NIPS estimate: population 252.09m in 2025; growth 2.07% annually.
Source
Pakistan Economic Survey — https://finance.gov.pk/survey/chapter_26/Complete_PES2025_26.pdf. Verified in source set / retroactive normalization pending.
What it proves
Rapid population growth can dilute gains in GDP, education, health, housing and jobs.
What it does not prove: 252.09m is a NIPS inter-censal projection, not a fresh headcount, so it inherits the assumptions of the last census rather than measuring people counted in 2025. A 2.07% national average also conceals provincial spread and says nothing about per-capita outcomes until it is set beside output, school places or job growth.
Memory hook: 2.07% → roughly five million more Pakistanis to absorb every single year
Rebuts the claim: "GDP growth of two or three per cent shows the economy is recovering" — against 2.07% population growth that is flat or falling income per head.