- 2018-11-01
Achievements of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh
Pakistan and India celebrated their respective independence days on August 14th and August 15th, celebrating the 70th anniversary of their separation from British rule. At the time of independence, India’s total economy was about 15% of that of the United States. Today, India’s economic aggregate is about half that of the United States - in terms of "purchasing power parity", India has surpassed Germany and Japan since entering the 21st century, and is currently the world's third largest economy. This calculation method takes into account that the prices of goods and services in developing countries are much lower, and adjustments have been made accordingly.
Standard of living
However, the per capita output value of India and Pakistan is only about 10% of that of the United States, while the per capita output value of Bangladesh is only half that of India and Pakistan. The country was divided into Pakistan during the partition of India and Pakistan and achieved independence in 1971. Even though the economies of these countries have achieved amazing growth over the past few decades, they have not yet escaped poverty.
Population and city
The current population of India is about 3.5 times that of when it first became independent, while the population of Pakistan has increased by more than 5 times. It is estimated that by the end of the 2020s, India will surpass China to become the most populous country in the world.
In the history of a country's economic and population development, it is an important point in time that the urban population surpasses the rural population. In the United Kingdom, this moment occurred in the 1851 census. The United States did not realize it until 1920, while China's urban population surpassed the rural population for the first time until 2011. The United Nations (UN) predicts that the urban population of Pakistan and Bangladesh will surpass the rural population in the late 2030s, but India will not be able to achieve this goal until the middle of the 21st century.
The most significant demographic changes are in several megacities in the Indian subcontinent. The population of Delhi and Mumbai has surpassed that of Kolkata, the largest city in India's first independence, and the population of Delhi is close to that of Tokyo, the world's most populous city. However, perhaps the most overlooked place is not in India-the United Nations predicts that by 2030, Lahore and Dhaka will be among the 10 largest cities in the world, surpassing New York.
Life expectancy and health
At the beginning of the partition of India and Pakistan, the life expectancy of the Indian population at birth was only 32 years. In the past 70 years, Pakistan and Bangladesh have made tremendous progress in the medical field. Immunization, nutritional status, and prevention and treatment of infectious diseases have all improved significantly, reducing mortality. As a result, the average life expectancy of the population of the Indian subcontinent has now at least doubled. Today, the life expectancy of the Pakistani population is 66 years, the life expectancy of the Indian population is 68 years, and the life expectancy of the Bangladeshi population is 72 years.
But there are still many challenges. Although the infant mortality rate has dropped significantly, it is still high. India (38 deaths per 1,000 live births) and Pakistan (66) still have the highest neonatal mortality rates in Asia.
Like all increasingly wealthy countries, these three countries are also fighting against some non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and cardiovascular diseases.
communication
In the early days of India-Pakistan partition, India had only 84,000 telephone lines with a population of 350 million, while Pakistan had only 4,000 telephone lines with a population of 75 million. Seventy years have passed and Asia has become one of the fastest growing mobile communications markets in the world. Although Europe still has the highest mobile phone penetration rate, China and India have become the world's first and second largest mobile phone markets. By 2020, India is expected to have more than 1 billion mobile phone users like China.
education
India has made remarkable achievements in culture and education. In 2015, the literacy rate of the whole population increased from 16% in 1951 to 72%.
However, challenges remain. Teaching still emphasizes rote memorization. In the early 1950s, only 8% to 9% of adult women in the Indian subcontinent were literate, and after a long period of time, the level of education of women was still lower than that of men.
Gender differences are particularly significant in Pakistan. The female literacy rate in Pakistan is still only 44%, while the male literacy rate is 70%. In the 2016 Global Gender Gap Index released by the World Economic Forum, Pakistan ranked second among 144 countries.
In order to achieve the goals of their respective commitments in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (Millennium Development Goals), South Asian countries have increased investment in education in recent years. Countries in the Indian subcontinent have made improvements at all levels of education, including higher education. In the last ten years, the proportion of higher education students in Pakistan has nearly tripled, and the proportion in India and Bangladesh has also doubled.
religion
Before the partition of India and Pakistan, according to British census data, Hindus accounted for the vast majority of the population of British India. From 1881 to 1941, the proportion of Hindus in the population decreased slightly due to the difference in birth rate, from about 80% to 70%, while the proportion of ***s increased slightly. Since then, the official demographic data have not been updated until 1951. In addition, the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 caused violent turmoil. According to reports, 15 million people moved between the two countries, mainly due to religious beliefs.
In the newly formed Pakistan, the vast majority of the population is ***. Since the partition of India and Pakistan, the proportion of ***s and Hindus in Pakistan has basically remained stable. In India, the proportion of *** population is on the rise. ***s currently account for 14% of India’s population, or about 176 million, making India the second largest *** population in the world after Indonesia.