following figures, we shall analyses, the cause for thedifference of density in various parts of Pakistan.

According to present census, Karachi Division is the most densely populated division inPakistan. Its density of population is more than 2000 persons per square kilometer. Thisdensity is for only the urban areas (including Karachi city and Cantt and others) of Karachidivision. Besides this in Punjab, Lahore division is more densely populated than otherdivisions, such as Lahore district has density of 984 persons per Kilometer) , Sialkot district(505 persons per KM.) is more densely populated than the districts of Kasur andSheikhupura. Similarly in Sargodha and Faisalabad Divisions, Faisalabad (511) is denser thanSargodha. In Multan division, Multan District (375 persons per KM) has more density thanSahiwal (329 persons per KM) and Vehari. In Punjab there are some districts, which havelow density and are very thinly populated. Such as district of Bahawalpur division,Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Rahim yar-khan. In Sargodha Division, district of Mainwali,Khushab, Bakkar. In Faislabad Division, Jhang District. In D.G.Khan division, district ofMuzaffarghar, Leiah, Rajanpur and in Rawalpindi Division, district of Attock and Jhelum arethinly populated than other areas. In Sindh Karachi division is more densely populated thanHyderabad and Sukkur division. But in Hydrabad Division, Hyderabd district, (178 persons

per KM) and in Sukkur division, Larkana district (153 person per KM) are more denselypopulated than other district, but Khairpur, Mirpur (Thararker) Thatta, Sanghar district are

thinly populated in Sindh.


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In NWFP Peshawar Division ranks first in density, while Dera Ismail Khan Division hassecond position and Malakand has got third position according to density. In this province,Peshawar district (561 persons per KM) and Mardan district (453 persons per Km) are mostdensely populated, among all the districts of NWFP. While D.I.Khan, Chitral, swat, Dirdistricts are comparatively thinly populated.

Baluchistan province is the largest according to area, but it is thinnest according topopulation. In this province, Quetta Division is more densely populated than Kalat andMakran Division. Quetta district (27 persons per kilometer) and Kachhi District ofBaluchistan. While Chaghal district (2 persons per Km) and Kharan district are thinly

populated areas of Baluchistan.

Pakistan's people are not evenly distributed throughout the country. There is an average of146 persons per square kilometer, but the density varies dramatically, ranging from scarcely

populated arid areas, especially in Balochistan, to some of the highest urban densities in theworld in Karachi and Lahore.

About 68 percent of the population lived in rural areas in 1994, a decrease of 7 percent since1970. In contrast, the number of people living in urban areas has risen substantially, resultingin an urban growth rate of 4.6 percent between 1980 and 1991.

More than half of Pakistan's population is below the age of fifteen; nearly a third is below theage of nine. For cultural reasons, enumerating the precise number of females has beendifficult--and estimates of the percentage of females in the population range from 47.5

percent in the 1981 census to 48.3 percent in the 1987-88 Labor Force Survey. Pakistan isone of the few countries in the world with an inverse sex ratio: official sources claim thereare 111 men for every 100 women. The discrepancy is particularly obvious among peopleover fifty: men account for 7.1 percent of the country's total population and women for lessthan 5 percent. This figure reflects the secondary status of females in Pakistani society,especially their lack of access to quality medical care.

SINDH

Karachi 1517

Sukkur 130

Hyderabad 81


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PUNJAB

Lahore 542

Rawalpindi 237

Sargodha 209

Multan 198

Bahawalpur 105

NWFP

Peshawar 158

D.I.Khan 95

Malakand 73


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BALUCHISTANQuetta 11

Makran 10

Kalat 2


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Population of Pakistan By Provinces 1981 &

1998 Censuses:

AreaArea in

Sq.Kms

Population Annualgrowth

rate 1981-

98 (%)

%

change

1998

over

1981

Sex ratiomales per

100

females

Densityper

Sq.Kms

(Persons)

Proportionof Urban

Population

(%age)

