I was invited to a seminar at University of Punjab on June 20, 2025, titled, “Glass half full or half empty: Understanding social and political transformation in Pakistan through data”.
The guest speaker was Mr. Bilal Geelani, Executive Director of Gallup Pakistan. I had a mixed feeling after listening to Mr. Geelani who successfully showcased ‘glass half full’ with the help of data spanning last 25 years. Data is a collection of facts, opinions, figures, trends, numbers and patterns. To be data driven is generally considered good for the stakeholders to analyze the situation at hand. However, it is individual’s perspective which shapes conclusions from the data under consideration. The very first striking slide was the population growth from 1947 when we started our journey with 33 million and now being 240 million suggests that the country progressed significantly to fulfil requirements of such a huge population. But the fact which surprised me the most was the detail about life expectancy in Pakistan which was 44 years in the 1960s and now it is 67 years with an exception of 74 years in the capital city of Islamabad.
This improvement in the life expectancy indicates significant development in social and personal life domains. Because, life expectancy doesn’t improve with healthy intakes only, several other factors such as job opportunities, stress management, smoking patterns, health facilities and so on equally contribute to it. This improvement in life expectancy suggests advancement in several sectors. Use of tobacco has detrimental effects on health; data suggests there is significant reduction in the use of tobacco in the last 25 years from 38% users to 20% smokers today which is less than the United States. But still there is a need to further curtail smoking to bring it to the level of most developed counties at least if not eliminated completely.
Alleviation of poverty and spending on education remain prominent concerns for everyone in the country. However, Mr. Geelani suggested that the situation is not as bleak as commonly perceived. He contended that poverty has reduced by 25 percentile over the last 25 years, now standing at 20% compared to 45% in 2000. Pakistan’s GDP has grown substantially over the past three decades—from 100 billion USD in 2000 to around 400 billion USD today. A key question is where people spend their earnings and the answer appears to be in education, especially higher education. Enrolment in HEIs has soared from 0.3 million students in 2000 to 2.8 million currently. Higher education is often viewed as a luxury; such a significant rise in enrolment at both public and private universities reflects prosperity in society. The literacy data shared by Mr. Geelani was equally striking. While the general understanding is that the literacy rate stands around 62%, he argued that our focus in recent decades has been on the younger population. When examining the literacy rate of people aged up to 25 years, the data indicates it is 80%—a result of effective literacy policies pursued during the last two to three decades.
Data speaks truth and it suggests significant improvement in the yield of our major crops like wheat and maize. Recently we witnessed an interesting indicator of prosperity in the society especially in this region i.e. availability of the toilet to the households. According to the data almost 638 million people do not have access to the toilet in India. In Pakistan only 5% people do not have access to the toilet and that in the rural areas. Mobility stats have also significantly improved over the decades with sharp increase in motorcycle users.
The most interesting part of the discussion was the political environment, which revolves around people under 30—comprising 50% of Pakistan’s population and representing a major strength both economically and politically. The 18 to 29 age group is now shaping political discourse, having become active voters over the past two decades. Traditional parties like PML(N) and PPP have been losing their vote bank, likely due to their failure to understand this segment’s sentiment. While young people appreciate schemes like laptops and infrastructure, they see them as their right. What they truly seek is identity, global recognition and leadership that represents them with pride and honour. Traditional slogans and parties have lost their appeal. There is ample space for new ideas, fresh approaches and visionary leadership to guide Pakistan’s young population. PTI and TLP gained popularity among this group. Existing parties must revamp their image to stay relevant; otherwise, new players will inevitably replace them. This is what the data suggests.
There are two factors of the portrayal of gloomy picture of Pakistan. First the availability heuristics, people believe in what they listen every day in their lives. Our mainstream media and social networking platforms both usually promote pessimism in the society broadcasting negative indicators. We hardly observe these encouraging trends in our mainstream prime hour debates. Therefore people start believing in what is available to them to watch. Second factor is the vested interest of a specific segment of the society which aims to win grants and privileges from Western countries and donors. They highlight undesirable affairs of the society to secure their interests. Therefore international audience also started to believe in the negativity as a preeminent indicator for Pakistani society. We have demonstrated our strengths to entire world during recent India Pakistan conflict with exceptional technological expertise, defeating one of the best fighter jet platforms available today. This speaks volumes about our abilities. We only need to propagate our strengths instead of indulging in untoward instances which are not uncommon to any society on this planet. Remember, glass is half full dear Pakistanis, let’s celebrate!
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Lahore.
(drabdussattar@cuilahore.edu.pk)
