PBS finalises all arrangements to conduct population census

First phase to be completed in mid-April, second phase to end in mid-May

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has finalised all arrangements to conduct the much-awaited sixth population census from March 15 this year, officials say.

“The census will be held in two phases starting from mid-March,” an official told APP.

The first phase will be completed in mid-April, while the second phase is likely to be initiated on April 24 and will end in mid-May.

Preliminary results of the national population census would start arriving in June and would be made public accordingly, the officials informed.



For conducting the census, the PBS has already divided the country's population into 168,120 blocks, each block consisting of about 200 to 250 households. Over 84,000 enumerators will be involved in the nationwide exercise.

The bureau has made all arrangements to conduct the exercise in a transparent manner and has already imparted training to the staff.

Talking about the security situation, officials said Pakistan Army would be providing security and one army personnel would be engaged for each enumerator for ensuring smooth and secure data collection.



In the first phase, the census will be conducted in Mardan and Peshawar (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa), Faisalabad, Dera Ghazi Khan and Sargodha (Punjab), Quetta, Zhob, Sibbi and Makran (Balochistan) and Karachi and Hyderabad (Sindh).

In the federal capital too, the population count will be undertaken in the first phase, however, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Fata will be covered in the second phase.

Meanwhile, for the first time in the history of Pakistan, the country's transgender community will be included in the national population census.



The Lahore High Court had instructed the federal government, National Database and Registration Authority and Ministry of Interior to include the transgender community in the census.

Pakistan last conducted the population census in 1998 and according to the law, the federal government is required to hold the count after every 10 years.