Comparative Study between India, China, and Pakistan

Comparative Study between India, China, and Pakistan

Historical Background

Historically, India is ancient with a continuous civilisation of 5,000 years. The Indus Valley civilization was followed by the Sanskrit-speaking Vedic period. China has one of the world’s oldest people and a continuous civilization, consisting of states and cultures dating back more than six millennia. The People’s Republic of China (PRS), commonly known as China, was established in 1949. Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, gained independence on 14 August 1947. In 1971, a civil war in East Pakistan resulted in the independence of Bangladesh. Pakistan’s history has been characterised by periods of economic growth, military rule, and political instability.

Geography

India is situated north of the equator and is the seventh-largest country in the world. India has a total area of 3,287,263 square kilometers. China is situated in eastern Asia, bounded by the Pacific in the east. It is the third largest country in the world, next to Canada and Russia, with an area of 9.6 million square kilometers. Pakistan is located in South Asia and borders Central Asia and the Middle East. Its borders are with China in the North; towards the West and Northwest are Iran and Afghanistan; and towards the East and South East, its borders are with India. Pakistan has an area of 7,96,095 square kilometers. The total cultivated area is 2,21,300 square kilometers, whereas the area under forest is 42,300 square kilometers.

Population

China is the most populous country in the world with 1,371 million people (as per 2015 estimates) and a growth rate of 0.5% per annum. India is the second most populous country in the world with 1,352 million people and a growth rate of 1.03%. Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world with 188 million people (as per 2015 estimates) with a growth rate of 2.1% per annum. One-third of the population lives below the official poverty line. Pakistan has the second-largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia.

Language

India is a diverse country when it comes to languages. The most widely spoken languages are Hindi, English, Marathi, Urdu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kashmiri, Marwari, and Sindhi. Most languages in China belong to the Sino-Tibetan language family, spoken by 29 ethnicities. There are also several major dialects within the Chinese language itself. Pakistan’s National language is Urdu and English is the official language.

Economy

India’s economy has transitioned from a mixed planned economy to a mixed middle-income developing social market economy with notable public sector in strategic sectors. It is the world’s fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP and the third-largest by purchasing power parity. In 1991, LPG policy was introduced, aiming to improve the overall country’s economic efficiency. LPG refers to Liberalisation, Privatisation, and Globalisation, described as:

• Liberalisation: Restrictions on free trade were relaxed and an increase in foreign direct investment in the Indian market was introduced. Expansion of production capacity, abolition of government industrial licensing, and the freedom to import goods were practised.
• Privatisation: Privatisation refers to giving more opportunities to the private sector to regulate business and to limit the role of the public sector.
• Globalisation: Globalisation refers to the integration of the Indian economy with the global economy in the context of economic reforms.

China has been one of the world’s largest economies. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRS) under one-party rule, all the critical sectors of the economy, enterprises, and lands owned and operated by individuals, were bought under government control. Some important phases of China’s Economy overtime include:

• Great Leap Forward (GLF) Campaign: In 1958, a programme named The Great Leap Forward (GLF) was initiated by Mao to modernise China’s economy. The main aim of this campaign was to transform the agrarian economy into a modern economy through the process of rapid industrialisation. In this programme, people were engaged to set up industries in their backyard.
• Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution: In 1965, Mao Zedong introduced the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-76), under which students and professionals were sent to work and learn from the countryside.
• Reforms introduced in China: The present-day fast industrial growth in China can be traced back to the reforms introduced in 1978. In the initial phase, reforms were initiated in the agriculture, foreign trade, and investment sectors. In the later phase, reforms were initiated in the industrial sector.
• Dual Pricing in the Reforms Process: The reform process also involved dual pricing. This involves fixing the prices in two ways, first farmers and industrial units were required to buy and sell quantities on the basis of fixed prices set up by the government.
• Special Economic Zones (SEZ): In order to attract foreign investors, special economic zones were set up. There are seven major SEZs in China located in the cities of Shenzhen, Xiamen, Hainan, Zhuhai, Shantou, as well as city districts including the Pudong New Area of Shanghai, and the Binhai New Area in Tianjin.

