Cambridge IGCSE Pakistan Studies: Population and Employment (0448)

Population and employment is Section 8, the final section of Paper 2 in Cambridge IGCSE Pakistan Studies 0448. It covers Pakistan’s population structure and growth, the causes and effects of migration, the distribution and density of population, and the make-up of the workforce, including unemployment, underemployment and the importance of education. Many questions give a population pyramid, graph or table to interpret, so data skills matter as much as recall.

Where does this section fit in 0448 Paper 2?

Population ties the whole paper together. Where people live depends on the land and climate of Section 1 and on water from Section 2. The jobs they do are in agriculture (Section 4), industry (Section 5) and services, including trade and transport (Sections 6 and 7). Rapid population growth puts pressure on every resource in the syllabus, which is why the sustainability theme is strongest here.

Syllabus coverage

CAMBRIDGE IGCSE PAKISTAN STUDIES (0448), 2026 — PAPER 2, SECTION 8: POPULATION AND EMPLOYMENT

(a) Structure and growth

• Changing age and sex structures shown by population pyramids for Pakistan
• Effects of present and projected structures on the economy and development
• Interpreting graphs and statistics of birth rates, death rates and natural increase; identifying trends
• Social, educational, economic and political factors contributing to growth
• Problems for development caused by growth, its sustainability, and possible solutions

(b) Movements of population

• Push and pull causes of rural–urban migration, seasonal migration, emigration and immigration (including refugees)
• Effects, including shanty developments, tent cities and rural depopulation
• Measures to solve the problems, such as self-help schemes and provision of clean water and services, including adverse outcomes such as poor housing

(c) Distribution and density of population

• The difference between distribution and density
• Variations between and within the provinces, including the northern areas
• Physical, economic, social and political factors behind these variations

(d) Employment

• Primary, secondary and tertiary occupations; proportions of the workforce in each and changes
• Causes of rural and urban unemployment and underemployment, and the problems they create
• Availability of skilled and manual labour
• Unemployment and underemployment as influences on GNP and GDP
• Importance of literacy, education and training for males and females in rural and urban areas

What does Pakistan’s population pyramid show?

Pakistan’s pyramid has a wide base and narrow top: a large share of the population is under 15, and a small share is over 65. This shows a high birth rate and a falling but still moderate death rate. Over time the base has begun to narrow slightly as birth rates fall, while the middle widens as large younger groups grow up.

Effects on development: a young population means high dependency, with heavy demand for schools, health care and food, and a fast-growing labour force that needs jobs. If those jobs are created, a large working-age population can boost output; if not, unemployment rises.

Why is Pakistan’s population growing quickly?

The 2023 census recorded about 241 million people, among the largest populations in the world, with a rapid growth rate. Natural increase is the birth rate minus the death rate.

Factor	How it raises growth
Social	Early marriage; preference for large families and for sons; children as support in old age
Educational	Low female literacy, linked to higher fertility; limited awareness of family planning
Economic	Children work on farms and in the informal sector, adding family income
Political	Family planning programmes have had uneven funding and reach
Health	Better medical care and vaccination have lowered the death rate, especially among infants

Problems: pressure on food, water, housing, schools, hospitals and jobs; growth of slums; environmental damage. Solutions: female education, family planning services, better health care to reduce infant deaths, and economic development that reduces the need for large families.

Why do people migrate, and what are the effects?

Type	Push factors	Pull factors
Rural–urban	Few jobs, low wages, landlessness, poor services, floods	Jobs in industry and services, schools, hospitals, bright lights
Seasonal	Little farm work in the slack season; winter snow in the mountains	Harvest work on the plains; urban jobs in winter
Emigration	Unemployment, low pay	High wages in the Gulf states, the UK and elsewhere
Immigration and refugees	Conflict in neighbouring countries	Safety, family links

Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan refugees since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

Effects in cities: rapid growth of shanty settlements, known as katchi abadis, with poor housing, little clean water or sanitation, congestion and pollution. Tent cities form when refugees arrive or after disasters such as floods and earthquakes. Effects in rural areas: depopulation, loss of young workers, but income from remittances.

Solutions: self-help schemes where residents build their own sewers and improve homes, such as the Orangi Pilot Project in Karachi; provision of standpipes, clean water and services; upgrading katchi abadis rather than demolishing them. Evaluate them: upgrading can encourage more migration, and poorly planned schemes may still leave bad housing.

What is the difference between distribution and density?

Distribution is the pattern of where people live. Density is the number of people per square kilometre. Punjab has the largest share of the population and high densities on the irrigated plain; Balochistan is the largest province by area but has the smallest share of the population and very low density. Within provinces, densities are high in cities such as Karachi and Lahore and in fertile river valleys, and low in mountains and deserts.

Factors: physical (flat land, fertile soil, water, mild climate versus mountains, deserts and extreme cold); economic (jobs, industry, irrigation, trade); social (services, family ties); political (capital city functions, government investment, security).

How is the workforce employed?

• Primary occupations (farming, fishing, mining) still employ the largest single share of workers, though the share is falling.
• Secondary occupations (manufacturing, construction) have grown with industry.
• Tertiary occupations (trade, transport, government, education, health) are growing fastest in the cities.

Unemployment means having no job; underemployment means not having enough work, such as farm labourers idle outside the planting and harvest seasons, or street vendors earning very little. Both reduce GNP and GDP because people produce less than they could. Pakistan has plenty of manual labour but a shortage of skilled labour, so raising literacy, technical training and female education is central to development.

Frequently asked questions

What is a dependent population? People under 15 and over 65 who mostly rely on those of working age. Pakistan’s dependency is high because so many people are young.

What is the Orangi Pilot Project? A self-help scheme begun in Karachi’s Orangi area in 1980, where residents organised and paid for their own lane sewers with technical guidance.

Why is female education stressed? Educated women tend to marry later and have fewer children, and their skills raise family income and national output.

Related pages

• Population and Employment revision notes
• Population and Employment practice questions
• Industrial Development study guide
• Agricultural Development study guide

Source: Cambridge International, Cambridge IGCSE Pakistan Studies 0448 syllabus for examination in 2026, Paper 2 Section 8; Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 2023 census headline count.