Wali Zahid

By Wali Zahid

Wali failed to finish his PhD in international conflict analysis from University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.

As part of his study fellowships, he went to Canada’s Pearson Peacekeeping Center, American University Washington DC’s Summer School in Conflict & Peace, ASPR Austria’s Peace-building Summer program and GIIS’s Program in International Security in Geneva, Switzerland and UK’s Reading University’s Humanitarian Intervention Conference.

He has participated in international conferences along side specialists from SIPRI, which produced the above data.

While he worked as a journalist, Wali had the opportunity to visit Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battleground, and forward posts along the Line of Control (LOC) on Pakistan-India border.

He also had the opportunity to visit Pakistan Ordnance Factory, Rebuild Factory, PAF Kamra Base.

As a leadership thinker, Wali has spoken on military leadership at Pakistan Naval Academy, Karachi. He appears on national TV on matters of significance to Pakistan.

His recent piece: Wali on The Pakistan 2050 Opportunity

Do not miss our Understanding Pakistan Series

A miracle: Pakistan score in Long Term Orientation goes from Zero to 50

What Pakistan needs is not education but a Project Ignorance

You may now perform Umrah in Muharram & Shawwal

September 17, 2016September 17, 2016 1 Comment Enterprise Scalability, Media, Social Media Strategy, Travel & Aviation, Writings

A good news: You may be able to now perform Umrah during Muharram and Shawwal as well in addition to the existing eight months – from Safar to Ramadan.

The Saudi government is considering a proposal to extend the Umrah season from the current eight months to 10.

Muharram and Shawwal will be included in the Umrah season.

Umrah visas are currently issued for eight months between Safar and Ramadan.

Saudi Arabia is building the world’s tallest tower

Who is Saudi Arabia’s King Salman?

Saudi men banned from marrying Pakistani women

The Bahrain side not many people know of

This map explains the Saudi-Iran proxy war

The proposal comes in the wake of a new Saudi vision for Makkah and Madinah to be promoted as cultural cities of Islam through construction and expansion of museums and historic and cultural sites.

It is also in line with Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to raise the number of Umrah visitors from current 8 million to 30 million by 2030 after the prices of crude oil have dropped.

The world’s most spoken languages

Muslims number about 1.62 billion worldwide, representing 23 percent of the global population. – Edited from Arab News

Do not miss our Understanding Pakistan Series

A miracle: Pakistan score in Long Term Orientation goes from Zero to 50

What Pakistan needs is not education but a Project Ignorance

Pakistan GDP set to grow by 5.3% by 2020: IMF

September 15, 2016September 15, 2016 Leave a comment Causes, Enterprise Creation, Family, Future, Health, Media, Pakistan 2050, Social Media Strategy, Tehreek-e-Adl, Wealth, Writings, Youth Mentoring

Pakistan GDP is set to grow by 5.3% in 2020, according to an IMF growth forecast for Pakistan, published in Bloomberg this year.

The forecast shows a consistently rising trend until 2020 when it plateaus.

This immediate forecast is in line with other medium-term forecasts by Harvard’s CID (up to year 2024), as published on this blog, BMI Research UK (by year 2025) and World Economic Forum (video), Switzerland.

In the longer term, several forecasts by Goldman Sachs, PwC and HSBC rank Pakistan as one of the top 20 economies in the world by 2050.

These forecasts are mentioned in Wali on The Pakistan 2050 Opportunity, published in The News, Pakistan’s largest-selling daily on 14 August 2016, and a live TV show I did earlier on Business Plus this year.

Worried about Pakistan’s $73B debt? You must see this

Pakistan to upgrade to emerging-market status

What the world will be like in year 2100

However, one worry. Pakistan tax-to-GDP ratio (a mere 10.1 percent) is among the bottom 15 of 100+ economies.

According to Bloomberg, although about 360,000 Pakistanis registered as new tax-filers since 2013 when Nawaz Sharif took over, the total is still only 1.1 million, or less than 1 percent of the population. IMF insists that this indicator needs to improve.

The government is aiming to achieve 12.2 percent tax-to-GDP ratio and 1.8 million tax returns in current fiscal year 2016-17.

