64
Population & Housing Census-2023 0.31%, Balti with 0.45%, Mewali with 0.05%, Kalasha with 0.01%, Kohistani with 0.22% and Others with 2.84%.
As Compared to the results of the Census-2017, Table 3.7 shows that the proportion of Sindhi, and Balochi speaking persons has slightly increased in Census-2023 as compared to Census – 2017 i.e. less than 1 %.
The language categories Shina, Balti, Mewati, Kalasha and Kohistani were asked for the first time in the Census-2023, therefore the persons falling in the Others category have decreased from 5.34% in Census-2017 to 2.84% in Census-2023.
Table 3.7 : Percentage of Population by Mother Tongue and Rural/Urban, Census-2017 And 2023 Religion 2017 2023 All Areas Rural Urban Total Speakers All Areas Rural Urban Total Speakers Urdu 12.23 10.29 14.14 244,930 15.72 14.97 16.61 358,922 Punjabi 52.27 56.23 48.37 1,047,131 50.57 54.07 46.40 1,154,540 Sindhi 0.77 0.57 0.97 15,467 0.94 0.81 1.08 21,362 Pushto 18.50 15.35 21.60 370,653 18.21 14.58 22.53 415,838 Balochi 0.15 0.11 0.19 2,996 0.20 0.17 0.23 4,503 Kashmiri 2.09 2.44 1.75 41,914 2.27 2.98 1.43 51,920 Saraiki 2.12 1.77 2.47 42,513 2.03 1.84 2.25 46,270 Hindko 6.40 5.69 7.10 128,237 6.17 5.81 6.59 140,780 Brahvi 0.13 0.10 0.16 2,540 0.03 0.02 0.04 668 Shina*
0.31 0.33 0.29 7,099 Balti*
0.45 0.53 0.36 10,315 Mewati*
0.05 0.04 0.06 1,095 Kalasha*
0.01 0.01 0.01 182 Kohistani*
0.22 2.25 0.18 5,016 Others 5.34 7.46 3.25 106,987 2.84 3.60 1.93 64,734 Total 100 100 100 2,003,368 100 100 100 2,283,244
- These languages were included in the Census Form as separate options for the first time in Census-2023
65
Population & Housing Census-2023 Figure 3.10: Percentage of Population by Mother Tongue
3.4 Population by Nationality
A person's nationality is where they are a legal citizen, usually in the country where they were born.
Nationality in international law can be called and understood as citizenship, or more generally as subject
or belonging to a sovereign state, and not as ethnicity. It is worth mentioning that after inclusive
consultation, in census 2023 unlike 2017, non-nationals are further disaggregated into four categories,
i.e. Afghani, Bengali, Chinese and others and separate numbers are collected for them.
Table 3.8 displays the Nationality of the Population for 2023 and 2017 census. In 2023, the total
population of Pakistan is around 240.5 million, with over 2.17 million being Pakistani citizens i.e.
98.18% in ICT and about 0.06 million Non-National residents i.e. 1.82%.
