Demographic profile of North West Frontier Province of Pakistan

Abstract

This study attempts to provide a perspective on the dimensions and changes in the population of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan. It also describes the demographic parameters and vital rates on the basis of latest censuses and survey data. It is an effort to bridge the existing gaps in the knowledge of the demography of the Province. Population growth pattern revealed that the population of the Province has increased more than five fold during the last 80 years (1901-1981). The last census, 1981, recorded an unprecedented annual growth rate of 3.1 percent for the 1972-1981 inter-censal period. Mortality has shown a more rapid decline than fertility in the Province. The PGS, 1976 data suggests that mortality level is still very high in NWFP as compared to other provinces in Pakistan, while the level of fertility as estimated by PGS, 1976 data is equal to the national average. The Province was gaining population through lifetime net-migration prior to independence. Migration estimates for the post-independence period indicate that NWFP is losing population to other provinces through lifetime net-migration. Recent migration estimates for the period 1965-1973 based on the HED survey, 1973 data suggest a decline in the loss of population through net-migration. Population projections for the Province have also been attempted. They suggest that by 1992 the population of NWFP will be between 15.5 and 16 million, which is almost double the 1972 figure.