Pakistan Census مردم شماری پاکستان | |
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Location(s) | Plot No. 21, Mauve Area, G-9/1, Islamabad Pakistan 44080 |
Country | Pakistan |
Inaugurated | 1951 |
Previous event | May 2023 |
People | Asif Bajwa [1] Chief Statistician/Chief Census Commissioner |
Website | www |
The Census in Pakistan is a legally decennial census and a descriptive count of Pakistan's population on Census Day, and of their dwellings, conducted and supervised by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. [2] The 2017 Census in Pakistan marks the first census to take place in Pakistan since 1998. The most recent census was the 2023 Pakistani census.
A national census is mandated by the Constitution of Pakistan to be held every ten years. [3] [4] After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the first census took place in 1951 under Finance Minister Sir Malik Ghulam, serving under Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan. [5] Since 1951, there have been only 6 nationwide censuses (1961, 1972, 1981, 1998 and 2017). Delays and postponements have often been due to politicization. Pakistan's last completed census took place in 2017. The next national census was scheduled to take place in 2001 and later 2008, [6] [7] and again in 2010, but none of those plans could materialize. [8] [ better source needed ] There were multiple census counts completed for the latest round in April 2012, [9] [10] but were subsequently thrown out as being "unreliable". A UN led census was to be conducted with staff training and GPS digitisation. [11] As of 2015, the population of Pakistan is estimated at 191.71 million. [12] [13] As of 2016, the population of religious minorities in Pakistan have increased to 3 million. [14] On 25 August 2017, the official results declared Pakistan's population to be 207.74 million. [15]
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According to 1951 census, the Dominion of Pakistan (both West and East Pakistan) had a population of 75.7 million, in which West Pakistan had a population of 33.7 million and East Pakistan (today Bangladesh) had a population of 42 million. [16] [17] In 1951, minorities constituted 14.4% of the Pakistani population (this includes East Pakistan, today Bangladesh). Breaking down between East and West Pakistan, the population of West Pakistan was 3.44% non-Muslim (1.16 million out of 33.7 million), while East Pakistan (today Bangladesh) was 23.20% non-Muslim (9.744 million out of 42 million). Total non- Muslim population on both sides added up to 10.90 million.
According to the 1961 census, the population of Pakistan was 93 million, with 42.8 million residing in West Pakistan and 50 million residing in East Pakistan. [16] [17] The literacy was 19.2%, in which East Pakistan had a literacy rate of 21.5% while West Pakistan had a literacy rate of 16.9%. [18] Hindus in East Pakistan were 18.4% [19]
The scheduled 1971 census was postponed due to the political crisis of 1970 followed by the India-Pakistan war of 1971 and subsequent loss of East Pakistan. [20] [21] In 1970, the population was 65 million in the East Pakistan(Bangladesh) and 58 million in West Pakistan. [22]
According to the 1972 census, the population of Pakistan was 65.3 million. [23] [24] After 1972, the Census Organization was merged into the Ministry of Interior. [25]
According to the 1981 census, the population of Pakistan was 83.783 million.
The 2017 Census of Pakistan was a detailed enumeration of the Pakistani population which began on 15 March 2017 and ended on 25 May 2017. It was the first census taken in the country in the 21st century, nineteen years after the previous one in 1998, and it was carried out by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
The census recorded a total population throughout the country of 213,222,917. [note 1] The results showed a massive population increase having occurred between 1998 and 2017 of 77.0 million people, or an increase of +56.5%. [note 2] The results also marked a significantly higher result compared to estimations made of the Pakistani population before the census, which had previously estimated the Pakistani population in 2017 to be between 195 million and 200 million. [30] [31]
Controversies regarding this census, focused around the populations of Pakistan's largest city, Karachi and the province of Sindh, resulted in another census being scheduled early in the year 2023. The results of that census will be used to delimitate constituencies for the 2023 Pakistani general election.The 2023 Census of Pakistan was the detailed enumeration of the Pakistani population and the seventh national census in the country. [32] [33] [34] It was conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. [35] It was also the first ever digital census to be held in Pakistan, including the first in South Asian history. [36]
The census was initially held from 1 March 2023 to 1 April 2023. However, enumeration was later extended several times until 30 May 2023, because of incomplete enumeration in large cities such as Karachi, Lahore, and Faisalabad, where people are more mobile and therefore harder to count, and in remote and rural Balochistan. The extension was also used by PBS officials and census takers for quality reviews, to check if all households and people were properly counted in each area. [37] [38] [39] The 2023 census recorded a total population throughout the country of 241,492,917 (excluding Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir). [40] [41]Azad Jammu and Kashmir abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity and constituting the western portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947. Azad Kashmir also shares borders with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the south and west, respectively. On its eastern side, Azad Kashmir is separated from the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir by the Line of Control (LoC), which serves as the de facto border between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir. Geographically, it covers a total area of 13,297 km2 (5,134 sq mi) and has a total population of 4,045,366 as per the 2017 national census.
