ISLAMABAD: The major cause of death was cardiovascular disease (14.74 percent), followed by fever (9.28 percent), paralysis (6.45 percent), cancers (5.5 percent), and diabetes (5.63 percent), according to the Pakistan Demographic Survey 2020 released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The PDS-2020 for the year 2020 depicts that the expectancy of life at birth 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.
The life expectancy at birth is a summary measure index that is obtained from a life table. It shows the average number of years that persons can expect to live from the time of birth if they experience currently prevailing age specific death rates throughout their life. The expectation of life at birth is independent of the age structure of a population and therefore provides a more reliable index for international comparisons of the level of mortality and social and economic condition of a country.
Females have higher chances of survivorship in all countries of the world, with only a few exceptions. In the past female life expectancy was lower than that of males in Pakistan. However, at present the 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 age.
Age Specific Fertility Rate is a refined way to measure fertility trends. Fertility rates are calculated for specific age groups to see differences in fertility behaviour at different ages or for comparison over time. In general, fertility is comparatively low among women of ages less than 20 years and after 39 years. It is concentrated at the ages 20-39 years.
The distribution of Population for PDS-2020 depicts that the proportion of children under 15 years is 35.5 percent for females and 37.84 percent for males. The census figure of 2017 indicates that proportion of children under 15 is 39.65 and 40.95 percent for female and males respectively. The proportion of old persons (65 years and over) is quite low. Only about three to four percent of population falls in this age group. Majority of population lies in the age group 15-64 i.e., 57.18 percent males and 57.78 percent females. The comparison of PDS-2020 with census 2017 shows that the percentage of dependent population under 15 is declining and the percentage of population ranges from 15-64, in which working class is expected to be highly concentrated, is slightly rising.
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) measures the mortality below one year of age. It is defined as the number of infant deaths during a calendar year per 1000 live births in the same year. Infant mortality is an important indicator to judge socio-economic conditions, cultural factors, status of hygiene and availability and utilization of medical services. Infant mortality rate has been declining in Pakistan but it is still high. Infant mortality rates are much higher in rural areas 59 than in urban areas 50, where better Neo-Natal and Post-Natal facilities are available. Male infant mortality rate is 58 which is higher than female infant mortality rate i.e. 55 in all areas.
Crude Birth Rate (CBR) is defined as the number of births in a year per 1000 population. Crude Birth Rate is the simple way of measuring current fertility level in any population. Crude Birth Rate as obtained from the PDS-2020 for the year 2020 is 27 per 1000 persons. The PDHS figure indicates that it was 29 in 2017-18.
The Crude Birth Rate is higher in rural areas 29 as compared to urban areas 23.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022