Poverty

Rural Poverty in Pakistan

Poverty is widespread in Pakistan and is particularly predominant in rural areas. Nearly two thirds of the population, and 80 per cent of the country’s poor people, live in rural parts of the country.

In 2004-2005 the government estimated that nearly 24 per cent of the people were living below the national poverty line. The percentage of poor people had declined about 10 per cent since 2001, but
health and education indicators remained low in comparison with other countries in South Asia. Socio-economic indicators for women are the lowest in the subregion.

The recent increase in the international prices of food commodities has had a significant impact on Pakistan’s poor people. It is estimated that about 17 million people have joined the ranks of the 60 million people who are food insecure. And many more are at risk. About half of the country’s population lives in a condition of food insecurity.

Agriculture is at the heart of the rural economy, and most rural people rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. But for many of the poorest rural people income depends on non-farm sources.

The incidence of poverty varies between rural and urban areas, and from one province to the next. Poverty is widely and evenly distributed in the many mountainous parts of the country where communities are small, scattered and isolated, and where there are few major urban centres. The rugged terrain and fragile ecosystems make cultivation difficult. Lack of access to markets and services has contributed to chronic poverty in these areas.

Although women play a major role in the household economy and in providing care for their families, they are particularly vulnerable. Despite improvements in economic conditions after recent reforms, there are still broad discrepancies in social standing between men and women. Women own fewer assets, they have limited economic options and less access to social services. They have high rates of illiteracy. And their burden of labour increases significantly when poor levels of agricultural productivity force men to migrate to find work.

Most of the land in Pakistan is arid, semi-arid or rugged, and not easily cultivated. Water resources are scarce throughout most of the country, and it is difficult to provide the more remote rural communities with a reliable water supply.

Large numbers of rural people are poor because of unequal land distribution. A few large landholders own a disproportionate amount of land. More than 4 million family farms have plots of less than 5 hectares, and 25 per cent of all farms consist of less than 1 hectare. At present about 50 per cent of farmers own and operate their farms, while 26 per cent are tenant farmers. Sharecroppers who work land belonging to large-scale farmers are often in debt to their employers.

The causes of poverty include lack of education, poor access to health services, large family size, gender discrimination and vulnerability to environmental degradation and deterioration of the natural resource base. A steady decrease in remittances, which now amount to less than 10 per cent of their level in 1983, was a factor in the increase of poverty that was seen in the 1990s.