Population boom now a security issue

Pakistan’s rapidly growing population is emerging as a national security issue requiring coordinated action from political, military, religious, and social leaders. The warning was issued by Dr Luay Shabaneh, the UNFPA Representative in Pakistan, during a media briefing in Islamabad on Monday ahead of World Population Day 2026.

During the briefing, Dr Shabaneh shared the findings of a global UNFPA report titled Lives, Choices and Futures: What Young People Want and What Shapes Their Decisions About Relationships and Parenthood. The study gathered insights from over 100,000 respondents aged 18 to 39 across 73 countries, including more than 1,700 young participants from Pakistan.

The findings arrive as Pakistan’s population reaches approximately 257.2 million. With nearly one-third of the country’s citizens aged between 10 and 24, investing in youth is critical for future stability and prosperity. Dr Shabaneh emphasised that Pakistan must strive to grow rich and prosperous before its population grows old.

He welcomed the federal government’s renewed focus on population management, particularly praising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for personally chairing the National Population Council. He noted that including Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir in the national body reflects that population management is now treated as a strategic national priority, vital to economic resilience, social cohesion, and national security.

However, Dr Shabaneh stressed that government departments alone cannot achieve sustainable population control. He highlighted the decisive role that parliamentarians, provincial legislators, religious scholars, and community leaders must play in promoting responsible parenthood, birth spacing, girls’ education, and dispelling deep-seated misconceptions regarding reproductive health.

According to the report, young people worldwide desire stable relationships, families, and meaningful lives, but face mounting economic uncertainty, housing shortages, gender inequality, and climate concerns. In Pakistan, while 76 percent of young respondents remain optimistic about the future, 53 percent cited conflict, economic insecurity, systemic inequality, and environmental threats as their primary anxieties.

The survey also highlighted a significant gap between actual family sizes and desired ones. In Pakistan, women have an average of 1.8 children but ideally prefer 2.5, while men have an average of 2.5 children but ideally desire 3.4. Among childless Pakistanis aged 35 to 39, 65 percent expressed a desire to become parents.

Dr Shabaneh concluded that reproductive choices are governed by immediate life circumstances, such as financial security, stable employment, housing, healthcare, and gender equality, rather than rigid state-imposed fertility targets. He warned that if Pakistan fails to equip its massive youth bulge with proper education, skills, and job opportunities, it risks entirely missing its demographic dividend. Additionally, expanding digital inclusion, particularly for girls and rural youth, remains a vital gateway to unlocking the economic potential of one of the world’s largest freelance workforces.