Pakistan

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Pakistan has a population of over 235 million people (World Bank, 2022).

COL’s work in Pakistan is primarily in the areas of higher education and girls’ and women’s training for livelihoods and benefits from programmes under the aegis of the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA). Learners from Pakistan are also participating in COL’s free, open online courses and benefitting from other available resources.

Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, 15-64 years old¹
8.4%		10.8%
Female (2021)		Male (2021)

Completion rate, lower secondary education for the school year ending in 2020¹
45.2%		50.9%
Female		Male

Gross enrolment ratio for tertiary education for the school year ending in 2019¹
12.1%		12.3%
Female		Male

Proportion of teachers with the minimum required qualifications in secondary education¹
n/a		n/a
Female		Male

1. UNESCO Institute for Statistics Data Centre, retrieved in May 2023

Highlights

Workshop to build the capacity of policymakers, parliamentarians and law enforcement officials to change discriminatory social norms was held.
A strategy for digitising learning resources, focusing on climate-responsive sustainable livelihoods and food security has been developed.
6,879 certificates have been issued to learners from Pakistan under COL’s Skills Online programme.
5,388 women and girls trained in Pakistan.

Partners

Partnerships are fundamental to COL’s work. Strategic partnerships allow COL to broaden its reach and engage at global, regional and national levels, while implementation partnerships support COL’s work in communities and institutions across Commonwealth Member States. Such partnerships include multilateral organisations, regional bodies, national governments, government agencies, foundations, civil society organisations, public and private (not-for-profit) institutions and the private sector. COL partnerships assist in improving and extending teaching and learning services to people in the developing Commonwealth.

COL’s partners in Pakistan include:

Higher Education Commission
Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU)
Bedari
Fatima Jinnah Women University
Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC)
Virtual University of Pakistan

Literacy rate (2019)¹
46.5%		69.3%
Female, Adult (15+)		Male, Adult (15+)

Economic Activity – Labour Forces Participation (2020)¹
25.5%		83.9%
Female, Ages 15-64		Male, Ages 15-64

Political Decision Making (2018)¹
20.1%
Share of seats held by women in national parliament

Life expectancy (2023)¹
66.7		64.6
Female		Male

1. COL gender country profile October 2023

21	82
Individuals using the internet (%)¹	Mobile-cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹

1.3	47
Fixed-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹	Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹




1. International Telecommunication Union (ITU), retrieved in May 2023.

Pakistan

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