Pakistan's Fertility and Family Planning : Future Directions

Abstract

Pakistan emerged as an independent state on August 14,1947, nearly 45 years ago, when the British presided over the partition of the Indian subcontinent. The country came about as a demand for an independent, Muslim state. In 1971, East Pakistan separated and became an independent state, Bangladesh.

The present country, has a land area of about 800,000 square kilo-metres, an estimated population of nearly 120 million, a per capita income of less than US $ 400, a literacy rate of about 30 per cent, and an annual population growth rate of more than 3 per cent. This population growth rate is one of the highest in the world, particularly among the larger developing countries.