By Zubeida Mustafa
PAKISTAN enjoys the dubious distinction of being the fifth most populous state in the world. But unlike the four countries that precede it in population size, Pakistan has been unable to manage its demographic growth and economy to its advantage. The shocking revelation made by the census last year was that Pakistan’s population had grown faster in the last five years. The annual growth rate was 2.55 per cent. It had been 2.4 pc in the 2017 census.