PAKISTAN: CENSUS SHOWS DRAMATIC INCREASE IN POPULATION

Описание: (15 Jul 1998) English/Nat

Preliminary results of Pakistan's first census in 17 years show the country's population has dramatically increased by more than 50 per cent.

Latest statistics now indicate a population of more than 130 (m) million.

The census, which was carried out last year, had been delayed for nearly a decade due to tension between ethnic groups.

Pakistan now boasts a population of 130 (m) million 580-thousand, with the port city of Karachi as the largest populated area in the country.

Karachi has been a centre of trading for many decades and attracts (m) millions of people from less developed regions.

Illegal immigrants, mainly from the rural Sindh provinces, have swarmed into the city over the years, creating even more chaos and resulting in an explosion of slums.

But those living in the city's slums can now look forward to a change in their living conditions.

The huge population has put a strain on resources in the city and, with no census being carried out since 1981, the government says it was hard for them to know how to provide for people living there.

The country's finance minister Sartaj Aziz is in charge of the census.

He played down the growth, which he said was slower in comparison to previous decades.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The population of Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad is not growing at the same rate as it used to grow between (19) 71 and (19) 81. Then there was a construction boom and a lot of people were migrating. Now the Karachi population is growing by 3 point 45 (m) million, the Lahore by 3 point 2 (m) million, Faisalabad by 3 point 4 (m) million, Rawalpindi at 3 point 4 and Multan at 2 point 86"
SUPER CAPTION: Sartaj Aziz, Finance Minister

The census also has the power to shape the political and economic situation as it can now determine seats in parliament and funding allocations.

This has annoyed parties that feel they may be left with less provisions after census results are published.

The Mohajir Qami Movement (M-Q-M) says the influence of the census is unfair.

The M-Q-M represents Indian Muslims who settled in Pakistan after independence in 1947.

The party is an ally of the government - but there have been political protests in the past which have turned fatal.

Previous attempts to carry out a census in Pakistan have been embroiled in controversy when ethnic groups exaggerated their numbers.

There had also been some trouble in carrying out a census when certain ethnic groups felt their power would be undermined.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The only place where we had some problem was in Baluchistan, particularly in Quetta city, where one particular ethnic group felt the census might underestimate their population and they did create some disturbance and prevented the census from being carried out in Quetta properly in some areas and also in some other parts of Pakistan."
SUPER CAPTION: Sartaj Aziz, Finance Minister

However, in a move to discourage people from exaggerating their numbers, the government announced that census results would have no bearing on the allocation of funding for electoral constituencies.

The cost of Pakistan's first census in 17 years is estimated to be around one point two (b) billion rupees (26 (m) million U-S dollars).

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