Another worry is missed growth targets.

In another report, Bloomberg highlights Pakistan’s missed targets of GDP growth over the past 10 years.

My suggestion for Finance Minister Ishaq Dar would be that instead of trying to fix all issues at once – which could a daunting task in this current inefficient system – his team could run various simulations based on our high-performing sectors. The sectors which have demonstrated growth in these three years and are promising need to be further developed.

Pakistan doesn’t to fix all issues in order to become a hyper-performing economy. It just needs to focus on sectors where more value can be achieved – nearly effortlessly – in the short term and a point or two could be added to GDP growth. Analytics and trends data could be handy for Minister Dar and his finance team.

Do not miss our Understanding Pakistan Series

A miracle: Pakistan score in Long Term Orientation goes from Zero to 50

What Pakistan needs is not education but a Project Ignorance

Quetta and Peshawar among 20 most terrorist prone cities in the world

September 12, 2016September 12, 2016 Leave a comment Causes, Family, Media, Pakistan 2050, Social Media Strategy, Tehreek-e-Adl, Writings, Youth Mentoring

Two Pakistani cities – Quetta and Peshawar – have been listed among the 20 most terrorist prone cities in the world in 2015, according to a report by World Economic Forum (WEF), Switzerland.

Titled ’15 years after 9/11 and the war on terror that followed, are we any safer?’ the WEF report contrasts high-profile attacks by extremists on major cities across Belgium, France, Lebanon, Turkey and the US with those in lesser-known cities around the world.

The 20 most terrorist prone cities ranking is based on the number of violent deaths per 100,000.

Iraqi city Ramadi has topped the list with 243 violent deaths per 100,000.

Quetta is at number 11 and Peshawar at number 15 among the 20 most terrorist prone cities.

Our cities

Peshawar is the world’s second most polluted city

Karachi to be 7th largest megacity by 2030: UN

Karachi 6th least liveable city in the world

Data from Global Terrorism Database show most terror victims came from a handful cities in six countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria.

Our earlier reports

Pakistan 11th strongest military in the world

Pakistan ranks 5th in terrorism-affected countries list

List of attacks on military & sensitive installations in Pakistan

Acts of terrorism since 1970 in one map

Pakistani nationality ranks second least valuable in the world

Harvard predicts Pakistan GDP to grow by 5% over next 10 years

Excerpts from WEF report are here:

The Global Terrorism Database and other reports issued by the US State Department have issued remarkably consistent findings over the past few decades. The vast majority of terrorist incidents are a function of hyper local political grievances in a small number of countries.

Data from the past several years show an overwhelming number of victims concentrated in a handful of cities in six countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria.

The extent of terrorist violence in these six countries is breathtaking. They are home to the world’s 20 most heavily targeted cities over the past four years.

A review of terrorism in over 2,100 cities revealed that violent death rates (per 100,000) were well above those one might expect in a war zone.

Major urban centres like Baghdad, Karachi and Mogadishu stand out. But it’s unlikely you’ve ever heard of most of the others.

Pakistan: The brighter side:

Pakistan is the world’s fastest-growing Muslim economy: The Economist

$46B China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: 15 years, 3 routes, 51 projects

$7.6B 1,800km TAPI gas pipeline to be operational in 2018

Bloomberg on Pakistan’s economic revival, construction boom

Pakistan is less corrupt than last year. This is good news. What’s the bad news?

Pakistan petrol prices 18th lowest in the world

Predictably, most terrorist killings target densely populated areas, especially markets, bus stations and public buildings in cities.

However, a breakdown of the terrorism statistics suggests that it is not solely an urban phenomenon, much less one restricted to large cities.

It is also a function of the extent of urbanization in a given country and, just as important, terrorist tactics, which vary from place to place.

In Iraq, slightly less than 50% of terrorist killings occur in cities of over 250,000 people. In Syria, the proportion is 70%. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan the ratio is just 10% urban, while it falls to 8% in India.

