Naeem uz Zafar, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS)’s Chief Census Commissioner and Chief Statistician, made a ground-breaking declaration when he unveiled the preliminary findings of the seventh national and first-ever digital population census.
The Census Commissioner said during a news conference that Pakistan now has a staggering population of 249,566,743 people, which converts to about 249.5 million or about 25 crore people.
Provinces Population According to Latest Digital Census
When the population statistics were broken down by province, it was discovered that Punjab continued to be the most populous province, with a stunning population of 127,474,000 people, or over 127.4 million or around 12.7 Crore people.
With a population of around 57,931,000, or roughly 57.9 million, or roughly 5.7 Crore people, Sindh is not far behind.
On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa registered a population of around 39,823,000 people, or roughly 39.7 million or nearly 3.9 Crore people.
Balochistan, the country’s largest province by land area, recorded a population of around 21,977,000, or roughly 21.9 million, or roughly 2.1 billion people.
Islamabad, the federal capital, recorded having a population of 2,359,422 people, or roughly 2.3 million or about 23 lac.
The Census Commissioner also noted that Pakistan’s population has grown significantly during the last poll, by 49 million people (4.9 Crore), suggesting a considerable growth rate.
The Census Commissioner said that the first-ever digital census would cost the national exchequer a significant sum of money—more than Rs. 34 billion.
The Pakistani Army, provincial governments, the Government of Gilgit Baltistan, the Azad State of Jammu and Kashmir, NADRA, SUPARCO, NTISB, and NTC were among the organizations and stakeholders who received special thanks from the PBS for their unwavering support and assistance during the poll process.
The Chief Minister’s Committee (CMC) decided that access to tablets for some districts would stay accessible until May 22, 2023, even though the official end of the poll field operations was May 15th.
On May 22, 2023, at midnight, all services offered at the provincial, district, and tehsil levels—including data entry on tablets and monitoring dashboards—were shut down.
The verification procedure will be carried out by the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Assistant Commissioners (ACs) until May 30th, 2023, in compliance with the Prime Minister of Pakistan’s directives. If necessary, they will manually collect data from any non-covered regions.
The DCs/ACs and PBS Call Centres may file complaints about non-coverage at the Census Support Centre (CSC), but only if they include the National Identity Card (NIC) number. By May 30th, 2023, these complaints will be addressed and settled.
After the synchronization of any remaining data, tablet retrieval will start on May 24th, 2023 at the Census Support Centre (CSC).
The population counts of the corresponding blocks will include the data from the headcounts of restricted areas and collective homes.
All Census District Officers will provide completion certificates, and upon delivery of the completion certificate, the DCs/ACs will pay the census field employees.
A Demographers Committee will carefully examine the census data using demographic techniques before putting the finishing touches on its recommendations for the Chief Minister’s Committee (CMC) to take into consideration.
The relevant administrations have been asked to specify suitable periods for field census operations in snow-covered areas, including 16 blocks in Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 80 blocks in Gilgit Baltistan (GB), and 129 blocks in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Furthermore, the 57 blocks of Rojhan, Punjab, and 11 blocks of Ghotki, Sindh, which have been impacted by law and order difficulties, have been asked by the provincial governments to suggest times for census field operations.
Last but not least, after developing a thorough plan, the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has been requested to specify a suitable time for census field operations in Kohistan.
The outcomes of Pakistan’s first-ever computerized population census represent a key turning point in the history of the nation’s population.
For many years to come, policy, resource allocation, and development plans will be greatly influenced by this extensive data.
To read our blog on “For Digital Census, 15th May will be the last date, PBS,” click here.