The Census in Pakistan ( ur, ), is a decennial census and a descriptive count of Pakistan's population on Census Day, and of their

dwellings In law, a dwelling (also known as a residence or an abode) is a self-contained unit of accommodation used by one or more households as a home - such as a house, apartment, mobile home, houseboat, vehicle, or other "substantial" structure. The ...

, conducted and supervised by the

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics usman The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics ( ur, , abbreviated as PBS) is a federal agency under the Government of Pakistan commissioned the national statistical services and to provide solid and comprehensive statistical research. Results co ...

. The

2017 Census in Pakistan 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 ...

marks the first census to take place in Pakistan since

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. The next census will take place in August 2022.

Overview

A national census is mandated by the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

to be held every ten years. After the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the s ...

in 1947, the first census took place in 1951 under Finance Minister Sir Malik Ghulam, serving under Prime Minister

Liaquat Ali Khan Liaquat Ali Khan ( ur, ; 1 October 1895 – 16 October 1951), also referred to in Pakistan as ''Quaid-e-Millat'' () or ''Shaheed-e-Millat'' ( ur, lit=Martyr of the Nation, label=none, ), was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer, political theorist ...

. 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, and again in 2010, but none of those plans could materialize. There were multiple census counts completed for the latest round in April 2012, but were subsequently thrown out as being "unreliable". A UN led census was to be conducted with staff training and GPS digitisation. As of 2015, the population of Pakistan is estimated at 191.71 million. As of 2016, the population of religious minorities in Pakistan have increased to 3 million. On 25 August 2017, the official results declared Pakistan's population to be 207.74 million. Pakistan population density

Census

1951

According to 1951 census, the Dominion of Pakistan (both West and East Pakistan) had a population of 75.7 million, in which

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was ...

had a population of 33.7 million and

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

(today

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...

) had a population of 42 million.Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
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.

1961

According to the 1961 census, the population of

was 93 million, with 42.8 million residing in

and 50 million residing in

. 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%. Hindus in East Pakistan were 18.4%

1972

The scheduled 1971 census was postponed due to the political crisis of 1970 followed by the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 and subsequent loss of

. In 1970, the population was 65 million in the East Pakistan and 58 million in West Pakistan. According to the 1972 census, the population of Pakistan was 65.3 million. After 1972, the Census Organization was merged into the Ministry of Interior.

Overview

Census

1951

1961

1972

1981

1998

2017

2023

Notes

References