Census 2023: Population census expanded for the second time in selected metropolitan cities

• Population census date extended for the second time.
• PBS urges citizens to ensure full participation and cooperation.
• Completion of census work is over 97% across Pakistan.

To complete the remaining census work and ensure 100% coverage, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Monday extended the date of the ongoing digital census for the second time to April 15, a statement said.

The date to complete the country’s work seventh census has been extended by the Chief Census Commissioner in metropolitan cities – including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Quetta, Gilgit and Karachi or as the Sindh government saw fit – the PBS stated.

It added that the census date has also been extended for 13 towns in Balochistan.

It is the second time that the date for the population census has been extended. Previously, the PBS extended the date to April 10.

“In order to complete the remaining census work and ensure full coverage, details of the cities and the additional time needed to complete the remaining work were requested from provincial governments to tailor the census. expand, only for those cities where census work has yet to be completed,” the statement said.

In case enumerators have not yet visited, the federal agency – tasked with completing Pakistan’s first-ever digital census – has asked citizens to inform them through the toll-free number 0800-57574, which will be available 24/7 .

Citizens can also text their full address to 9727 for filing non-coverage complaints and visit or contact PBS Reginal Offices or the 495 Census Support Center established at the tehsil level for filing their complaints about non-coverage.

“At the same time, the quality of the data is ensured through Post Enumeration Survey using Computer Assisted Telephonic Interview (CATI) and the respected citizens are urged to expand cooperation with our team to verify their data through randomly generated calls over CATI,” according to PBS.

As the main stakeholders and beneficiaries of the census, the citizens have also been urged to ensure their full participation and cooperation with the field personnel visiting them and the call center officials who may call them for data verification for quality control, and to file complaints about any non-coverage.

“Participation in the census is not only our moral and legal obligation, but also provides an opportunity for the government to develop evidence-based policy planning to ensure our rights and better service at our doorstep,” the statement said.

The government body thanked the nation and stakeholders for their tireless efforts and unwavering support to carry out more than 97% of fieldwork operations.

PBS is running the running census digitally for the first time, with field counts starting March 1 without any interruption.

“The successful implementation of the digital census is a great success and it is a moment of great pride for the nation as it is the largest South Asian digital census to date. The overall progress of the census is very encouraging and satisfying” , the statement said.

So far, the data of more than 97% of the households listed has been collected through tablets across the country so far, and only less than 3% of the fieldwork remains, especially in metropolitan cities of various provinces and some others cities of Balochistan.

Census field work has been carried out and data collection has been completed in over 99% of Punjab, 98% of Sindh, 90% of Islamabad and 82% of Balochistan, while census work is nearing completion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

PBS enumerators have completed 100% of census work in 131 counties out of 156 counties nationwide, while 70% to 80% of census work is done in the remaining 25 counties and is in progress.

“It is pertinent to mention that the completion rate of the work may increase slightly after the synchronization of data of some completed blocks, which fall into the offline zone. The completion of the census work is over 97% across the country is a milestone and will pave the way for a new era for prosperous Pakistan,” the PBS wrote.

According to The newsPBS has also proposed to re-check about 30,000 buildings over four storeys in Karachi and send the list of those buildings to the Sindh government as its officers have been carrying out census duties in the city.

The PBS monitoring team has identified 40,000 buildings across the country where they fear some households may not have been counted. Of such buildings, about 30,000 belong to Karachi.

PBS chief statistician Dr Naeemuz Zafar has physically shown a few such buildings to the provincial census commissioner in Karachi and asked relevant assistant commissioners to revisit them for the census count.