Pakistan’s first-ever Financial Census, since its independence in 1947, exposes the startling floor actuality that the variety of mosques is over two instances the variety of colleges within the nation, which has only a few factories or hospitals for a inhabitants of 250 million individuals — most of whom reside under the poverty line.
The census exhibits that there are over 600,000 mosques and 36,000 non secular seminaries, in comparison with simply 269,000 colleges and 119,000 hospitals. This imbalance displays deeper systemic points that hinder academic entry, pressure healthcare providers, and restrict the nation’s financial potential.
The dearth of upper academic establishments is equally stark on the larger degree, with solely 11,568 faculties and 214 universities throughout the nation, which in flip displays the poor high quality of human capital.
The healthcare sector, too, is woefully insufficient, with only one hospital obtainable for each 2,083 individuals in a rustic scuffling with malnutrition and illness.
The census exhibits 10.9 million people engaged in sectors like livestock rearing, tailoring, meals packaging, and on-line providers, reflecting the shortage of formal employment alternatives. Amongst these, 5.6 million individuals rear livestock, 419,000 are concerned in clothes stitching, and 93,000 provide on-line providers, indicating a inhabitants that’s industrious however underserved.
The census reveals 7.143 million companies using 25.344 million individuals. But, solely 250,000 of those are formally registered with the Securities and Alternate Fee of Pakistan, which bears the casual nature of the underdeveloped economic system. Micro and small enterprises dominate the enterprise ecosystem, with 95 per cent of institutions using fewer than ten individuals. The providers sector alone accounts for almost 58 per cent of the workforce, whereas manufacturing and manufacturing lag far behind.
The census additionally exposes regional disparities in Pakistan, with Punjab and Sindh forward of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan within the variety of financial institutions and social infrastructure.
The findings have been launched by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who, whereas remarking that this was the primary census, identified that neighbouring nations have performed a number of financial censuses over the many years.
Pakistan’s lack of motion can also be seen as a mirrored image of the robust sway that the army has over the governance of the nation, with its give attention to prioritising defence expenditure to make sure its personal survival.