Quick answer: The 7th census of Pakistan (2023) differed from all six before it in one word: digital. Tablets replaced paper forms; GIS geo-tagging mapped every structure in the country; 6.6 million households self-enumerated online; supervisors monitored coverage live; and every entry carried a GPS timestamp. It was planned in 18 months — South Asia’s largest digitisation exercise — and counted 241.49 million people at a 2.55% growth rate.
In this guide
The firsts
First census with tablets. First with GIS-based monitoring. First with self-enumeration. First where every structure was geo-tagged before counting began. First completed in a fully digital pipeline from doorstep to database. The 2017 census, by contrast, was still paper forms carried in bags — and its results were disputed the day they were published.
The scale
120,000+ enumerators, 38.34 million households, every province and territory, in a country where terrain runs from Arabian Sea beaches to 8,000-metre peaks — executed in about ten weeks of fieldwork (1 March into May 2023, with extensions). The PBS pulled it off on an 18-month planning timeline that veterans of the 19-year-delayed 2017 census found hard to believe.
The results
241.49 million people, 2.55% annual growth — the fastest in South Asia. Punjab 127.68m, Sindh 55.69m, KP 40.85m, Balochistan 14.89m, ICT 2.36m. Urban share 38.82%. Karachi 20.3m. The CCI approved the results unanimously on 5 August 2023 under PM Shehbaz Sharif — a political consensus the 2017 results never achieved.
The legacy
The 7th census reset the baseline for delimitations, the NFC award and all development planning — and proved Pakistan can run a digital count. Its GIS structure database is now a national asset for surveys, disaster response and urban planning. For the complete picture, see the full digital census guide.
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Frequently asked questions
What was new in the 7th census of Pakistan?
Tablets, GIS geo-tagging, online self-enumeration and live monitoring — Pakistan’s first fully digital census.
What was the population in the 7th census?
241.49 million (247.54 million with GB and AJK), growing at 2.55% a year.
When were the 7th census results approved?
5 August 2023, unanimously by the Council of Common Interests; notified 7 August 2023.
