The alleged undercounting of Pakistan’s population in the most recent national census, particularly in Karachi, presents yet another crisis for the PML-N-led federal government, which is already mired in a slew of other problems.
After a gap of six years, Pakistan is conducting its seventh population and housing census in 2023. The census is expected to provide vital information on the country’s demographic, social and economic characteristics, as well as its spatial distribution and urbanization patterns.
The 2017 Census of Pakistan was controversial due to alleged undercounting of Pakistan’s population in the latest national census, particularly in Karachi. The controversy resulted in another census being scheduled early in the year 2023, with the results of that census being used to delimitate constituencies for the 2023 Pakistani general election.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the census is being conducted digitally for the first time, using tablets and biometric verification. The census started on April 1, covering all four provinces, Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
According to preliminary census data based on 98% findings, Pakistan’s population increased by more than 25 million since the previous count in 2017 to reach 233.4 million. This translates to an average yearly growth rate of 2.6%, higher than the 1.1% average for the world.
The census also reveals that Pakistan is undergoing a rapid urbanization process, with more than 40% of its population living in urban areas. The largest city in the country is Karachi, with an estimated population of 20.7 million, followed by Lahore with 14.5 million and Faisalabad with 8.4 million.
Alarm went off when it was discovered earlier this month that Karachi’s population had allegedly decreased by 15% with 90% of the census completed. The biggest metropolis in Pakistan had 15.85 million residents as of April 21, which was still 1% fewer than it was in 2017.
The census is causing anxiety throughout the country, not just in Karachi. Observers have also noticed problems in the troubled province of Balochistan in the southwest.
The current digital census has been questioned by both the coalition government’s parties and those in the opposition. The PDM-affiliated MQM-P is one of the loudest opponents of the head count.
Jamaat-e-Islami, a right-wing Islamist political party that won a majority in recent local government polls in Karachi, has already called for protests.
Karachi’s population, according to MQM leaders, has been drastically undercounted. The party’s leader claims that the mega-city’s true population is approximately 35 million, although the preliminary figures place the number at just over 16 million. The PPP, which currently rules Sindh, was further accused by the MQM of “systematic alteration” of demographic statistics.
The costly and time-consuming head count may end up being a pointless exercise, much like its 2017 predecessor, unless the results of the ongoing census are broadly accepted by all political players.