Do not miss our Understanding Pakistan Series

A miracle: Pakistan score in Long Term Orientation goes from Zero to 50

What Pakistan needs is not education but a Project Ignorance

Pakistan 11th strongest military in the world

September 11, 2016September 12, 2016 5 Comments Causes, Family, Future, Health, Media, Pakistan 2050, Social Media Strategy, Tehreek-e-Adl, Wealth, Writings, Youth Mentoring

Pakistan is 11th strongest military in the world in 2016, according to a Credit Suisse report on globalization. The ranking is based on data from SIPRI, Global Firepower Index and Credit Suisse.

The image above is from Business Insider which has ranked the world’s 20 strongest militaries in a report here.

In Global Firepower Index’s own 2016 ranking, Pakistan is ranked as the 13th most powerful military in the world.

In 2016-17 Pakistan federal budget, Rs 860 billion ($8.2 billion) were allocated to defence. An increase of 11% from previous fiscal-year budget, it is 2.6pc of Pakistan GDP.

Comparing the Pakistan & Afghanistan military power

Number of nuclear warheads down worldwide, up in S Asia

List of attacks on military & sensitive installations in Pakistan

As S Asia ups economic game, Pakistan risks falling behind: WSJ. The question is why?

Pakistan ranks 5th in terrorism-affected countries list

Pakistani nationality ranks second least valuable in the world

Pakistan is world’s 9th least peaceful country: GPI

Worried about Pakistan’s $73B debt? You must see this

In 2014 ranking by Global Firepower Index, Pakistan was ranked as the 15th most powerful military in the world. Our detailed post then, which was widely read.

2014 GFI ranking: Pakistan 15th most powerful military in the world

So it’s quite an upward movement that in two years, we moved up by two notches in GFI ranking and four notches in Credit Suisse ranking.

All eyes are now on 2017 GFI ranking to be released in April.

See also:

$46B China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: 15 years, 3 routes, 51 projects

What the world will be like in year 2100

By Wali Zahid

Wali failed to finish his PhD in international conflict analysis from University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.

He has participated in international conferences along side specialists from SIPRI, which produced the above data.

While he worked as a journalist, Wali had the opportunity to visit Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battleground, and forward posts along the Line of Control (LOC) on Pakistan-India border.

He also had the opportunity to visit Pakistan Ordnance Factory, Rebuild Factory, PAF Kamra Base.

As a leadership thinker, Wali has spoken on military leadership at Pakistan Naval Academy, Karachi.

His recent piece: Wali on The Pakistan 2050 Opportunity

Do not miss our Understanding Pakistan Series

A miracle: Pakistan score in Long Term Orientation goes from Zero to 50

What Pakistan needs is not education but a Project Ignorance

Only 14% Pakistanis use social media

September 10, 2016September 11, 2016 Leave a comment Better Parenting, Causes, Generation Y Learner, Learning, Pakistan 2050, Social Media Strategy, Technology, Tehreek-e-Adl, Writings, Youth Mentoring

Do you know how many social media users are in Pakistan?

Only two weeks ago, I was moderating a panel discussion on digitalisation at a two-day Digital Pakistan conference in Karachi.

Regional heads from Google and Facebook at Work based in Singapore and senior executives from Pakistan’s telecom operators Mobilink, Telenor (Internet of Things) and PTCL participated in the discussions.

In one session a speaker confronted the audience – expected to be digital and aware – if they knew Pakistan’s exact population (although I did a post on this based on UN data – here) or number of internet or social media users.

There was no answer. Reason: Because there was no official data available.

More recently, a week ago, BBC Urdu featured me on their weekly program – Socialistan – in ‘Who to Follow on Social Media’ stating that I was someone who curated authentic data about Pakistan and its economy.

Since then I have been in search of percent and number of population in each Pakistani province and the percent of revenue that comes from each province and large cities.

And surprisingly, no publicly-available data has these numbers. I must hasten to add that this is not today’s topic.

The good news is at least some decent data is available on the use of social media in Pakistan – from this year’s We Are Social report, released this week.

And no data is complete without mentioning the Big-Body neighbour next door – India, our comparison country.

Some graphics are reproduced with courtesy from We Are Social, a UK consultancy.

