ISLAMABAD: In March 2023, Pakistan will conduct its first-ever digital population census, gathering information from 185,000 blocks without the use of computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs).
In the next population census exercise, information will be sought regarding eight main topics, including homes, basic amenities, demographics, education, health, employment, disability, and migration, through a 40-point questionnaire that covers eight important areas' specifics.According to Dr. Naeem-uz-Zafar, chief statistician of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), this year's census would be conducted digitally for the first time ever. The team is now prepared for the enormous assignment because all the preparations have been implemented. The entire endeavour is domestic; our own experts developed all of the systems and tools, he claimed.
He was speaking at a seminar at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) in Islamabad with the title "Census 2023: All You Want to Know About." According to him, the delimitation process, representation in national and provincial assemblies, and resource distribution to the provinces are all related to the census as a crucial national activity. As a result, it was crucial that the census be taken seriously. This needed for in-depth reflection, which led to the digital census as a universally favoured approach.He informed the audience that the 45th Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting, which was held on April 12, 2021, approved the 2017 census results and then directed that the next census begin as soon as possible, follow international best practises, and utilise cutting-edge technology.
In order to increase transparency, credibility, and wider acceptance of the census processes and results, the Government of Pakistan then established a committee made up of prominent demographers and specialists with thorough TORS. In order for the stakeholders to own the process, a board-based stakeholder engagement was conducted.Dr. Nadeem, vice chancellor of PIDE, had earlier stated in his introductory remarks that censuses in Pakistan continued to be contentious and were occasionally postponed for more than a decade. It was time to bring up all of our worries and questions now that the new census was approaching, he remarked.
"The PBS has calculated that a total of Rs34 billion in financing will be needed to hold the census exercise, out of which Rs10 billion has been handed to PBS while they have asked the Finance Ministry to release the remaining amount of Rs24 billion," he said.