Pakistan’s population has surged to 241.49 million with a growth rate of 2.55%, according to the digital census conducted in 2023.
The figure was released after Council of Common Interest (CCI) meeting on Saturday approved the results of first ever digital census of Pakistan with consensus in its 50th meeting under the chair of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
The meeting was also attended by chief ministers from all provinces. The 7th population and housing Census was started on 1st March, 2023 and has counted 241.49 million people across Pakistan with a growth rate of 2.55 % as reported by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), read an official statement.
The official statement said the historical milestone of conducting first-ever digital census was achieved by the PBS as stakeholders completed the task “with challenging timelines”.
All the structures of Pakistan have been geo-tagged during the first digital census, the statement added.
The administrative unit-wise breakdown of the population is as follows:
| Population (millions) | 2017 | 2013 |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) | 35.50 | 40.85 |
| Punjab | 109.98 | 127.68 |
| Sindh | 47.85 | 55.69 |
| Balochistan | 12.34 | 14.89 |
| Islamabad | 2.01 | 2.36 |
The 7th Population and Housing Census is historic, the official statement said as this “largest” digitisation exercise of South Asia was planned in shortest span of time i.e. just 18 months.
The census has also provided an economic frame to determine the size of economic clusters across the country.