The report is produced by Simon Kemp, the Singapore-based regional managing partner for Asia. Full report can be accessed and downloaded here.

Pakistan

Pakistan population: 191 million

Pakistan Internet users: 18% | 34.4 million

Pakistan social media / Facebook users: 14% | 27 million

Pakistan mobile users: 66% | 126.3 million

Pakistan mobile social users: 12% | 22 million

Pakistan 6th most populous country now and in 2050

Pakistan Facebook user profile

Men: 78% | 21 million

Women: 22% | 6 million

Largest user group by age: 18-24 years

India

India population: 1.319 billion

India Internet users: 35% | 462 million

India social media / Facebook users: 12% | 153 million

India mobile users: 77% | 1,012 million

India mobile social users: 10% | 130 million

India women users: 24% | 1 in 4

Work on India’s first $15B bullet train starts in 2 years

World

Total world population: 7.45 billion

Internet users: 3.63 billion

Social media users: 2.67 billion

Mobile users: 4.78 billion

Mobile social users: 2.44 billion

The world’s most spoken languages

Asia-Pacific (APAC)

Internet users in APAC: 1.83 billion

Social media users in APAC: 1.43 billion

Mobile connections in APAC: 3.86 billion

Mobile social media users in APAC: 1.36 billion

APAC’s share of total global population: 55%

APAC’s share of global internet users: 50%

APAC’s share of global social media users: 53%

APAC’s share of global mobile connections: 49%

APAC’s share of global social media users: 56%

Related: Social media

What is the connection between Labour defeat in UK and PTI? Twitter tells us

Dawn report on 1965 India-Pakistan war through Twitter eyes

Does Nawaz Sharif exist on Twitter? No

Pakistanis celebrate political Father’s Day on Twitter

Who to follow on Twitter? BBC Urdu recommends Wali

The colours of tolerance on Facebook

Women users of Facebook in South Asia

Men outnumber women on Facebook by a wide margin in South Asian countries. In Pakistan, 22% of Facebook’s 27 million users are women, while in Bangladesh, home to some 22 million users, the rate is 23%. It is 29% in Sri Lanka and 33% in Nepal. In India, 24% of 153 million Facebook users are women. – WSJ

Do not miss our Understanding Pakistan Series

A miracle: Pakistan score in Long Term Orientation goes from Zero to 50

What Pakistan needs is not education but a Project Ignorance

Karachi to get 26km Yellow Line bus service in 2 years

September 9, 2016September 9, 2016 3 Comments Causes, Future, Media, Pakistan 2050, Social Media Strategy, Tehreek-e-Adl, Travel & Aviation, Wealth, Writings, Youth Mentoring

BEIJING: The Sindh government and China Urban Elected Company (CUEC) signed an agreement for 26.5km, 104-bus Yellow Line Karachi bus rapid transport (BRT) project at the cost of Rs 14.4 billion.

Funds for Yellow Line project will come from:

Sindh government: 14 percent
CUEC:16 percent
A loan of 70 percent from Chinese financial institutions to be arranged by CUEC.

The Yellow Line project will be completed in two years.

It will benefit nearly 150,000 passengers a day.

The Yellow Line will start from Dawood Chowrangi in Landhi and end at Regal Chowk, Saddar, via Korangi Road, FTC, Sharae Quaideen, Numaish and People’s Secretariat Chowrangi.

A 16km BRT track will be dedicated to Yellow Line and no other traffic will be allowed to pass. It will include a 4km elevated track. A 6km track will be mixed with other traffic after Kala Pul on Sharae Faisal.

Jam Sadiq Ali Bridge at Korangi will be widened from four to eight lanes and two flyovers will be constructed.

The Yellow Line will have 24 stations and 24 overhead bridges.

More on Pakistan’s travel infrastructure

Naya Pakistan: Travel from Pindi to Islamabad in 20¢ in wifi-ed AC bus

Green Line train from Islamabad to Karachi with free wifi

The Yellow Line follows the earlier BRT project, Green Line, which is now in execution phase.

