Urbanization in

Pakistan

Urbanization

A process of population concentration in an area having better

facilities of life.

• It proceeds in two ways: the multiplication of points of

concentration and the increase in the size of individual

concentrations

Pakistan and Other South Asian Countries

22

26

7

28

28

12

33

23

78

74

93

72

72

88

66

77

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Bhutan

India

Maldev

Nepal

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

Urban Poplation

Rural Population

Levels of Urbanization

Urbanization level in Pakistan: 1965-2010

6

2532 3318

3938 38

76

36 32 31

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1965 1994 2010 2012

Rural Population

Peri-Urban Population

Urban Population

Percentage of Urban population at Provinces level: Census of 1998

49.531

23 17

65.7

2.7

50.569

77 83

34.3

97.3

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Rural Population

Urban Population

Some major Urban Centers ,1998, Pakistan

Peshawar: 33 percent of the

urban provincial population.

Quetta :The share of Quetta in

the total urban Baluchistan

population was 37 percent.

Approximately three-quarters of the total urban population of Sindh are concentrated in

just three urban centers: Karachi, Hyderabad and

Sukkur. More than half of the total urban population of Pakistan lived in 2005 in eight urban places : Karachi, Lahore,

Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Hyderabad, Gujranwala and Peshawar.

Urban Population,1998, Pakistan

93%

94%

95%

96%

97%

98%

99%

100%

Religion

95.51

2.82

1.220.34 Qadiani

Hindu

Christians

Muslims

Percentage of urban population on

the basis of language

Urdu 20.22 %

Punjabi 47.56 %

Sindhi 9.20 %

Pushto 9.94 %

Balochi 2.69 %

Siraiki 5.46 %

Others 4.93 %

Percentage Urban Population (15 Years & Above) by Age

Group, Marital Status 1998, Pakistan

Age groups Married Widowed Divorced Never married

1 15-19 7.9 0.3 0.1 91.8

2 20-24 34.2 0.4 0.2 65.3

3 25-29 64.3 0.7 0.3 34.7

4 30-34 83.3 1.3 0.4 15

5 35-39 90 2.2 0.5 7.3

6 40-44 90.7 4 0.5 4.9

7 45-49 89.4 6.7 0.4 3.5

8 50-54 84.2 11.6 0.4 3.8

9 55-59 80.3 16.1 0.4 3.2

10 60-64 71 23.9 0.4 4.6

11 65-69 66.3 29.3 0.4 4

12 70-74 55.9 37.3 0.4 6.4

13 75 or above 44.8 45.7 0.5 9

Major Causes of Urbanization

1. Natural increase in population

High Birth rate ,

2. Migration toward urban centers

• Livelihoods and better basic services.

• To escape from war

• Insecurity

• Natural disasters

Merits of Urbanization

Merits

Economic opportunities

Educational opportunities

Modernization

Freedom of speech

Economic Opportunities

Urbanization come up with a number of economic opportunities. Urban centers motivated the mass movement of people away from the countryside in search of livelihoods and jobs. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which

generate 85% of the country’s non-agricultural jobs, are urban based in Pakistan.

Educational opportunities

Urbanization brings a lot of educational opportunities. Lahore is the crown jewels of

Pakistan’s educational system. It has a number of urban institution like University of the Punjab

Lahore, Government College University Lahore, King Edward Medical University etc.

Modernization

Pakistani urban centers enjoy considerable interconnectivity. There are hubs of innovation,

technology and communication in urban centers, in Pakistan.

Freedom of Speech

Most of the progressive minded individuals are urban based in Pakistan. According to some analyst, Pakistan’s

urban middle class is deeply nationalistic and pious and

ready to take part in national development programs.

Demerits

• Unemployment

• Threats to agriculture

• Insufficient provision of services

• Traffic congestion and noise pollution

• Housing deficit

Welfare issues

• Water contamination

• Waste management & sanitation

• Industrial pollution

• Spread of Diseases

Environmental issues

Threats to agricultureUrbanization increases the

number of unemployed educated

youth considerably. In urban

centers, more often than not,

youth are educated. However,

gainful employment, even for the

educated youth remains elusive. Added to this, there is lack of

entrepreneurship which

results in an army of

unemployed educated youth,

who can readily be drafted by

gangs, mafia and other

degenerated groups.

