The Census in Pakistan is a legally decennial

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

and a descriptive count of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

on Census Day, and of their dwellings, conducted and supervised by the

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) () is a federal agency under the Government of Pakistan. It is an attached department of the Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives. It works for collecting statistics in the country. Hi ...

. The most recent census was the

2023 Pakistani census 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 ...

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, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

to be held every ten years. After the

independence Independence is a condition of a 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 status of ...

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 (1 October 189516 October 1951) was a Pakistani lawyer, politician and statesman who served as the first prime minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the he ...

. 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 The Dominion of Pakistan, officially Pakistan, was an independent federal dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations, which existed from 14 August 1947 to Pakistan Day, 23 March 1956. It was created by the passing of the Indian Independence ...

(both West and East Pakistan) had a population of 75.7 million, in which

West Pakistan West Pakistan was the western province of Pakistan between One Unit, 1955 and Legal Framework Order, 1970, 1970, covering the territory of present-day Pakistan. Its land borders were with Afghanistan, India and Iran, with a maritime border wit ...

had a population of 33.7 million and

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

(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 and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

) had a population of 42 million. 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 India-Pakistan war of 1971 and subsequent loss of

through the

. In 1970, the population was 65 million in the East Pakistan (Bangladesh) 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 An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, th ...

Overview

Census

1951

1961

1972

1981

1998

2017

2023

Notes

References

External links