Population of Karachi up by 73pc in final notification: Pildat chief

Karachi’s population changed eight times in between mainly due to consistent pressure from MQM

By Mehtab Haider

August 08, 2023

People throng at the Bohri Bazaar in Saddar, Karachi. — AFP/File

ISLAMABAD: With an increase in Karachi’s population by 73 percent as notified in the official gazette of the 7th population census, the population of the major metropolitan has gone up to 20.382 million in 2023 from 11.804 million on April 1, 2023.

The PILDAT President Ahmed Bilal Mehboob in his tweet claimed that Karachi’s population increased by 73 percent from 11.804 million on April 1, 2023, when census results were announced after the first deadline lapsed on August 5, to 20.383 million. Karachi’s population changed eight times in between mainly due to consistent pressure from MQM. Karachi’s NA and PA seats will likely increase in accordance with the new census figures.

Among 29 divisions of Pakistan, Rakhshan of Balochistan is the fastest-growing division of the country with an average annual population growth of 5.75 percent followed by Karachi Division (Sindh) at 4.1percent and Mekran Div (Balochistan) at 3.98 percent, he said. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob said Sindh is the most (53.73pc) & KP is the least (15.05%) urbanised province of Pakistan according to 2023 Census figures released by PBS (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics).

The notified official gazette of the census results shows that the overall households were standing at 38.34 million with a population size stood at 241.499 million so the average size of household was 6.3 persons against a population size of 207.6 million in the 2017 census so now the population growth was standing at 2.55 percent.

The rural population of Pakistan stood at 147.748 million in 2023 and the urban population of 93.75 million. The KP’s population stands at 40.856 million with a rural population of 36.7 million and an urban 6.13 million. Punjab’s total population stands at 127.688 million in 2023 with a rural share of 75.715 million and an urban share of 51.9 million.

Sindh’s total population stands at 55.69 million with a rural share of 25.7 million and an urban share of 29.925 million. Balochistan’s total population stands at 14.892 million with a rural share of 10.282 million and an urban population of 4.611 million. The total population of Islamabad Capital Territory stands at 2.363 million with a rural share of 1.254 million and an urban population of 1.108 million in the 2023 census.