Pakistan's population to reach 400 million in 2092: UN report

Pakistan’s population is expected to surpass 400 million by the end of the ongoing 21st century, stated the United Nations (UN) in its report.

“Pakistan’s current population is over 245 million, and it is on the list of the countries whose population is expected to increase through 2054 and could potentially peak in the second half of the century or later,” Associate Press Pakistan quoted the UNFPA report.

“The potential population of the under-developing country would be 404.68 million by 2092,” it stated.

The report added that by the middle of the century, the country’s population will reach 331.29 million, surpassing Indonesia's 275.5 million.

Pakistan’s average population growth rate between 1998 and 2017 was 2.40 percent, and it has one of the highest birth rates of 22 births per 1000 people.

“Very few women use any type of birth control in Pakistan, and the surging population can put too much pressure on water and sanitation systems, result in millions of unemployed people, and overwhelm health and education systems,” read the report.

Pakistan’s population has been increasing significantly since its independence, and its growth rate is about 2.1 percent higher among the countries in the region.

The report forecasted that in about 35-year Pakistan’s population will be double what it was in 2001. 

The current growth in Pakistan is 2 percent but expected to decline to less than 1% if the population surpasses 300 million.