Pakistan has gone down by seven slots in the Human Development Index (HDI) ranking for 2021-2022, as per the last UN Human Development Report. Pakistan’s HDI in 202 had already declined by two notches, placing it in the low human development category, because of its inadequate health, income and education indicators. Pakistan presently ranks 161 out of 192 states. The report also identified that over 66 years life expectancy at birth our country is a little. The average Pakistan receives only 8 years of schooling, and the gross per capita national income is just over $4,600.
Statistics also showed that Pakistan since the early 1990s, has made steady progress in terms of enhancing its HDI. In part, the steep fall in Pakistan’s HDI ranking in 2021-22 is because of methodological causes. In 2020, the UNDP ranked 189 countries, whereas in 2021-22, 192 countries and territories were included in the index. However, a bigger cause for Pakistan’s lowered HDI ranking is because of its relatively modest progress compared to other countries. Pakistan is now trailing far behind other regional states in human development. The report also showed that presently India ranks 132nd on the HDI index. Bangladesh is doing even better with a 129th ranking. Sri Lanka was placed 73rd on the HDI index because of years of impressive human development, although its position will probably be seriously impacted in next year’s ranking because of the ongoing economic turmoil in the country.
Statistics also showed that Pakistan has the highest infant mortality rate in South Asia and the lowest life expectancy in the region, barring Afghanistan. Pakistan is facing a severe health crisis and yet its healthcare system is not being offered the resources it needs. Pakistani hospitals have only 6 hospital beds per 10,000 people. The doctor-to-patient ratio is also extremely low, with 1 doctor for every 1300 people.
The Government of Pakistan expenditure on education is also inadequate and incompetently utilized. Furthermore in the public sector teacher absenteeism and inadequate school infrastructure remains major issues. The quality of education provided through low-income private schools is also not much better. A present study through Aga Khan University tested student performance in grades 5, 6 and 8 in both private and public schools across the country. This study analyzed more than 90 percent students at the primary and secondary level to have performed dismally in math and science exams.
Our country has also not been able to impart adequate vocational and technical education that offers its immense labor force market-driven skills. A significant proportion of the formal workforce in Pakistan is under-skilled and inadequately remunerated. Pakistan also has a large informal sector, which is unregulated and where exploitation of workers, mainly of women and children, remains rife.
Moreover Pakistan coped well with the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the lingering impact of the flooding this past summer will continue to exert further pressure on Pakistan’s HDI ranking for quite some time, even though the HDI for 2021-22 was released in September 2022, after the massive flooding event.
On the other hand, the Pakistan Human Capital Review report shows various scenarios for the country’s human capital growth: business as usual, to the level of its peers, to the average of a low-middle income country, or towards the levels of an upper middle-income country. Different sources also recorded that Pakistan has made enormous progress over the last 30 years, despite a massively expanding population. This is because enormous programs have been introduced, like the Lady Health Workers program and free basic and compulsory education. Pakistan’s highly effective management of the Covid-19 pandemic, the national vaccination campaign, and delivery of fast and targeted cash support to about 15 million families, are other shining examples of Pakistan’s state capacity. Family planning should be the top priority and scale-up has been proven to work in Pakistan. Pakistan has reduced fertility rates over the last three decades, but not at the level and speed of Bangladesh or Indonesia. In education, investments in low-cost school and classroom expansion, along with making sure that every classroom has a competent teacher, has enormous payoffs. Enhancing human capital requires long-term planning and commitment that goes beyond the tenure of any government or political cycle. Experts understand investments in human capital often take a long time to bear fruit and the outcomes are not always immediately visible. With the pandemic and a devastating flood deepening its already poor state of human capital, the government of Pakistan will need to take bold actions to tackle its health and education problems and declare a human capital emergency.
Moreover, sustained investments in human capital require a well-coordinated, cross-sectoral effort, and the whole of society approach, across all federating provinces and regions, with a shared vision and alignment. Pakistan’s growing working-age population experts identified can become healthier, more educated, skilled and productive. If the economy generates more and better jobs they can also earn more. Making this an urgent priority will ensure Pakistan to realise its immense potential and abundantly prospers as a nation.