| At the existing growing rate of 2.55 percent, country’s population will reach approximately 500 million.

ISLAMABAD  -  At the existing growing rate of 2.55 percent, which is highest in the region as well as among the top 30 countries in the world, Pakistan’s population will be doubled by 2050 reaching to approximately 500 million.

The number of school going Pakistanis are also presenting a dismal picture as one-third of school-age children or 25.37 Million (36  percent) children aged 5-16 years are out of school, revealed by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics in its detailed results of 7th Population And Housing Census-2023, launched here Thursday.

National and Provincial Level information regarding Demographic Characteristics including Gender, Age Structure , Nationality, Language ,  Marital Status, Education, Disability, Urbanization,  Housing ,Water & Sanitation is entailed in  the detailed results up to district level Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal, unveil the detailed results of 7th Population & Housing Census 2023 Federal Minister PD&SI emphasized that the current population growth rate of 2.55 percent is highest in the region as well as among the top 30 countries in the world having high growth rate majority Sub Saharan African countries. With this growth rate persists Population of Pakistan will be doubled by 2050. There is need to devise the strategy to de-incentivize population for resource allocations for effective population control, he said

Federal Minister PD&SI urged PBS to develop expert systems, decision support systems and data portal, for capitalizing the benefits of the digital census with integration of data available with other federal organizations and relevant provincial stakeholders data for meaningful insights for effective decision making and informed policy-planning. Census 2023 revealed 61 percent literacy rate for 10 years and above, among provinces, wide disparities in gender especially in Khyber Pakhthunkhwa and Balochistan. Census 2023 found that one-third of school-age children (5-16) out of school.

It revealed that 25.37 million (36 percent) children aged 5-16 years were out of schoolchildren. This ratio was highest in Balochistan with 58 percent, followed by that of Sindh in 46 percent, KP with 37 percent, Punjab with 27 percent. Chief Census Commissioner Dr Naeemuz Zafar highlighted the geotagging of all structures and acquisition of contact details from 30 million households. The census revealed 38,318,107 structures, including 114,159 high-rise buildings, 73,501 residential, and 7,593 economic structures, with 33,065 serving dual purposes, crucial for policy formulation and strategic planning efforts. Total Population of Pakistan is 241.49 million with 51.48  percent males and 48.51 percent females with Sex Ratio 106.12, whereas Household Size is 6.30.

It was further informed that 36.47 million population is under five, 97.53 million population is under 15 years, 62.58 million of population is between 15 to 29 years, 190.27 million population is below 40 years. He said that 65.97 percent of the population in Pakistan is reported as married, while Islam remains the predominant religion, representing 96 percent of the population. It was reported that 61 percent of the population aged ten years and older in Pakistan are reported to be literate. Additionally, it was revealed that approximately 25 million children, which accounted for 36 percent, i.e. approximately one-third of the children aged between 5 and 16 years, are currently out of school.

The primary sources of cooking in Pakistan is firewood, accounting for 53 percent of usage, and Gas/LNG/LPG, making up 42 percent of usage. Meanwhile, the main sources of lighting in households are electricity, with 84 percent reliance, followed by solar power, which is utilized by 8 percent of households. As per the Census 2023 results, the reported figure of disability stands at 3.1 percent, while 9.64 percent of the population has reported experiencing functional limitations. Professor Ahsan Iqbal urged that PBS may develop data portal, dashboards and decision support systems for capitalizing the benefits of the digital census with integration of  data available with other federal organizations and relevant provincial stakeholders data for meaningful insights for effective decision making and informed policy-planning.

The data, hotspots and insights may be shared with respective stakeholders with using digital platforms like API etc.  The efforts may be made to harness the power of technology to drive progress and ensure that our nation remains at the forefront of innovation and development.