If the country’s population growth rate continues as is, warned the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday, its overall population would double by 2050.
Addressing an event in Islamabad to launch the “First Ever Digital Census Key Findings Report,” Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal highlighted Pakistan’s achievement as the first South Asian country to conduct a digital census. “The data collected through this census will be instrumental in guiding our development efforts and enhancing our ability to respond to natural calamities,” he said, stressing that the Constitution mandated a fresh census every 10 years but the government was compelled to conduct a new census after the Sindh government expressed reservations over the results of the 2017 census.
The PBS report, outlining results of the 7th Population and Housing Census-2023, notes that Pakistan’s 241.49 million population makes it the fifth most populous country in the world. It states that Pakistan’s population growth state currently stands at 2.55 percent, the highest in the region, and would effectively double the national population by 2050 if it does not subside. It warns that unchecked population growth has adverse impacts on per capita income and standard of living of citizens, calling for effective strategies to curb population growth and ensure better distribution of resources and economic prosperity.
According to the report, Sindh capital Karachi was the most populous city of Pakistan with 20.4 million citizens, while the overall provincial population is 55.70 million. It said Punjab capital Lahore was the second most populous city with 13 million residents, while the overall provincial population stands at 127.69 million.
Pakistan’s third-most populous city is Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa capital Peshawar, with 4.76 million residents, while Balochistan capital Quetta comes in fourth with 2.59 million residents. Federal capital Islamabad’s population stands at 2.36 million.
Per the census data, 51.48 percent of the country’s population is male, while 48.51 percent is female. It states that the average number of members of a Pakistani family is 6.3, while 96% of the population identifies as Muslim.
Age-wise, the census states that 36.47 million people are under five; 97.53 million under 15 years; 62.58 million between 15 and 29 years old; and 190.27 million are under 40 years old. It states that 61 percent of Pakistan’s population over 10 years old is literate.