Table 3.8: Percentage Distribution of Nationality by Region, Census-2017 and 2023
Area
Nationality Census-2017
Nationality Census-2023
Pakistani
Non-National
Pakistani
Non-National
All Areas
98.18
1.82
97.48
2.5
Rural
99.23
0.77
98.76
1.24
Urban
97.15
2.85
95.92
4.08
Nationality
1,966,926
36,442
2,171,154
56,045
It is worth mentioning that in census 2023 unlike 2017, non-nationals are further disaggregated into four categories, i.e. Afghani, Bengali, Chinese and others. Table 3.9 shows that the majority of non-nationals in Census 2023 are Afghanis i.e. 52,056 while remaining are almost nominal with Bengali (74), Chinese (388) and Others (3,527) living in ICT. The Afghani population living in Urban area (38,221) are more than Rural area (13,835). Similarly, Bengali, Chinese and Others Non-Pakistani’s living in urban areas are greater in number than those living in rural areas. 15.72 50.57 0.74 18.21 0.20 2.20 2.03 6.17 0.03 2.29 Urdu Punjabi Sindhi Pushto Balochi Kashmiri Saraiki Hindko Brahvi
66
Population & Housing Census-2023 Table 3.9: Percentage Distribution of Nationality by Categories, Census-2017 and 2023
Pakistani
Afghani
Bengali
Chinese
Others
All Areas
Total
2,171,154
52,056
74
388
3,527
Percent
97.48
2.34
0.003
0.02
0.16
Rural
Total
1,209,852
13,835
17
34
1,310
Percent
98.76
1.13
0.001
0.003
0.11
Urban
Total
961,302
38,221
57
354
2,217
Percent
95.92
3.81
0.01
0.04
0.22
3.5
Population with Disability
In the previous census i.e. 1981, 1998, the question for gauging the exact nature of disability was asked in
the long form which was enumerated on the sample based and according to them the percentage of disabled
population was 0.49 and 2.38% respectively. However, this information cannot be collected in census 2017
due to dropping of sampled enumeration based on Long form. During preparations of Census 2023, a
technical committee was constituted for designing of questionnaire by Census Advisory committee,
comprising of renowned demographers and experts. They had thoughtfully considered about the inclusion
of questions regarding disability. After detailed deliberations with all the stakeholders including
Community Based Inclusive Development Network (CB1DN), the technical committee recommended to
include set of questions designed by Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG).
Table 3.10 shows that disabled persons constitute only 3.20% of the Islamabad’s population. The
disability rate for male (disabled male as a percentage of total male population) is 3.56% and for the female
(disabled female as a percentage of total female population) is 2.79%. Out of the total disabled population,
60.81% are recorded in rural areas where as 39.19% are residing in urban areas.
Table 3.10 : Disabled Population and Percentage Distribution by Sex and Rural/Urban, Census-2023
Disability statistics are measured through proxy as per guidelines provided by Washington Group of Disability Statistics (WG), by combining two options i.e. a lot of difficulty to perform the activity and cannot perform the activity at all. The total number of disabled population in Islamabad according to the Census-2023 is recorded as 73,022 out of which 58.95% are male, 41.05% female
Disabled Population by Sex and Rural/Urban Description Total Disabled Population Male Female Total 73,022 (100) 43,044 (58.95%) 29,978 (41.05%) Rural 44,406 (100) 26,168 (58.93%) 18,238 (41.07%) Urban 28,616 (100) 16,886 (59.01%) 11,740 (40.99%) Disability Percent out of Total Population Total 3.20 3.56 2.79 Rural 3.58 4.03 3.09 Urban 2.74 3.01 2.43
67
Population & Housing Census-2023
3.5.1 Population with Functional Limitation
These questions are designed to ascertain functional limitations in any of the activities like seeing,
hearing,
walking/climbing,
in
communication
or
remembering/concentration
or
washing/dressing/holding/writing etc. It is also pertinent to mention that the same set of questions has
been used in recent censuses conducted in the majority of countries including UK, Maldives etc. It is
pertinent to mention here that these questions only ascertain the severity of the issue to perform the said
activity and cannot exactly gauge whether the people are disabled or otherwise.
Functional limitation is a measure of an individual's ability to perform daily activities. It is assessed
based on the following criteria:
a) Less difficulty to perform the activity: Some individuals may experience minor difficulties in
carrying out certain tasks.
b) A lot of difficulty to perform the activity: Others may face significant challenges and require
assistance or adaptations to complete their daily functions.
c) Cannot perform the activity at all: Some individuals may be unable to perform specific activities
independently.
It is important to note that an individual may encounter multiple difficulties in performing their daily
functions. According to the Census-2023, the total population with functional limitations in Islamabad
is recorded as 185,380 (8.12%). Out of this population, 56.78% are male and 43.22% are female.
1.48% 1.65% 2.70% 0.98% 1.29% 0.98%
Seeing Hearing Walking/ Communication Memorization/ Self-care Climbing Focus
68
Population & Housing Census-2023
Table 3.11 shows that persons with functional limitation make up only 8.12% of the total population in
Islamabad. The population of male with functional limitation (functional limitations in male as a
percentage of total male population) is 8.70% and for the female (functional limitations in female as a
percentage of total female population) is 7.46%. Furthermore, out of the total population with functional
limitations, 56.64% reside in rural areas, while 43.36% reside in urban areas. This distribution
emphasizes the importance of considering both rural and urban contexts when addressing the needs of
individuals with functional limitations. It is essential to recognize that functional limitations can vary in
severity and impact an individual's ability to perform daily activities. Some individuals may face fewer
difficulties in performing activities, while others may encounter significant challenges or be unable to
perform certain activities altogether.
