close
Friday March 29, 2024

Pakistan spends meagre amount on research, development: ADB

By Mehtab Haider
September 10, 2017

Islamabad

Pakistan’s research and development expenditure, as percentage of GDP stands at only 0.25 percent, indicating that the country spent meager amount on crucial areas.

The ADB’s Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2017 released on Friday state that in Pakistan, even though GDP has been posting healthy growth since 2012, the economy’s production and supply chains remain largely localized.

A considerable number of people in the region still lack regular access to adequate food, with the prevalence of undernourishment at over 20% in six economies: Tajikistan (33.2%), Timor-Leste (26.9%), Afghanistan (26.8%), Pakistan (22.0%), Sri Lanka (22.0%), and Mongolia (20.5%)

Prevalence of stunting among children under 5 years of age shows that as of 2015, stunting affects more than two-fifths of children under 5 years of age in Timor-Leste (50.2%), Papua New Guinea (49.5%), Pakistan (45.0%), the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (43.8%), and Afghanistan (40.9%)

Developing economies where the prevalence of stunting among children under 5 years of age has increased between the earliest and latest years for which data are available include Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Pacific economies of Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.

Across economies, India ($1.05 billion), the People’s Republic of China ($386.4 million), Afghanistan ($328.1 million), and Pakistan ($291.7 million) have been the four largest recipients of total official development assistance for agriculture sector.

However, in Bangladesh (59.6%), Pakistan (61.2%), Palau (59.3%), Sri Lanka (57.3%), and Vanuatu (21.5%), less than three-fifths of lower secondary teachers have received at least the minimum organised teacher training.  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has released the 2017 edition of Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific. Key Indicators 2017 provides the latest available economic, financial, social, and environmental statistics for the 48 regional members of ADB.

“Key Indicators 2017 will be a useful tool for ADB member countries, researchers, media, and citizens for monitoring the region’s development progress,” said ADB Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada. “Data plays a critical role in helping decision-makers prioritize policies to meet their development goals and the report brings together comparable statistics on a broad range of development themes.”

A key addition to this year’s report is an analysis on sex-disaggregated data that ADB researchers conducted through 3 pilot surveys. Despite strong evidence linking women’s asset ownership to the attainment of development goals, such sex-disaggregated data needed to monitor progress in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are scarce. The pilot surveys have produced rich data on asset ownership at the individual level, and provide valuable lessons for future statistical work on the subject.

Other contents of this year’s report include: 

-SDG indicators in Asia and the Pacific: The report looks at the progress under five themes — people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership.

-Regional trends and tables, including indicators across 8 themes — people; economy and output; money, finance, and prices; globalization; transport and communications; energy and electricity; environment; and government and governance.

-Updated tables and data for the Global Value Chain statistics, first introduced in Key Indicators 2015.

-Updated individual country tables for 48 regional members of ADB are available online.

With this release, ADB’s online statistical database has also been updated. Visit adb.org or click here to get direct access to the Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, ADB is celebrating 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2016, ADB assistance totaled $31.7 billion, including $14 billion in co-financing.