ISLAMABAD: Life expectancy at birth in Pakistan is 65 years, while a major cause of death is cardiovascular disease (14.74 percent) followed by fever (9.28 percent), says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
Pakistan has a large proportion of people in the younger age group, which indicates not only the current high fertility rate but also shows that the population of the country will continue to grow during the period of declining fertility.
The bureau in its “Pakistan Demographic Survey (PDS), 2020”, noted that the proportion of old persons (65 years and over) is quite low. Only about three to four per cent of population falls in this age group. Majority of the population lies in the age group 15-64, i.e., 57.18 per cent males and 57.78 per cent females.
The report further stated that Crude Birth Rate -the number of births during a year per 1,000 persons -as obtained from the PDS-2020 for the year 2020 is 27 per 1,000 persons. According to PDHS 2017-18 it was 29 in 2017-18. Fertility is subject to a number of limitations, as it includes certain segments of population in the denominator that are not “exposed to risk” of child-bearing. CBR is 27 per thousand persons in PDS- 2020. CBR is higher in rural areas as compare to urban areas.
Crude Death Rate (CDR) obtained from PDS-2020 for the year 2020 is 6.7 per thousand persons for Pakistan; whereas for urban area it is 6.6 and 6.7 for rural area. The Crude Death Rate is higher in rural areas than in urban areas.
The Age-Specific Death Rate (ASDR) starts at a very high peak immediately after birth, declines to a minimum value for the young age population (5-14 years), and rises gradually among the age groups 40-44 years and then rapidly increases at the advanced ages. Females have higher chances of survivorship in all countries of the world, with only a few exceptions. Same universal pattern has been observed in Pakistan, i.e., female life expectancy is higher than male life expectancy.
Females have lower death rates than the males for most ages, especially a slight bump in mortality of men aged 25-29 can be seen which may be because of increased risky behaviour and subsequent deaths due to accidents. The graphical representation of Sex and Age Specific Death Rate shows that after age 1, the mortality rate falls gradually, attaining minimum risk at age 10 the mortality rate is very low during childhood, then increases exponentially from age 30.
Infant Mortality Rate is declining in Pakistan, as it was 62 in PDHS 2017-18, 60 in PSLM 2018-19, and now it is 56 for PDS-2020 but it is still higher.
The major cause of death in 2020 is cardiovascular disease (14.74per cent), followed by fever (9.28 per cent), paralysis (6.45 per cent), cancers (5.5 per cent) and diabetes (5.63 per cent). Cardiovascular diseases (Ischemic Heart Disease and Stroke) are top global cause of death. Neonatal conditions including birth asphyxia and birth trauma, neonatal sepsis and infections, and preterm birth complications are mostly included in complications during pregnancy/ delivery, post-natal complications and respiratory diseases.
Life expectancy at birth was 65.4 in Pakistan Maternal Mortality Survey (PMMS)-2019 and in PDS-2020 the life expectancy at birth for the year 2020 in Pakistan is 65 years; it is 64.5 for males and 65.5 for females. The life expectancy increases for age 1-4 both for males and females, i.e., 70.6 and 72, respectively and 71.3 overall.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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