Table 3.11 : Population and Percentage Distribution of Functional Limitation by Sex and Rural/Urban,
Census-2023
Functional Limitation by Sex and Rural/Urban
Description
Total *Population by
Functional Limitation
Male
Female
Rural
105,001
59,529
45,472
Urban
80,379
45,726
34,653
Functional Limitation percent
Total
8.12
8.70
7.46
Rural
8.47
9.17
7.69
Urban
7.71
8.16
7.18
*Note: It is possible that an individual can face more than one difficulty in performing his daily functions.
3.5.2 Population with Functional Limitation by categories
In table 3.12, it is evident that in Islamabad, there is a total population of 61,634 individuals who face
difficulty in walking or climbing. This functional limitation is one of the most commonly reported
challenges in performing daily functions. Other notable limitations include hearing impairments
affecting 37,581 individuals, visual impairments affecting 982,093 individuals, communication difficulties
affecting 22,481 individuals, and issues with memorization or focus affecting 29,468 individuals.
Additionally, self-care limitations affect 22,336 individuals.
It is important to note that across all these categories, the male population tends to have a higher
number of individuals with functional limitations compared to the female population. Specifically, in the
category of difficulty in walking or climbing, the percentage of males facing this challenge total male
population is 2.91%. are compare to females with 2.46%.
69
Population & Housing Census-2023
Table 3.12: Population and Percentage Distribution of Functional Limitation with Categories by Sex
and Rural/Urban, Census-2023
Functional Limitation by Category*
Category
Total Population by
Functional Limitation
Male
Female
Seeing
33,769
19,143
14,626
Hearing
37,581
21,059
16,522
Walking/climbing
61,634
35,195
26,439
Communication
22,481
13,137
9,344
Memorization/ focus
29,468
16,884
12,584
Self-care etc.
22,336
12,620
9,716
Functional Limitation Percent
Seeing
1.48
1.58
1.36
Hearing
1.65
1.74
1.54
Walking/ Climbing
2.70
2.91
2.46
Communication
0.98
1.09
0.87
Memorization/ Focus
1.29
1.40
1.17
Self-care etc.
0.98
1.04
0.90
*Note: Sum of percentage of all categories is not equal to 100% as it is possible that an individual can face more
than one difficulty in performing his daily functions.
3.6 Education
3.6.1 Literacy
Literacy is an important indicator of education and it has significant impact on development and socio-
economic growth of the country. It is fundamental to development as it drives economic growth,
improves health, enhances educational opportunities, and fosters a more engaged and equitable society.
A person who can read and write with understanding in any language and can make a simple
calculation is treated as literate). According to Census-2023, the literacy rate among the population of
age 10 years and above is recorded in the ICT as 83.97% (Table 3.13). This ratio is higher for males
88.23% than for females 79.13% and for transgender 47.04%. The literacy rate in rural areas 84.88% is
slightly higher than that of urban areas 82.91% as shown in Table 3.13. In particular, the literacy rate
increased by more than 3 percentage points in rural areas over the last five years, showing an increase
from 81.85% in Census-2017 to 84.88% in Census-2023.
Table 3.13: Literacy Rate by Sex and Rural/Urban, Census-2017 and 2023
Area
2017
2023
All Sexes
Male
Female
Trans-
gender
All Sexes
Male
Female
Trans-
gender
All Areas
81.49
86.55
75.83
55.36
83.97
88.23
79.13
47.04
Rural
81.85
87.19
76.04
51.61
84.88
89.13
80.16
48.00
Urban
81.14
85.95
75.63
58.33
82.91
87.19
77.87
46.82
Total Literates
1,248,519
700,247
548,117
155
1,508,916
844,545
664,244
127