1981

(Census)1998

(Census)1981 1998 1981 1998 1981 1998

Pakistan 796095 84253644 132352279 2.69 57.09 111 108 106 166 28.3 32.5

Punjab 205344 47292441 73621290 2.64 55.67 111 107 230 359 27.6 16.9

Sindh 140914 19028666 30439893 2.80 59.97 111 112 135 216 43.3 2.7

NWFP 74521 11061328 17735912 2.82 60.34 109 105 148 238 15.1 31.3

Balochistan 347190 4332376 6565885 2.47 51.55 112 115 12 19 15.6 48.8

FATA 27220 2198547 3176331 2.19 44.47 108 108 81 117 - 23.9

Islamabad 906 340286 805235 5.19 136.63 119 117 376 889 60.1 65.7

THE REASONS OF DIFFERENCE IN DENSITY

POPULATION OF PAKISTAN:

The density of population shows that many areas of our country are densely populated e.g.

2000 persons pr sq. km, where as in many areas the population is less than 2 persons per

square kilometer. There are many factors of the variation. Detail of which is as under:

1.Geographical elements:

Geographical factors mountains, plains, plateaus, deserts, rivers & sea-coasts,

atmosphere, etc.


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2.Economic & social factors:

Civic amenities modern means of transportation, better opportunities of income,

modern availablity of technology.

3.Religious political & social factors:

Saints, religious personalities, dedicated polticians, sense of security.

GEOGRAPHICAL ELEMENTS: Geographical characteristics

1)MOUNTAINS:

The mountainous areas are mostly high and uneven. It is very difficult to constructhouses there. To get other necessaries of life one has to face innumerable problems

and difficulties that is why the provinces of NWFP & balochistan are less

congested than other areas.

2)PLIANS:Usually plains are formed by alluvial soil brought by the rivers. Due to the fertility

in the plains and having facilities of irrigation and other easily available necessities

of life. People prefer to live in plain areas. That is why people mostly like to live in

the plain areas of Sindh and Punjab than other areas.

3)PLATEAUS:Plateau areas are mostly uneven and consist of rocky areas. Irrigation on large scale

can not be carreied out there, people have to face innumerable difficulties to get

necessaties of life so the plateau areas of potwar and balochistan are less populated

than other areas of the country.

4)DESERTS:Deserts mostly consist of sand and dunes and due to less rain there is abundance of

thorny bushes and due to scarcity of water, irrigation is impossible, hence in the

province of Sindh, the areas of Tharparker and Nara and in the province of Punjab,

Thal and Cholistans desert area is less populated.

5)RIVER OR SEA-COASTS:The areas surrounded by rivers and sea- coasts are not suitable for irrigation and

due to this most of people do not like to live in these areas that is why only

fishermen are leading life near the river and coastal areas of the country and thusless population there.


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6)ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS:Intense heat and severe cold are injurious to life of the people of Pakistans,

Nothern and North-Eastern areas and hot-desert areas are less populated than the

other areas of the country.

7)FERTILITY OF SOIL:Fertility of land plays an important role in the development of agriculture so the

areas in the province of Punjab and Sindh are densely populated than the other

areas of the country due to more fertility of soil.

8)AVAILABILITY OF ABUNDANT WATER:

Water is an important source in agriculture and other departments so in the areaswhere water is found in abundance, population is dense & the areas of our country

where water is available in insufficient quantity such areas are less developed

e.g.Tharparker in the Sindh province & Cholistan in Punjab.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL FACTORS:

1)CIVIC FACILITIES:As the facilities in villages such as higher education, treated facilities employment

opportunities are not available so these are less populated than oyher areas of ourcountry.

2)MODERN MEANS OF COMMUNICATION:As the village areas of our country are not connected with modern means of

communication e.g. roads, rails and airways. So these areas are less populated than

the urban areas.

3)BETTER OPPORTUNITIES OF EMPLOYMENT:There are less opportunities of employment in the villages than the city areas and

people prefer to live in cities. There are the places where opportunities of

employment or means of increasing income of the people are found in abdunce, so

these areas become more populated.

4)AVAILABILITY OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY:To avail the facilities of the modern technolog, people come to the cities, so the

cities nbecome congested.


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RELIGIOUS, POLITICAL, SOCIAL FACTORS:

The main factor of densely population of any areas is the tomb or mausoleum of a saint or

religious personality living in that area.

