By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Chief Census of Pakistan has advised against extending the timeframe for the country’s first digital census beyond May 15, 2023, emphasizing the importance of completing the exercise on time. This recommendation takes into consideration the crucial delimitation process, which determines seat allocation in the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies.
In a letter addressed to the four provincial governments, Chief Statistician Dr. Naeem Ul Zafar expressed concerns that extending the deadline could jeopardize the credibility of the census and lead to further controversy. The expert advice highlights the need to avoid any additional disputes by adhering to the current completion date.
The field operation for the 7th Population and Housing Census has been granted a two-week extension until May 15, 2023. This extension specifically aims to ensure the verification and coverage of remaining structures and houses in selected districts.
As the deadline approaches, the provinces have been urged to expedite the verification process to ensure timely completion by May 15, 2023. It is noteworthy that the field operations for Census-2023 began on March 1, 2023, with an initial completion date of April 4, 2023. However, the deadline has been extended five times already to ensure comprehensive enumeration and coverage of all structures and houses.
The most recent extension, granted following discussions and decisions made during the 12th meeting of the Census Monitoring Committee on April 28, 2023, allowed for an additional two-week period until May 15, 2023.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has played a crucial role in facilitating the provincial governments by providing disaggregated information and data on under-enumeration. Additionally, staff from PBS headquarters have been deployed to assist in the field operations.
During the 13th meeting of the Census Monitoring Committee, it was unanimously decided not to extend the census field operation beyond the current deadline due to its direct linkage with the forthcoming General Elections’ delimitation process.
Furthermore, the Demographers’ meeting held on May 12, 2023, recommended against any further extension of the field operations for Census-2023. This recommendation was primarily motivated by the ongoing dynamics of births, deaths, and migration within society, which must be prudently accounted for during the census field operations to ensure accurate results.
Given PBS’s persistent emphasis on completing the field operation and the urgent need to provide final census results to the Election Commission of Pakistan for delimitation purposes ahead of the upcoming general elections, it has been unequivocally conveyed that no further extension will be granted. The provincial governments are urged to fulfill their responsibility by completing the census enumeration and verification process by the agreed-upon date of May 15, 2023.
According to unverified reported data, Pakistan’s population has witnessed a significant increase, rising from 207.7 million in the 2017 census to 239 million in 2023, marking a growth of 15 percent over the two comparable periods.
The annual population growth rate for the country stands at 2.4 percent. The new population numbers suggest that Punjab’s relative share in the federal divisible pool under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award will decline, while Balochistan’s share will increase. This shift will result in Punjab’s share falling below 50 percent for the first time.
In the 2010 NFC Award, Punjab’s share accounted for 57 percent based on population. However, following the 2017 census, its share in the divisible pool decreased to 53 percent. If the new census data is accurate, Punjab’s share is expected to diminish even further.
The census data reveals that Sindh’s population increased from 47.9 million in 2017 to 54.9 million in 2023, reflecting a growth rate of 14.6 percent. Sindh’s overall share in the country’s population remained unchanged at 23 percent during both census periods.
Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s population rose from 35.5 million in 2017 to 39.4 million in 2023, with a growth rate of 10.9 percent. However, its share in the overall population of the country decreased from 17.1 percent to 16.5 percent.
Balochistan experienced a substantial surge in population, with numbers increasing from 12.3 million in 2017 to 20.1 million in 2023, representing a growth rate of 62.9 percent. Balochistan’s share in the country’s population also witnessed a significant increase, rising from 5.9 percent to 8.4 percent.
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