Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh remains the most populous city in the country according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics census 2017 report. The total population stands at 10,624,894 in the city.
Overall, Pakistan’s population stands at 207.68 million. This includes 106.3m males, 101.3m females while the population of eunuchs is 21,774.
Punjab is the most populated province in the country with a figure of 109.99m followed by Sindh: 47.85m; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 30.51m; Balochistan: 12.34m; Islamabad: 2m and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA): 4.99m
The statistic agency report says that the rural population is 132,013,789 and the urban population is 75,670,837.
Centre approves census results despite Sindh’s reservations, promises new count by 2021 end
On April 12, the Council of Common Interest (CCI) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan approved the 2017 census results on in spite of reservations expressed by Sindh in the previous meetings of the CCI.
The results of the census conducted in 2017 could not be approved owing to the differences between the Centre and Sindh province despite several meeting.
Addressing a press conference, Planning Minister Asad Umar said that a new framework for the census will be made and approved by the CCI. “A new census will start by the end of this year and will take 18 months to conclude,” said Asad Umar.
He said the next elections will likely be held in September-October 2023 on the basis of the new census. He said the government will start working on the new census framework without any delay.
According to Asad Umar, chief ministers of all three provinces and the representatives of the federation endorsed the census whereas Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah opposed it.
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) had shown reservations over the demography, saying the census has failed to justice with Sindh, especially Karachi.
The 44th meeting of the CCI was chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan and attended by the federal ministers, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM Mahmood Khan, Balochistan CM Jam Kamal Alyani and chief secretaries of the four provinces.
