October 2003  

"Historic" Survey of Pakistani Youth Published

Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs Shaukat Aziz speaks to an audience of more than 250 reporters, development professionals, and dignitaries at the launching ceremony for Adolescents and Youth in Pakistan 2001–2002.

Three high-level officials of the government of Pakistan joined Population Council researchers on July 24 for the release of Adolescents and Youth in Pakistan 2001–2002, a national survey conducted by the Council in cooperation with Pakistan’s Federal Bureau of Statistics. The first of its kind in Pakistan, the survey analyzes interviews in which more than 8,000 young people were asked about their attitudes toward school, work, and marriage. Called “historic” by the United Nations–based IRIN News, the survey field work and report took 16 months to complete.

Pakistan’s Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Shaukat Aziz, officiated at the ceremony. The Federal Secretaries of Population Welfare and of Minorities, Culture, and Youth Affairs also spoke, as did representatives of the UK Department for International Development and UNICEF Pakistan. (The last two organizations had joined The Rockefeller Foundation and the United Nations Population Fund in funding the survey.) 

Aziz noted that the survey findings “will facilitate the government, civil society, and the private sector in formulation of their programs on youth for education and for their careers.” One-sixth of Pakistan’s population is between the ages of 15 and 24. Among the survey’s findings: No more than 39 percent of girls living in rural areas have ever been to school, yet marriage ages are rising, resulting in a longer time interval between puberty and marriage. 

More than 250 media and development professionals attended the event, which was covered on the front pages of Pakistan's newspapers. According to The News (Islamabad), the speakers "commended the efforts of the Population Council for compiling a comprehensive report on an important issue." The Pakistani officials also termed the report "useful for the researchers and policy-makers, and called upon the government to incorporate its recommendations in the formulation of youth policy in the country." 

The Council was represented by Barbara Ibrahim, regional director for West Asia and North Africa; Zeba Sathar, country director for Pakistan; and Cynthia B. Lloyd, director of social science research in New York. 

 

Adolescents: One person in five Over 1.2 billion young people ages 15 to 24—20 percent of humanity—are now making the transition from childhood to adulthood. Six years ago, the Population Council embarked on an intensive study of adolescence in developing countries. Field-based projects are now in progress in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Mali, Pakistan, South Africa, and Vietnam. Issues being studied include education and livelihood opportunities, health interventions, savings and micro-credit plans, and ways of encouraging adolescents, particularly girls, to stay in school.

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See Also

• Adolescents and Youth in Pakistan 2001-2002: A Nationally Representative Survey (PDF)
• "Broad survey of Pakistani youth completed," Population Briefs 9:3. (PDF)