6th census results get official nod after five-year gap

PBS governing council also approves new base value of economy

ISLAMABAD:

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics’ (PBS) governing council on Tuesday stamped the final results of the 6th population census after a gap of almost five years and also approved a new base value of the economy.

The 19th meeting of the PBS governing council was held under the chairmanship of Federal Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar.

Last month, the government had promulgated a presidential ordinance to make Umar the chairman of the governing council in place of Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin.

According to a statement issued by the planning ministry, the governing council was briefed about the results of 6th Population and Housing Census 2017. It was also informed about various activities of the 7th Population and Housing Census -- the first ever “digital” one of the country.

The 6th census was conducted from March 15, 2017 to May 24, 2017 in two phases with the support of the armed forces. The provisional results of 6th Population & Housing Census were announced on August 25, 2017 and were also used for the 2018 general elections.

However, the final results of census 2017 were not released due to the questions raised on the process and results by certain quarters.

The federal government formed a committee, headed by Maritime Affairs Minister, Ali Haider Zaidi, on February 11, 2020 for a final decision on the results of 2017.

The committee submitted its report with the recommendation of approval and publication of the final results of census 2017 in the larger national interest and conduct of the next one as early as possible using modern technology.

The governing council has now formally endorsed the results of the 6th population census.

Pakistan’s population had surged to a staggering 207.8 million in 2017, showing an increase of 75.4 million people in 19 years.

The population was just over 130 million in 1998, the year when the 5th census had been conducted. This means the country has seen a 57% increase in the population at an annual rate of 2.4%.

The governing council also approved the activities calendar for conducting the 7th population census. The activities will begin from May and the government has a plan to hold the census without the involvement of the armed forces.

After discussion and deliberation, the rebasing of National Accounts from 2005-06 to 2015-16 was also approved by the governing council.

It was also decided that work on the next rebasing may be initiated after Population Census 2022. The fiscal year 2022-23 might be taken as the base year for the next rebasing of National Accounts.

The rebasing exercise has brought additional goods and services in the formal sector of the economy that has also helped expanding the size of the economy by another Rs3.1 trillion till the fiscal year 2015-16.

The size of the economy in dollar terms has jumped to $347 billion -- estimated at Rs64 trillion by June this year in rupee term.

At $347 billion, Pakistan’s standing among world economies has improved to 35th -- below Denmark, which has a $355 billion worth of economy size.

The decision to rebase the economy from fiscal year 2005-06 to 2015-16 also resulted in a reduction in the public debt burden but sank further the tax-to-GDP ratio. The Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) tax-to-GDP ratio now dropped to mere 8.5% that might increase by 1% by June this year.

However, the governing council did not approve a proposal to reconstitute the National Accounts Committee (NAC). The proposal had sought giving the chairmanship of the NAC to the statistician by taking it from the planning secretary. It also did not approve the large composition of the NAC.