Islamabad:Nearly 37 per cent of Pakistan's youth population -- approximately 21.8 million out of 58.6 million young people aged 15 to 29 -- are currently not in employment, education, or training, according to a research report released by IMPACT Strategies to mark World Youth Day.
The report highlights that Pakistan's primary struggle is not a lack of youth-focused initiatives, but rather weak implementation, poor inter-program coordination, inadequate needs-based financing, and a lack of outcome measurement.
While government data from the Prime Minister's Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme indicates that Rs365.5 billion has been disbursed to 625,740 borrowers -- allegedly creating or sustaining 1.96 million jobs -- the report cautions that these job figures rely on unverified modeling. Without effective tracer surveys, employer verification, or assessments of displacement effects, the actual volume of lasting jobs remains unconfirmed.
Significant regional disparities in funding distribution were also revealed. Estimated spending per youth stands at Rs4,500 to Rs5,000 in Punjab and Sindh, dropping to Rs3,500 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Rs2,500 in Balochistan.
Despite holding 6.2 per cent of the national youth population and the highest rate of out-of-school children at 58 per cent, Balochistan receives only 3.5 per cent of estimated program disbursements. Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa carries the highest sustained burden of disengaged youth.
To address these gaps, IMPACT Strategies recommends shifting to a needs-based allocation formula that factors in local NEET rates, out-of-school numbers, and unemployment levels rather than relying strictly on general population metrics.