Pakistan follows the mixed economy model with co-existence of public and private sectors. In the late 1950s and 1960s, Pakistan introduced a regulated framework for the development of domestic industries. Practices like limiting taxes in order to limit direct imports and leveraging subsidies for the promotion of manufacturing in the domestic country were adopted only. Some of the important reforms in Pakistan were:

• Green Revolution: In the agriculture sector, the introduction of the green revolution and the reforms to attract private investment led to a rise in the production of food grains.
• Importance to the Role of Public and Private Sector in the 1970s: In the early 1970s, the nationalisation of capital goods industries took place. In the late 1970s, there was a shift in government policies, when it adopted the policy of denationalisation. The government increases the engagement of the private sector.

Political Status

India is the largest democracy in the world with a secular and liberal constitution for over half a century. China has recently moved towards a more liberal reconstruction of its command economy. Pakistan has an authoritarian militarist political power.

Demographic Indicators (2017-18)

Source: World Development Indicators, 2019

1. Population: China is the most populous country in the world with 1,393 million people and India is the second most populous country with 1,352 million people. As compared to India and China, Pakistan is not so populous, having 212 million people.

2. Annual Growth Rate of Population: Though China is the most populated country, its annual growth rate of population is the lowest, only 0.46% as compared to India’s 1.03% and Pakistan’s 2.05%. The reason for the low growth of the population is the introduction of the ‘One Child Policy’ in China in the late 1970s.

3. Density of Population: China is the third largest country in the world and the growth rate of population is lowest in China as compared to India and Pakistan. As a result, the density of the population of China is the lowest (148 persons per sq. km) as compared to India (455 persons per sq. km) and Pakistan (275 persons per sq. km).

4. Sex Ratio: Due to the preference of sons, the sex ratio is low and biased against females in all three countries. The sex ratio is lowest in India with 924 females per 1000 males. In China and Pakistan, the corresponding figures are 949 and 943.

5. Fertility Rate: Fertility rate is calculated as the number of children borne by a woman of reproductive age, on average. Since the introduction of the One Child Policy, the fertility rate has been the highest in China and has fallen from over 3 births per woman in 1980 to approximately 1.7 births. The fertility rate is higher in Pakistan at 3.6 births per woman and India comes 2^nd with 2.2 births per woman.

6. Urbanisation: Urbanisation is highest in China (59%). In India and Pakistan, the corresponding figures are 34% and 37%.

Growth Indicators

1. Annual Growth Rate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Country	1980-90	2015-17
India	5.7	7.3
China	10.3	6.8
Pakistan	6.3	5.3

GDP growth rate is considered the single most important indicator of an economy during the period. China with the second largest GDP in the world, as measured by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), is estimated to be $22.5 Trillion. India’s GDP (PPP) is $9.03 Trillion which is about 41% of China’s GDP. Pakistan’s GDP (PPP) is $0.94 Trillion which is about 11% of India’s GDP.

• During 1980-90, China had having double-digit growth rate of 10.3%, Pakistan’s growth rate was 6.3% and India’s growth rate was at the bottom with just 5.7%.
• During 2015-16, there was a drastic fall in China’s growth rate from 10.3% to 6.8%, Pakistan also met with a decline in growth rate from 6.3% to 5.3%, and India recorded an increase from 5.7% to 7.3%.

2. Sectoral Contribution

Sectoral Share of Gross Value Added (GVA) (%) in 2018-19

Sector	India	China	Pakistan
Agriculture	16	7	24
Industry	30	41	19
Services	54	52	57
Total	100	100	100

Employment Percentage (%) in 2018-19

Sector	India	China	Pakistan
Agriculture	43	26	41
Industry	25	28	24
Services	32	46	35
Total	100	100	100

1. Agriculture (Primary Sector): In China, the proportion of the workforce engaged in agriculture was 26% in 2018-19, with contribution to GVA at 7%. In India, the contribution of agriculture to GVA was 16% and the proportion of workforce engaged in agriculture was 43%. In Pakistan, the contribution of agriculture to GVA was 24% and the proportion of workforce engaged in agriculture was 41%.