Groundbreaking of Rs 16.1 billion 18.4km Green Line, a federal government project, was done by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in February. Green Line will have 21 bus stations and will be completed in a year.

Groundbreaking of Karachi’s Green Line Bus project

With an official population of 16.126 million, Karachi is the world’s 12th largest megacity. By 2030, with an official population of 24.838 million, Karachi is estimated to become the world’s 7th largest megacity.

Karachi to be 7th largest megacity by 2030: UN

Pakistan: The brighter side:

Harvard predicts Pakistan GDP to grow by 5% over next 10 years

Pakistan is the world’s fastest-growing Muslim economy: The Economist

Forbes calls Pakistan the next Colombia success story, asks US to see beyond security lens

$7.6B 1,800km TAPI gas pipeline to be operational in 2018

Bloomberg on Pakistan’s economic revival, construction boom

Pakistan is enjoying a rare period of optimism: The Economist

Pakistan is less corrupt than last year. This is good news. What’s the bad news?

Pakistan petrol prices 18th lowest in the world

Besides the Yellow Line, Blue and Red line projects are included in the Sindh government’s initiatives.

The mass transit initiatives are likely to increase Karachi’s ranking in global liveability index of The Economist London. Currently, Karachi is the sixth least liveable city in the world. Karachi score in infrastructure is 51.8 out of 100.

Karachi 6th least liveable city in the world

The Sindh government is planning to launch an intra-city project first at divisional level in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas, Larkana and Benazirabad and then replicate it at the district level.

The agreement is part of the Sindh government’s Karachi mass transit programme that includes:

Six bus rapid transport (BRT) corridors
Two mass rapid transit (MRT) corridors
Revitalisation of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR)

More on cities

Pakistan world’s least expensive country: World Bank: Karachi cheapest city

Peshawar is the world’s second most polluted city

Karachi’s Killers by FP’s Ivan Sigal

The bus rapid transport (BRT) corridor will have five lines:

Green line (18.4km)
Orange line (3.9km)
Yellow line (26.5km)
Blue line (38km)
Red line (22km)

More on China-Pakistan ties

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects pick up pace

$46B China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: 15 years, 3 routes, 51 projects

The Yellow Line BRT is part of the six bus rapid transport corridors (map below) that were proposed by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to improve the traffic situation in Karachi.

Do not miss our Understanding Pakistan Series

A miracle: Pakistan score in Long Term Orientation goes from Zero to 50

What Pakistan needs is not education but a Project Ignorance

Who to follow on Twitter? BBC Urdu recommends Wali

September 2, 2016September 3, 2016 2 Comments Causes, Future, In Print, Introduction, Media, Pakistan 2050, Print & TV Media, Social Media Strategy, Tehreek-e-Adl, Writings, Youth Mentoring

Who to follow on social media?

In a surprise post, today‘s Socialistan, a weekly feature by BBC Urdu, recommended blogger and futurist Wali Zahid to follow on Twitter and Facebook for economic trends about future.

The BBC Urdu’s Social Media Editor, Tahir Imran Mian, gave Wali’s Twitter handle and mentioned his Facebook fan page (with nearly 150,000 likes) which, according to BBC, has useful information on economy and other important issues.

Some posts by Wali on Pakistan

Worried about Pakistan’s $73B debt? You must see this

Harvard predicts Pakistan GDP to grow by 5% over next 10 years

Forbes calls Pakistan the next Colombia success story, asks US to see beyond security lens

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects pick up pace

$46B China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: 15 years, 3 routes, 51 projects

$7.6B 1,800km TAPI gas pipeline to be operational in 2018

Bloomberg on Pakistan’s economic revival, construction boom

Naya Pakistan: Travel from Pindi to Islamabad in 20¢ in wifi-ed AC bus

Green Line train from Islamabad to Karachi with free wifi

Pakistan is enjoying a rare period of optimism: The Economist

Pakistan is less corrupt than last year. This is good news. What’s the bad news?

Nothing could be more rewarding for me as I had been a BBC radio listener since my childhood.

In late 1990’s, I was a temporary staff member at BBC Urdu’s London office (many in Pakistan BBC today may not know it).

