The Census in Pakistan ( ur, ), is a 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 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 marks the first census to take place in Pakistan since 1998. 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 Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

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 statu ...

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 theoris ...

. 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 The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...

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 Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of I ...

(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 d ...

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 eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

) had a population of 42 million.Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
In 1951, minorities constituted 14.4% of the

Pakistani population Pakistan had a population of 213,222,917 according to the final results of the 2017 Census of Pakistan. This figure includes Pakistan's four provinces, Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan. Pakistan is the world' ...

(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 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 ...

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 An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

Overview

Census

1951

1961

1972

1981

1998

2017

2023

Notes

References