POLITICAL:

In many areas of the country, political, sense of security also plays an important role in

density of population.

THE GROWTH & MORPHOLOGY OF TOWNS

IN PAKISTAN:

INTRODUCTION:

According to population census those areas administered by some corporation,

municipality, town committee,cantonment or civil line, having a population of more than

5000 persons are considered as urban centers or areas. By the study of the following

figures, it is clear that our rural population is migrating towards the urban centers, that iswhy population of cities is increasing while rural population is decreasing every year. Till

1998 the urban population was increased by 5.9% which is now 32.5% and rural was

67.5% of the total population of pakistan.

RURAL & URBAN POPULATION OF

PAKISTAN:

Rural population:Definition:

Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national

statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban

population.

The value for Rural population in Pakistan was 109,363,800 as of 2010. As the graphbelow shows, over the past 50 years this indicator reached a maximum value of109,363,800 in 2010 and a minimum value of 35,771,840 in 1960.


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Urban population:

Definition:

Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by nationalstatistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban

ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.

The value for Urban population in Pakistan was 64,229,550 as of 2010. As the graph belowshows, over the past 50 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 64,229,550 in2010 and a minimum value of 10,148,370 in 1960.

POPULATION PLANNING POLICIES AND

PROBLEMS:Pakistan's extremely high rate of population growth is caused by a falling death ratecombined with a continuing high birth rate. In 1950 the mortality rate was twenty-seven

per 1,000 population; by 1990 the rate had dropped to twelve (estimated) per 1,000. Yetthroughout this period, the birth rate was forty four per 1,000 population. On average, in1990 each family had 6.2 children, and only 11 percent of couples were regularly

practicing contraception.

In 1952 the Family Planning Association of Pakistan, an NGO, initiated efforts to containpopulation growth. Three years later, the government began to fund the association and

AREA URBAN RURAL

1951 17.6% 82.4%

1961 22.5% 77.5%

1971 25.61% 74.06%

1981 28.18% 71.72%

1998 32.5% 67.5%

Mid 2008

Estimate

39% 61%


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noted the need to reduce population growth in its First Five-Year Plan (1955-60). Thegovernment soon combined its population planning efforts in hospitals and clinics into asingle program. Thus population planning was a dual effort led by the Family PlanningAssociation and the public sector.

In the mid-1960s, the Ministry of Health initiated a program in which intrauterine devices(IUDs) were promoted. Payments were offered to hospitals and clinics as incentives, andmidwives were trained to treat patients. The government was able to attract funding frommany international donors, but the program lost support because the targets were overlyambitious and because doctors and clinics allegedly over reported their services to claimincentive payments.

The population planning program was suspended and substantively reorganized after thefall of Mohammad Ayub Khan's government in 1969. In late December 1971, the

population was estimated at 65.2 million. In an attempt to control the population problem,the government introduced several new programs. First, the Continuous Motivation System

Programme, which employed young urban women to visit rural areas, was initiated. In1975 the Inundation Programme was added. Based on the premise that greater availabilitywould increase use, shopkeepers throughout the country stocked birth control pills andcondoms. Both programs failed, however. The unmarried urban women had littleunderstanding of the lives of the rural women they were to motivate, and shopkeepers keptthe contraceptives out of sight because it was considered manner less to display them in anobvious way.

Following Zia ul-Haq's coup d'tat in 1977, government population planning efforts werealmost halted. In 1980 the Population Division, formerly under the direction of a minister

of state, was renamed the Population Welfare Division and transferred to the Ministry ofPlanning and Economic Development. This agency was charged with the delivery of bothfamily planning services and maternal and child health care. This reorganized structurecorresponded with the new population planning strategy, which was based on amultifaceted community-based "cafeteria" approach, in cooperation with Family WelfareCenters (essentially clinics) and Reproductive Health Centers (mostly engaged insterilizations). Community participation had finally become a cornerstone of thegovernment's policy, and it was hoped that contraceptive use would rise dramatically. The

population by 1980 had exceeded 84 million.