On an occasion like this, as my kids would say: give thanks to Allah.

Some more posts by Wali on Pakistan

Pakistani nationality ranks second least valuable in the world

Everything about Pakistan’s competitiveness – in 10 photos

Nuclear warheads down worldwide, up in South Asia

In World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business Report, Pakistan ranks 138

Pakistan at rock bottom in Human Capital Index 2015

Pakistan world’s 14th most fragile country

Pakistan ranks 5th in terrorism-affected countries list

As S Asia ups economic game, Pakistan risks falling behind: WSJ. The question is why?

Pakistan #106 in Good Country Index

Do not miss our Understanding Pakistan Series

A miracle: Pakistan score in Long Term Orientation goes from Zero to 50

What Pakistan needs is not education but a Project Ignorance

Worried about Pakistan’s $73B debt? You must see this

September 1, 2016September 3, 2016 10 Comments Better Parenting, Causes, Future, Health, Media, Pakistan 2050, Social Media Strategy, Tehreek-e-Adl, Wealth, Writings, Youth Mentoring

Pakistan’s total debts and liabilities increased to an all-time high of $73 billion – a net increase of $8 billion this fiscal year, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

During the current 2013-16 tenure of PMLN government, the cumulative increase in external debt is $12 billion.

External-debt-to-GDP ratio has remained constant at 26% since 2012-13.

The government-debt-to-GDP ratio is touching 65% (64.8% to be precise).

The SBP debt statement by end of June 2016 is here. If you need, download a PDF of SBP debt statement.

This is really worrying.

Here are some other worries or indices on Pakistan:

Pakistani nationality ranks second least valuable in the world

Everything about Pakistan’s competitiveness – in 10 photos

Nuclear warheads down worldwide, up in South Asia

In World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business Report, Pakistan ranks 138

Pakistan at rock bottom in Human Capital Index 2015

Pakistan world’s 14th most fragile country

Pakistan ranks 5th in terrorism-affected countries list

As S Asia ups economic game, Pakistan risks falling behind: WSJ. The question is why?

Pakistan #106 in Good Country Index

Since my 29 August tweet about ‘51% Pakistanis hopeful of future’ went viral (nearly 400 retweets in two days), many tweeps and readers responded with TV screen grabs of our all-time high debt and questioned how I could be optimistic in the presence of such huge debt and if a possible repayment default could be a danger to national security.

As this blog does – gives you a perspective about things affecting Pakistan and the central issues regarding its future – here’s a perspective on public debt by other nations.

So if you are really worried about Pakistan’s debt, the graphics below may help you see the issue in a bigger perspective. It may calm your nerves and save you from panic.

High debt or low debt, we are on an irreversible path of becoming world’s 18th largest economy by 2050.

20 countries with highest public deb-to-GDP ratio 2016. Japan: 250%. Source: Statista/IMF.

Economy-related posts

Pakistan to upgrade to emerging-market status

Africa: Nigeria largest economy, China largest single trading partner

The World Bank, meet your challenger: China-led AIIB

Countries with highest global deb-to-GDP ratio. Japan and Ireland touching 400%. Source: RBS

Pakistan: The brighter side:

Harvard predicts Pakistan GDP to grow by 5% over next 10 years

Forbes calls Pakistan the next Colombia success story, asks US to see beyond security lens

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects pick up pace

$46B China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: 15 years, 3 routes, 51 projects

$7.6B 1,800km TAPI gas pipeline to be operational in 2018

Bloomberg on Pakistan’s economic revival, construction boom

Naya Pakistan: Travel from Pindi to Islamabad in 20¢ in wifi-ed AC bus

Green Line train from Islamabad to Karachi with free wifi

Pakistan is enjoying a rare period of optimism: The Economist

Pakistan is less corrupt than last year. This is good news. What’s the bad news?

Gross public debt as % of GDP. US, Canada, some European countries and Japan highest. Source: Actualitix.

