40 million households registered in digital census

PBS says 95% work has been completed in K-P; 95% in Punjab; 92% in Sindh and six per cent in Balochistan

ISLAMABAD:

As many as 40 million households have been registered in going first digital census with 92 percent of its part has been successfully completed, said the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. 

It said that 95 percent of census work is finished in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) 95 percent in Punjab, 92 percent in Sindh and 6 percent Balochistan. 

With the smooth workflow and technology innovations, the data of almost 10 million people are daily synched without any issues or technical glitches, the PBS explained recalling that this was a landmark national achievement and that all process is being made with full transparency, accountability and efficiency.

The PBS stated that the provincial and district governments have the key responsibility to conduct the census field operation to ensure 100 percent quality and credible and universal coverage, making sure no one is left behind. 

The Bureau has provided the design, and strategic approach, and equipped the provincial and district governments with the technology and tools for complete transparency and real-time progress monitoring of census activities, along with daily oversight and feedback to further improve the data collection exercise in real-time.

The real-time data progress monitoring dashboards, developed in partnership with NADRA and provided by PBS from the provincial to the district governments, help provincial governments in identifying any abnormalities, any areas missed and any other emerging anomalies on a daily basis.

The data received is analysed on a daily basis by the Bureau's concerned staffers at headquarters and immediately communicated to the provinces for their resolution to ensure timely response and universal and complete coverage.

The PBS claimed that this was 7th housing and population census and the first digital census is a historic milestone and the first digital census of its kind in South Asia.

This successful execution of the census has been made possible through the commendable Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and relentless efforts of the Provincial and District Governments to ensure complete and credible census field operations with the support of the technology support provided by NADRA.

The move towards digitization has allowed provincial and district governments, who are responsible for the field operations for the 100 percent universal and inclusive census coverage, to immediately identify the missed areas using the geotagged houses and the quality of data entered for them by the enumerators in real-time. 

The PBS further supported the provincial and district governments by setting up a helpline 080057574 and SMS gateway 9727 where people can call for queries or report anyone or any area missed.

Also read: Digital census date extended to April 10

Recently, on the directions of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif, the 495 Census Support Centers are now also working as points of referral for all missed areas.

The success of the current census is also attributed to the rigorous, universally standardized training provided by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics to 121000 field enumerators that were identified and selected by the provinces, along with 126000 tablets to digitize the data collection process.

The main objective of the Census is to provide data for informed decision-making for policy planning for the people living in particular areas so that required resources can be provided for the provision of basic necessities like schools, hospitals, roads and others. Questions asked in the census pertain to the number of people and living standards.

Census is not linked to the voter nor does it have the ability to discriminate. It is a mandatory civic duty which all of us need to participate in, for our future, for the future of our children and for the future of the country.