In preparing the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1983-88), the government projected a national

population of 147 million in the year 2000 if the growth rate were to be a constant at 2.8percent per year, and of 134 million if the rate were to decline to the desired 2.1 percentper year by then. By the Seventh Five-Year Plan (1988-93) period, the multiprongedapproach initiated in the 1980s had increased international donor assistance and had begunto enlist local NGOs. Efforts to improve maternal and child health were coupled witheducation campaigns. Because of local mores concerning modesty, the governmentavoided explicit reference to contraceptive devices and instead focused its public educationefforts on encouraging couples to limit their family size to two children.

The key to controlling population growth, according to activists in the women's movement,lies in raising the socioeconomic status of women. Until a woman's status is determined by

something other than her reproductive capabilities, and especially by the number of sonsshe bears, severe impediments to lowering population growth rates will persist.


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MIGRATION AND GROWTH OF MAJOR

CITIES:

Pakistan's cities are expanding much faster than the overall population. At independence in1947, many refugees from India settled in urban areas. In the 1950s, more than one-half ofthe residents of several cities in Sindh and Punjab were muhajirs. Some refugee colonieswere eventually recognized as cities in their own right.

Between 1951 and 1981, the urban population quadrupled. The annual urban growth rateduring the 1950s and 1960s was more than 5 percent. This figure dropped slightly in the1970s to 4.4 percent. Between 1980 and early 1994, it averaged about 4.6 percent. By early1994, about 32 percent of all Pakistanis lived in urban areas, with 13 percent of the total

population living in three cities of over 1 million inhabitants each--Lahore, Faisalabad, andKarachi.

The key reason for migration to urban areas has been the limited opportunity for economicadvancement and mobility in rural areas. The economic and political control that locallandlords exercise in much of the countryside has led to this situation.

The urban migrant is almost invariably a male. He retains his ties with his village, and hisrights there are acknowledged long after his departure. At first, the migration is frequentlyseen as a temporary expedient, a way to purchase land or pay off a debt. Typically, themigrant sends part of his earnings to the family he left behind and returns to the village towork at peak agricultural seasons. Even married migrants usually leave their families in thevillage when they first migrate. The decision to bring wife and children to the city is thus a

milestone in the migration process.

As cities have grown, they have engulfed surrounding villages, bringing agriculturists intothe urban population. Many of these farmers commute to urban jobs from their originalhomes. The focus of these individuals' lives remains their family and fellow villagers.Similarly, migrants from rural areas who have moved to the cities stay in close touch withrelatives and friends who have also moved, so their loyalties reflect earlier patterns. ThePakistani city tends to recreate the close ties of the rural community.

Pakistani cities are diverse in nature. The urban topology reflects the varied politicalhistory within the region. Some cities dating from the medieval era, such as Lahore and

Multan, served as capitals of kingdoms or small principalities, or they were fortified bordertowns prior to colonial rule. Other pre-colonial cities, such as Peshawar, were tradingcenters located at strategic points along the caravan route. Some cities in Sindh and Punjabcentered on cottage industries, and their trade rivaled the premier European cities of theeighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Under colonial rule, many of the older administrative cities declined. Where the Britishlocated a trading post (factory) near an existing administrative center, the city was typicallydivided into old and new, or European, sections. New towns and cities also emerged,especially in the expanding canal colonies; Faisalabad (formerly Lyallpur) is such a city.The town of Karachi expanded rapidly to become a center of rail and sea transport as aconsequence of British rule and as consequence of the opening of massive irrigation


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projects and the increase in agricultural exports. Thus, Pakistan's two largest cities, Karachiand Lahore, illustrate how differing regional and sociocultural histories have shaped thevariations among Pakistan's cities.

Karachi absorbed tens of thousands ofmuhajirs following independence in 1947, grew

nearly two and one-half times from 1941 to 1951, and nearly doubled again in thefollowing decade. Karachi is by far Pakistan's largest city and is still rapidly growing. Inthe early 1990s the population exceeded 10 million.

Karachi's rapid growth has been directly related to the overall economic growth in thecountry. The partition of British India into the independent states of Pakistan and India

prompted an influx into Pakistan of Muslim merchants from various parts of the new,Hindu-majority India. These merchants, whom sociologist Hamza Alavi refers to as

salariat, had money to invest and received unusual encouragement from the government,which wanted to promote the growth of the new state.