Total global debt until last year was: $60 trillion. Which country owns most of this debt? Source: Visual Capitalist

Do not miss our Understanding Pakistan Series

A miracle: Pakistan score in Long Term Orientation goes from Zero to 50

What Pakistan needs is not education but a Project Ignorance

Karachi 6th least liveable city in the world

August 20, 2016September 9, 2016 2 Comments Causes, Family, Future, Green Productivity, Health, Media, Pakistan 2050, Social Media Strategy, Tehreek-e-Adl, Travel & Aviation, Wealth, Writings, Youth Mentoring

Pakistani megacity Karachi has ranked among the 10 least liveable cities in the world in The Economist (EIU) 2016 ranking released this week.

In the 140-city Liveability Ranking survey, Karachi ranked 6th worst along with Algiers.

Karachi has an estimated population of over 20 million. The official figure is 16.126 million.

With 134th ranking out of 140, Karachi could have easily hit the rock bottom.

According to EIU, Karachi had one of the lowest scores for stability (crime and conflict, 20, rock-bottom) and for culture and environment (38.7, rock-bottom). However, a modest score for education (66.7) helped keep it from topping the worst ranking.

See some other indices on Pakistan:

Pakistani nationality ranks second least valuable in the world

Everything about Pakistan’s competitiveness – in 10 photos

In World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business Report, Pakistan ranks 138

Pakistan at rock bottom in Human Capital Index 2015

Pakistan world’s 14th most fragile country

Pakistan ranks 5th in terrorism-affected countries list

As S Asia ups economic game, Pakistan risks falling behind: WSJ. The question is why?

Pakistan #106 in Good Country Index

The EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit) report – 2016 Liveability Ranking – which ranks the best and worst cities to live in the world, provides scores out of 100 for lifestyle challenges in 140 cities worldwide.

2016 Liveability Ranking criteria below:

The five-category ranking takes into account healthcare, education, infrastructure, safety, and the threat of terrorism. It then gives an overall mark out of 100.

Pakistan world’s least expensive country: World Bank

Peshawar is the world’s second most polluted city

Groundbreaking of Karachi’s Green Line Bus project

Karachi to get 26km Yellow Line bus service in 2 years

Karachi’s Killers by FP’s Ivan Sigal

Below: Melbourne in Australia topped the 2016 ranking of most liveable cities.

According to Business Insider, some of the world’s major cities are becoming tougher places to live due to rising political and social unrest, as well as growing threats of terrorism.

Pakistan: The brighter side:

Harvard predicts Pakistan GDP to grow by 5% over next 10 years

Forbes calls Pakistan the next Colombia success story, asks US to see beyond security lens

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects pick up pace

$46B China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: 15 years, 3 routes, 51 projects

$7.6B 1,800km TAPI gas pipeline to be operational in 2018

Bloomberg on Pakistan’s economic revival, construction boom

Naya Pakistan: Travel from Pindi to Islamabad in 20¢ in wifi-ed AC bus

Green Line train from Islamabad to Karachi with free wifi

Pakistan is enjoying a rare period of optimism: The Economist

Pakistan is less corrupt than last year. This is good news. What’s the bad news?

Below: Syria’s capital Damascus ranked the world’s least liveable city.

The only city in South Asia worse than Karachi is Dhaka, Bangladesh, which ranks the fourth least liveable.

Tailpiece: As I recently wrote in The News, public-sector corruption is one thing and public neglect is another, and the latter too needs to be treated as a punishable crime, authorities or powers which are responsible for making Karachi a liveable city needs to be made accountable.

As for future improvement, the EIU makes it bare for authorities on how to improve for 2017 Liveability ranking. Pick the five categories above. See where our score is lacking. Gather the official team in each area. Give them targets and KPIs and a deadline. And that’s it. Whether through reward or fear of punishment, they need to make this city liveable. No less.

The same goes for the private sector too. Where their role is concerned, they need to be facilitated and encouraged for setting up facilities in sports, education and health.

Can we do better in next year’s Liveability ranking?

Download the EIU’s 2016 Liveability Ranking and Overview summary report here.

Do not miss our Understanding Pakistan Series

A miracle: Pakistan score in Long Term Orientation goes from Zero to 50