Threats to agricultural sector

“Pakistan is an agricultural country and 70% of its population is directly or indirectly dependent on

agriculture. Expanding urban centers in Pakistan seems to be undergoing vertical or horizontal growth, eating

into the rural areas or agricultural land that lies in their hinterland. Many agricultural lands are converted into

residential area. This is also a reason for low production which decreases our net national exports. According to

one estimate, over 60,000 acres of agricultural land have been eaten up by urban sprawl.

Insufficient provision of services

• Unplanned urbanization brings inequality issues, which exist almostin all urban centres in Pakistan. Inequality means extremedifferences in between poverty and wealth, as well as in people'swell-being and access to things like jobs, housing, and educationetc. Inequalities may occur in:• Housing provision

• Access to services like schooling, health care facilities etc.

• Safety and security issues.

Most of the people who live in Poorly developed urban centersexperiencing a poor quality of life because of increasing rate of povertyand inflation.

Traffic congestion and Noise pollution• Urbanization brings technology and innovation. Urban centers

are quipped with complex road networks. These roads then link up with smaller, older, narrower roads in urban centers in Pakistan. This causes a severe traffic congestion and insufficient traffic management leads to the number of traffic accidents. For example, Lahore; a sprawling metropolis of seven million, has fewer than 100 traffic lights, which are insufficient measure of traffic management .

• Traffic congestion and noise pollution are major environmental impacts urbanization. Noise pollution from large factory engines and motor vehicle idling, unreasonably high radio waves in air.

Housing deficit

Today, Pakistani urban centers suffers serious housing deficit. nearly, 50% of urban

Pakistanis living in slums. Pakistan also has one of the highest single room

accommodation average in the world with 38.11 percent followed by two rooms housing units at 30.54 percent. In Pakistan, a number of houses in urban centers, left unrented, as

their landowners settled in abroad and refuse to rent their properties. Only about 5% of

housing in Pakistani Urban centers, is rented.

Water Contamination

• Pakistani urban centers have poor water management facilities. About 40% water is wasted through water leakages in pipes. Less than 1% waste water is treated in Pakistan. Sewage is collected through open drains, and discharge into rivers, streams, lakes and canals without treatment.

• Some economist argue that the urban centers lacks the ability to be an urban service provider in Pakistan. In Karachi, about 30 thousands individuals killed due to unavailability of clean drinking water per year.

Solid waste generation

• Poorly developed urban centers in Pakistan, experiencing poor sanitary conditions. In urban centers, in Pakistan; less than 50% of solid waste is collected by government while the rest is left to root on the streets.

• There are heaps of garbage, in poorly developed urban centers in Pakistan increases the disease prevalence rate.

Industrial Pollution

• In urban centers, open burning of waste causes air pollution problems. In addition to this, untreated air from industrial sector directly release into the air, causes respiratory illness in urban settlers. Factories emit untreated effluents into freshwater bodies causes water pollution problem.

Spread of Diseases

Urban centers make it easier for the diseases to be transmitted in the poorly developed urban centers in Pakistan.

Unhealthy environments & overcrowded housing exposes the ‘urban poor’ to high rates of infectious diseases e.g. pneumonia, T.B, diarrhea, Cholera.

Solutions to the urban problems

• The most effective way to tackle urbanization is to make the economy of rural areas fully viable.

• Rural economies can be strengthen if the government undertakes a massive rural development program.

• Surplus rural manpower should be absorbed in the village themselves so as to reduce rural to urban migration

• The most effective way to tackle traffic congestion in urban centers in Pakistan is to encourage people to use public transport whish is positive and environmental friendly attitude.

• Government should provide funds to promote entrepreneurship so that part of the surplus un employed will be employed

Government of Pakistan should formulate devolution plan for the effective and efficient provision of services within urban centers.

Government should formulate a Citizen Community Boards (CCBs) to engage the urban community in the decision making process.

Government of Pakistan should move toward sustainable urbanization.

• Government of Pakistan should move toward sustainable urbanization.

A sustainable Urbanization is a process in which an urban center grown in a way, which offers a good

quality of life to current residents but doesn’t reduce the opportunities for future residents to enjoy.

• These changes, accompanied with much-needed municipal financial reforms, are likely to bring positive change in urban Pakistan.