UNITED NATIONS   -   A key UN report has placed Pakistan, whose current population is over 245 million, in the group of countries whose population is expected to increase through 2054 and could potentially peak in the second half of the century or later. According to the current projects in the UN’s World Population Prospects 2024 report, Pakistan will reach its peak population in 2092 of 404.68 million people.  It said that Pakistan’s population is expected to surpass that of Indonesia in 2048 when it will reach 331.29 million. Between 1998 and 2017, Pakistan’s average population growth rate was 2.40%, the report said. For a population of over 220 million, this is a growth of about 5.28 million people per year. Pakistan has one of the highest birth rates of 22 births per 1,000 people, it was pointed out. “Very few women use any type of birth control in Pakistan, and the surging population can put too much pressure on water and sanitation systems, result in millions of unemployed people, and overwhelm health and education systems.”