Pakistan’s fertility rate has declined, says UN – Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Fertility rate has declined in Pakistan from six live births per woman in 1994 to 3.6 per woman in 2024, says World Fertility Report 2024 of the UN.

The advance unedited report, which is yet to be released, says that reducing adolescent birth rates through targeted interventions offers profound socioeconomic benefits, that can also further accelerate fertility declines.

Reducing growth in the numbers of live births in the future would allow governments and families to allocate resources more efficiently to invest in children and adolescent health and well-being.

In the lives of individual girls and young women, avoiding very early childbearing might also open opportunities for further education, employment and fulfillment of other life aspirations.

The report reveals that in 2024, approximately 1.8 billion people, or 22 per cent of the global population, lived in 63 countries and areas that are at the early or intermediate stages of the demographic transition and are projected to reach low fertility after 2054.

Governments in regions still far from completing the fertility transition should strengthen laws and enforcement mechanisms to protect the rights of girls and women including laws to ban child marriage and and regulations that guarantee full and equal access to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education.

For countries already grappling with economic, social, and environmental challenges, effectively man­­aging population growth will be critical. By addressing these issues, countries can create healthier, more productive populations, enhance quality of life, and ensure a sustainable future for the next generation, the report says.

The report says that global fertility rates have declined almost continuously over the past half a century, from an average total fertility rate of 4.8 births per woman in 1970 to 2.2 in 2024. Women today bear one child fewer, on average, than they did around 1990, when the global fertility rate stood at 3.3.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2025