Census in Pakistan
survey of population of Pakistan
The Census in Pakistan is a legally decennial census and a descriptive count of Pakistan's population on Census Day, and of their dwellings, conducted and supervised by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was the 2023 Pakistani census.
Overview
A national census is mandated by the Constitution of Pakistan to be held every ten years. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the first census took place in 1951 under Finance Minister Sir Malik Ghulam, serving under Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan. Since 1951, there have been 7 nationwide censuses (1961, 1972, 1981, 1998, 2017 and 2023). The censuses have often faced delays and postponements due to politicization. For example, the 6th national census after 1998 (which itself faced a delay of 7 years) was scheduled to take place in 2001, later being postponed to 2008, and then again to 2010. There were multiple census counts completed in April 2012, but were subsequently thrown out as being "unreliable". It was ultimately conducted in 2017. The most recent census in 2023 recorded a total population throughout the country of 241,499,431 (excluding Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir).
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Census in Pakistan” is survey of population of Pakistan. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Census, Pakistan and survey, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “survey of population of Pakistan” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5058972. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2023, 1947, 1951 and 1961.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Census in Pakistan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.