Pakistan’s first ever digital census: Date extended for 100pc coverage

Islamabad: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has been executing the 7th Population and Housing Census digitally for the first time in the history country, with census field operations commencing from 1st March, 2023 and have continued till 4th April, 2023 without any interruption and now the date has been extended till April 10.

The census is a monumental task and it is commendable that the data of 95% listed households has been successfully collected within the stipulated timeframe through tablets across the country. This marks a tremendous achievement for the nation as it is the largest South Asian digital census to date. However, there is still 5% census field work left to complete, mainly in big-blocks and blocks where census work started with some delay due to logistic arrangements or was withheld for a couple of days due to some technical glitches. In order to complete the leftover census work, a proposal from Provincial Census Commissioners was solicited requesting for more time to complete the leftover work.

Keeping in view the proposal of the PCCs, Chief Census Commissioner has extended the date to complete the remaining work to ensure 100% coverage by 10th April, 2023. It is imperative that all citizens of Pakistan cooperate and inform PBS using the toll-free number, 0800-57574, in case the enumerators have not visited. Citizens can also send their complete address through SMS on 9727 for lodging complaints of non-coverage or visit or contact PBS Regional Offices or the 495 Census Support Centre established at the tehsil level for registering their complaints regarding non-coverage. In addition to completing the leftover work, the quality of data is being ensured through a Post Enumeration Survey by using Computer Assisted Telephonic Interview (CATI). Citizens are urged to extend cooperation with the PBS team to verify their data through randomly generated calls through CATI. This will help to ensure that the data collected is accurate and of the highest quality.

It is pertinent to mention that all the structures, buildings have been listed across the country from 1st March to 10th March, 2023. During the listing phase, all the residential and economic units have also been geo-tagged along-with categorization/classification of economic activities as per international standards. As per data received, the total numbers of listed households to date are over 39.62 Million in the country. The citizens of Pakistan are the most important stakeholders and beneficiaries of the census. They are urged to ensure their full participation and cooperation with field staff visiting them and the call centre officials who may call them for data verification for quality control, along with as well as lodge complaints of non-coverage if any. Participation in the census is not only our moral and legal obligation but also provides the opportunity for the government to develop evidence-based policy planning for ensuring our rights and better service delivery at our doorstep.

In conclusion, the first-ever digital census of Pakistan is being executed with great success, and it is a moment of great pride for the nation. The final phase of the census i.e. enumeration commenced from 12th March 2023 which remained continue till 4th April, 2023. In this phase, the data about household members and their demographic characteristics, various Socio-Economic Indicators as well as Housing characteristics are being collected. The overall progress of the census is very encouraging and satisfactory. No major incident/lapse has been reported except for a few minor issues.