According to information released thus far by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the overall population of Karachi has increased to over 18.6 million after counting 2.6 million people over the course of the past 23 days for the ongoing seventh population census.
A few days prior, Ahsan Iqbal, the federal minister for planning, development, and special initiatives, had instructed provincial governments to finish the field work for the 7th Digital Population and Housing-2023 survey by May 15.
The population of Sindh has surpassed 56 million as of the most recent statistics. Similar to this, there are now more than 12.1 million people living in Hyderabad, 8 million in Larkana, and 6.3 million in Sukkur Division, respectively.
Over six million people have been counted by census workers in Shaheed Benazirabad.
It is important to note that the government on May 1 extended the digital census’s field operations to May 15, 2023.
The chief census commissioner updated Iqbal on the status of field operations and the PBS’s goals since the deadline was extended on May 1 during the meeting on May 10.
He explained to the group that the Demographer Committee was established in accordance with the resolution made at the CMC’s 9th meeting to analyse demographic trends by looking at growth rates.
After careful consideration, he claimed, the other criteria in the anomalous blocks advocated opening for at least 10 days all districts in Pakistan with population growth of less than 1.5, while closing other districts.
As a result, after CMC permission, all districts in Pakistan with a growth rate of less than 1.5 were closed, although Sindh CM Syed Murad Ali Shah requested that they stay open for enumeration from May 1 to May 15.
The minister gave provincial chief commissioners instructions to fill in the PBS-identified holes and finish the exercise by May 15—the exercise’s deadline.
The minister urged everyone to remember that this was a national exercise and that all eyes were on the government. “Finish this exercise on May 15 so that the Census report can be submitted to the CII for final approval,” he said.