Kashmir is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompasses a larger area that includes the India-administered territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the Pakistan-administered territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Chinese-administered territories of Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract.
Pakistan had a population of 241,492,197 according to the final results of the 2023 Census. This figure includes Pakistan's four provinces e.g. Punjab, Sindh, KPK, Balochistan and Islamabad Capital Territory. AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan's census data is yet to be approved by CCI Council of Pakistan. Pakistan is the world's fifth most populous country.
The administrative units of Pakistan comprise four provinces, one federal territory, and two disputed territories: the provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan; the Islamabad Capital Territory; and the administrative territories of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan. As part of the Kashmir conflict with neighbouring India, Pakistan has also claimed sovereignty over the Indian-controlled territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh since the First Kashmir War of 1947–1948, but has never exercised administrative authority over either region. All of Pakistan's provinces and territories are subdivided into divisions, which are further subdivided into districts, and then tehsils, which are again further subdivided into union councils.
The districts of Pakistan are the third-level administrative divisions of Pakistan, below provinces and divisions, but forming the first-tier of local government. In total, there are 166 districts in Pakistan, including the Capital Territory, and the districts of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. These districts are further divided into tehsils and union councils.
Hazara Division is an administrative division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located along the Indus River and comprises eight districts: Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur, Battagram, Upper Kohistan, Kolai-Palas, Lower Kohistan, Torghar and most recently created Allai District. CNIC code of Hazara Division is 13.
Bagh District is a district of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is one of the ten districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Previously part of Poonch District, Bagh was established as a separate district in 1988.
Bhimber District is a district of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is the southernmost of the 10 districts of Pakistan's territory of Azad Kashmir. It has an area of 1,516 km², and the district headquarter is the town of Bhimber.
The four provinces, capital territory, and two autonomous territories of Pakistan are subdivided into 39 administrative "divisions", which are further subdivided into districts, tehsils, and finally union councils. These divisions were abolished in 2000, but restored in 2008.
The Gilgit District is one of the 14 districts of Pakistan-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region. The headquarters of the district is the town of Gilgit. At the 1998 census, the Gilgit District had a population of 243,324. The district includes Gilgit, the Bagrot Valley, Juglot, Danyore, Sultanabad, Naltar Peak, and the Nomal Valley. The highest peak in the district is Distaghil Sar 7,885 metres (25,869 ft), which is the seventh-highest peak in Pakistan and 19th highest in the world.
The 1998 Census of Pakistan was the fifth Pakistani national census. It provided a detailed enumeration of the population of Pakistan at the time it was conducted under the authority of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, an agency of the Government of Pakistan. According to the 1998 census, the population of Pakistan proper stood at 130,857,717 people. With the inclusion of the population of Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, the population stood at 134,714,017 people. Despite being mandated by the Constitution of Pakistan to be held every 10 years, this was the first census to take place in Pakistan after the 1981 census that took place 17 years earlier, and the next census would not be held for another 19 years, until 2017. The inconsistencies in Pakistan's national elections are due in part to political turmoil and instability within the country.
This is a list of 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation sorted by their estimated population.
Gilgit-Baltistan, formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and between India and China since 1959. It borders Azad Kashmir to the south, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the west, the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan to the north, the Xinjiang region of China to the east and northeast, and the Indian-administered union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to the southeast.
Islamabad had an estimated population of 1,014,825 according to the 2017 Census.
The Special Communications Organization (SCO) (Urdu: خصوصی مواصلاتی تنظیم) is Pakistani public sector organization operated by MoIT&T. SCO plays a role in providing telecommunication services in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan to almost 1.7 million people, a quarter of the total population.
The 2017 Census of Pakistan was a detailed enumeration of the Pakistani population which began on 15 March 2017 and ended on 25 May 2017. It was the first census taken in the country in the 21st century, nineteen years after the previous one in 1998, and it was carried out by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
The 2023 Census of Pakistan was the detailed enumeration of the Pakistani population and the seventh national census in the country. It was conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. It was also the first ever digital census to be held in Pakistan, including the first in South Asian history.