2. Industry (Secondary Sector): In China, the secondary sector contributed 41% to China’s GVA with the proportion of the workforce engaged in industry of 28%. In India, the secondary sector contributed 30% to India’s GVA with a proportion of the workforce engaged in industry of 25% whereas in Pakistan, the secondary sector contributed 19% to Pakistan’s GVA with a proportion of the workforce engaged in industry of 24%.

3. Service (Tertiary Sector): In China, the tertiary sector contributed 52% to China’s GVA with a proportion of the workforce engaged in services of 46%. In India, the tertiary sector contributed 54% to India’s GVA with a proportion of the workforce engaged in services of 32% whereas in Pakistan, the tertiary sector contributed 57% to Pakistan’s GVA with a proportion of workforce engaged in services of 35%.

Human Development Indicators

Items	India	China	Pakistan
Human Development Index (Value)	0.645	0.761	0.557
Rank under Human Development Index	130	87	154
Life Expectancy at Birth	69.7	76.9	67.3
Mean years of Schooling (% age 15 or above)	6.5	8.1	5.2
Gross National Income Per Capita	6681	16057	5005
% of People living below Poverty Line	21.9	1.7	24.3
Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000 live births)	29.9	7.4	57.2
Maternal Mortality Rate (per 1 lakh births)	133	29	140
% of Population using at least Basic Sanitation	60	75	60
% of Population using at least Basic Drinking Water Source	93	96	91
Percentage of Undernourished Children	37.9	8.1	37.6

1. Human Development Index: The Human Development Index is an essential indicator for studying human development. A higher value of HDI shows a higher level of growth and development in a country. In 2019, HDI for India, China, and Pakistan was estimated to be 0.645, 0.761, and 0.557, respectively. Global ranks for HDI were found to be 130, 87, and 154, respectively.

2. Life Expectancy at Birth: Life expectancy refers to the average number of years for which people are expected to live. A higher life expectancy indicates longer and a more active average life span. China has the highest life expectancy of 76.9 years. India and Pakistan have a life expectancy of 69.7 and 67.3 years, respectively.

3. Mean years of Schooling (% age 15 or above): It is highest in the case of China with 8.1%, while the corresponding figures for India and Pakistan are 6.5% and 5.2%, respectively.

4. Gross National Income Per Capital: The higher ranking of China in HDI is mainly due to higher Gross National Income per capita. In 2019, China’s Gross National Income per capita was estimated to be US $16,057, while it was just US $6,681 for India and US $5,005 for Pakistan.

5. % of People living below the Poverty Line: People below the poverty line are people who do not even have that level of income and expenditure, which is necessary to meet specified minimum levels of calorie intake. Pakistan has the largest number of poor people among the three countries and China has the smallest share of poor among the three countries.

6. Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000 live births): Infant mortality rate refers to the number of infants dying before reaching one year of age per 1000 live births in a year. Low IMR shows better health and sanitation facilities as most of the infants die due to unhygienic environments. It is lowest in China and highest in Pakistan.

7. Maternal Mortality Rate (per 1 lakh births): Both India and Pakistan have not been able to save women from maternal mortality. In China, for one lakh births, only 29 women die, whereas in India and Pakistan, the maternal mortality rate is 133 and 140 respectively.

8. % of Population using at least Basic Sanitation: China’s performance in providing sanitation is better than India and Pakistan. China has provided basic sanitation to 75% of the population, whereas Pakistan and India have been able to provide basic sanitation to just 60% of the population.

9. % of Population using at least a Basic Drinking Water Source: It refers to the percentage of the population that has reasonable access to a basic drinking water source. China (96%) is ahead of India (93%) and Pakistan (91%) in providing basic drinking water sources.

10. Percentage of Undernourished Children: The percentage of the population, that is not able to obtain an adequate diet, is termed as the undernourished population. China has the lowest percentage of the population (8.1%), which is being undernourished. In India, 37.9% and in Pakistan 37.6% of the population was undernourished.