Increased literacy, per capita can uplift population

LAHORE: Increasing exports, literacy and per capita income can improve the well-being of the public, experts said on Monday.
A cursory look at the education and health macro indicators of Pakistan is enough to portray the incompetent governance during the last 35 years.
World Bank statistics reveal that in 1980, the per capita income in Pakistan was $296, while it was $271 in India, $193 in China, $219 in Bangladesh and $272 in Sri Lanka.
Thus in 1980, Pakistan had higher per capita income among the five regional economies. In 2000, Pakistan’s per capita income increased to $514, while it was $457 in India, $949 in China, $356 in Bangladesh and $854 in Sri Lanka. It means that in two decades China and Sri Lanka overtook Pakistan by a large margin. In 2013, per capita income was $1275 in Pakistan, $1498 in India, $6807 in China, $957 in Bangladesh and $3279 in Sri Lanka.
“This depicts the long leap that other economies gained over Pakistan,” said a senior economist Naveed Anwar Khan.
The country data of each of these regional countries reveal that the national savings rate of GDP in 1980 was 16.68 percent in Pakistan, 17.96 percent in India, 48.83 percent in China, 9.68 percent in Bangladesh and 30.16 percent in Sri Lanka.
In the year 2000, it was almost the same at 16.96 percent in Pakistan, 23.22 percent in India, 36.83 percent in China, 22.74 percent in Bangladesh and 20.66 percent in Sri Lanka.
In 2014, the saving rate in Pakistan was even lower at 11.82 percent, while 30.01 percent in India, 49.97 percent in China, 30.29 percent in Bangladesh and 26.86 percent in Sri Lanka. Faisal Qamar an economist said, “Domestic saving shields countries from need to finance their investments from foreign donors.”
Countries having low national saving rate depend on foreign assistance for development and investment.
That’s why when the foreign inflows are high the GDP growth in Pakistan surges and when foreign inflows are dry the growth dips, he added.
In 1980, the exports of goods and services as percentage of GDP was 12.5 percent in Pakistan, 6.0 percent in India, 8.4 percent in China, 5.5 percent in Bangladesh and 32.2 percent in Sri Lanka, signaling that exports of Pakistan in 1980 were highest after Sri Lanka. In the year 2000 it was 13.4 percent in Pakistan, 12.8 percent in India, 23.8 percent in China, 14 percent in Bangladesh and 39.5 percent in Sri Lanka. This means that when the regional economies were multiplying their exports Pakistan’s export were stagnant.
In 2013, Pakistan’s export as percentage of its GDP declined nominally to 13.2 percent maintaining the stagnancy exhibited in earlier decades.
Indian exports as percentage of its GDP doubled from 12.4 percent in 2000 to 24.8 percent in 2013. Chinese exports increased to 26.4 percent of its GDP. Bangladesh saw its exports increase to 19.5 percent of its GDP almost a four time increase from 5.5 percent in 1980. Sri Lanka’s exports as percentage of its GDP stood at 22.5 percent in 2013.
“Exports are the main source of reducing poverty in developing countries,” said market analyst Amina Usman, adding labor intensive jobs are transferred to developing economies as the higher wages make manufacturing in developed economies less feasible.
She said the poverty reduced at a much higher pace in China, India and Bangladesh during 1980-2013 periods than Pakistan.
On the health side the life expectancy in 1980 was 58 years in Pakistan, 55 years in India, 57 years in China, 55 years in Bangladesh and 68 years in Sri Lanka.
Thirty three years later in 2013 average life expectancy in Pakistan is 66 year and it the same in India.
Life expectancy is 75 years in China, 70 in Bangladesh and 74 in Sri Lanka. The literacy rate in Pakistan currently stands at 58 percent. It is 71 percent in India, 95 percent in China, 58 percent in Bangladesh and 91 percent in Sri Lanka.
Dr. Kishwar Dhingra, a social worker said better literacy can increase the life expectancy in the population.