Karachi at first developed in isolation. Relatively few people from outlying areas wereengaged in running its factories, and the city had little impact on Pakistan's cultural fabric.But when the economies of southern Sindh and parts of Punjab began to expand, largenumbers of migrants flooded the city in search of work (generally low-paying jobs), andKarachi become the hub of the nation's commerce. The city, however, also has serious

problems. It has the poorest slums in the country, and it suffers from serious interethnicconflict as a consequence of the influx of many competing groups. It was the site ofconsiderable violence in the late 1980s as muhajirs solidified their local power base vis--vis the Pakhtuns and native Sindhis.

Lahore, Pakistan's second largest city, contrasts markedly with Karachi. With just underhalf the population of Karachi, it is regarded as the cultural nucleus of Punjab. Residents ofLahore take special pride in their city's physical beauty, especially in its Mughalarchitecture, which includes the Badshahi Mosque, Shalimar Gardens, Lahore Fort, andJahangir's tomb. In the earliest extant historical reference to the city, in A.D. 630 theChinese traveler Xuan Zang described it as a large Brahmanical city. A center of learning

by the twelfth century, Lahore reached its peak in the sixteenth century, when it becamethe quintessential Mughal city--the "grand resort of people of all nations and a center ofextensive commerce."

The economy and the population expanded greatly in the 1980s in a number of other cities.

The most important of these are Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Wazirabad, and Sialkot inPunjab; Hyderabad in Sindh; and Peshawar and Mardan in the North-West FrontierProvince.

The nation's capital was situated in Karachi at independence. General Mohammad AyubKhan, who assumed power in 1958, aspired, however, to build a new capital that would be

better protected from possible attack by India and would reflect the greatness of the newcountry. In 1959 Ayub Khan decided to move the capital to the shadow of the MargallaHills near Pakistan's third largest city, Rawalpindi. The move was completed in 1963, andthe new capital was named Islamabad (abode of Islam). The population of Islamabadcontinues to increase rapidly, and the official 1991 estimate of just over 200,000 has

probably been much exceeded.


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IMPACT OF MIGRATION TO THE PERSION

GULF COUNTRIES:

Pakistan had a severe balance of payments deficit in the 1970s. To deal with this deficit, aswell as to strengthen ties with the Islamic states in the Middle East, the government ofZulfiqar Ali Bhutto encouraged both skilled and unskilled men to work in the Persian Gulfcountries. The government set up a program under the Ministry of Labor, Manpower, andOverseas Pakistanis to regulate this migration and also seconded military troops to many ofthe Gulf states.

By the mid-1980s, when this temporary migration was at its height, there were estimated tobe more than 2 million Pakistanis in the Persian Gulf states remitting more than US$3billion every year. At the peak, the remittances accounted for almost half of the country'sforeign-exchange earnings. By 1990 new employment opportunities were decreasing, and

the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War forced many workers to return quickly to Pakistan. Workershave only slowly returned to the Gulf since the war ended.

The majority of the emigrants are working-class men, who travel alone, leaving their wivesand children behind with their extended families in Pakistan. These men are willing tosacrifice years with their families for what they see as their only chance to escape povertyin a society with limited upward mobility. A study in the old quarter (the inner walled city)of Lahore in 1987 suggested that half of all working-class families had at least one closerelative working in the Gulf. Families generally use the remittances for consumer goods,rather than investing in industry. The wage earner typically returns after five to ten years tolive at home.

Although this migration has had little effect on Pakistan demographically, it has affectedits social fabric. While a man is away from his family, his wife often assumesresponsibility for many day-to-day business transactions that are considered the provinceof men in this traditional male-dominated society. Thus for the women involved, there is asignificant change in social role. Among the men, psychologists have identified asyndrome referred to as "Dubai chalo" ("let's go to Dubai"). This syndrome, whichmanifests itself as disorientation, appears to result from social isolation, culture shock,harsh working conditions, and the sudden acquisition of relative wealth. Men often feelisolated and guilty for leaving their families, and the resultant sociopsychological stresscan be considerable.

Approximately 13 Crore 6 Lakh

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