Pakistan offers free school to one-child families

With 156 million people, according to the latest government figures, Pakistan is the world's sixth most populous country, and it's getting bigger by nearly 2 percent a year.

That growth rate is slower than it was a few decades ago but it's still too fast, according to the government, which has made fighting widespread poverty a priority and sees population growth as a major complication for that effort.

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Minister for Population Welfare Chaudhry Shahbaz Hussain says he is sure the plan to offer children of one-child families free education until the age of 18 will have an impact. "Definitely, incentives will increase the acceptance of family planning," Hussain told Reuters.

"People will be aware that if they have small families, they will get a lot of benefits, their kids will have a better chance of education," he said.