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Population & Housing Census-2023
1 HISTORY AND METHODOLOGY OF CENSUS 1.1 Background Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), in accordance with the General Statistics (Reorganization) Act 2011, is responsible for conducting population and housing censuses in the country. Alongside its other data collection activities, PBS conducted censuses in the years 1951, 1961,1972, 1981, and 1998. Following the 1998 census, the 6 th Population and Housing Census, which was originally scheduled for the year 2008, was delayed and eventually conducted from March to May in 2017. The provisional summary results of Census-2017 were released after the requisite approval from the Council of Common Interests (CCI) in its meeting held on August 25, 2017. These results were made available to government officials, academia, researchers, and the general public through press releases and the PBS website. There was reservation on Census-2017 results for Sindh. As a result, census which was completed in 2017 got approved by the CCI in its 45th meeting held on 12th April, 2021. The CCI also directed PBS to start the process of the next census as early as possible according to the international best practices by using latest technology. In compliance to the CCI decision, PBS initiated preparatory work to conduct the 7th Population and Housing Census in Pakistan. To achieve this end, the Government of Pakistan established Census Advisory Committee consisting of distinguished demographers and experts with the aim of formulating recommendations to implement the latest technology and adopt international best practices, as well as to devise strategy to build confidence among all the stakeholders, guarantee smooth completion of census operation and improve credibility and reliability of the census results. The Committee conducted several meetings and after detailed deliberations finalized the recommendations to carry out the census “digitally” with real-time monitoring for transparency and broader acceptability. Figure 1.1: Glimpses from the Meetings of Census Advisory Committee
HISTORY AND METHODOLOGY OF CENSUS
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The main recommendations of Census Advisory Committee are given as under.
• Census must be conducted Digitally with real-time online monitoring & geo-tagging of all structures
• Ensure Universality: Counting of whole population residing in country at the time of the census
irrespective of its Status/ Holder of CNIC or not.
• De-jure Method of enumeration is recommended (person is enumerated at usual place of residence).
This method is the widely used method internationally and used in all previous Censuses in Pakistan.
• Single Census questionnaire may be administered which should be strictly in relevance to the
Objectives of Census.
• Law enforcement agencies may be used for security but not for enumeration / verification.
• Field Data collection/Monitoring may be carried out by Provincial Government staff.
Comprehensive trainings and involvement of graduate students in the enumeration process is
recommended.
• Involvement of Stakeholders (especially provinces / political parties) from start to end (Planning to
Finalization of results)
• Establishment of National Census Coordination Center (N3C) with representation of Provincial
Governments for effective monitoring, coordination and policy decisions.
• Effective publicity campaign with effective use of social media for clarity regarding the primary
objective of Census which may begin early and extend right up to the release of the first initial results
• Conduct of Pilot Census for checking the whole process and conduct of Post Enumeration Survey
for assessing reliability of data and coverage
The Federal Cabinet in its meeting held on 5 th October, 2021 approved the recommendations of the
Census Advisory Committee for forwarding to the CCI. The CCI in its 49th meeting held on 13th January,
2022 approved the recommendations of Census Advisory Committee for the conduct of 7 th Population
and Housing Census, along with census work plan with timelines, census questionnaire, Census
Monitoring Committee (CMC) and its TORs. The CMC was constituted with representation of all Chief
Secretaries, relevant Pr ovincial Secretaries (Education, Health, Local Government etc.), Senior
Members of Board of Revenue, Secretary IPC, DG Military Operation and others for prompt decision
making and coordinated efforts for the successful conduct of the census.
1.2 Requirements of Digital Census
Technological developments and subsequent access to modern technology has largely eased the way in
which the business of a population census is undertaken. Modern technology permits end -to-end
embedding of processes in the census value chain. This possibility ranges from planning, monitoring and
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implementation to evaluating outcomes. Many facets of census activities can benefit from the use of
technology.1
However, it is of utmost importance to comprehend the significance of technology and carefully
choose the most appropriate option. Introducing technology can be an expensive and risky endeavor if
not aligned with the unique circumstances of the country. Hence, in order to guarantee successful
implementation of electronic data collection technology in the census pr ocess, it was imperative to
precisely identify all the essential requirements and formulate comprehensive plans for integrating this
technology at an early stage of the census life cycle. Figure 1.2 gives a schematic representation of the
hardware and IT-related requirements envisaged for DigitalCensus-2023.
Figure 1.2: Hardware and IT Related Requirements of Digital Census
The 7th Population and Housing Census marked a significant milestone in Pakistan as it became the first- ever digital census in the country. The implementation of this census posed unique challenges that required careful planning and preparation from the very begi nning. These challenges included development of step-by-step procedures for the entire process, creation of high-resolution digital maps, acquisition of tablet devices, development of specialized census software to perform various tasks such as structure listing, enumeration, real-time monitoring, and field coordination, as well as establishment of data infrastructure and storage facilities. Additionally, extensive efforts were made to ensure transparency and reliability of the census by addressing key processes, some of which will be discussed in the subsequent sections. It is important to highlight that the recommendations of the Census Advisory Committee for the Digital Census were thoroughly taken into account during both the planning and execution stages of these processes.
1 “Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses” (Revision 3), Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division, United Nations, New York, 2017. (Emphasis added) Digital Census
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1.2.1 Consultative and Sensitization Process
One of the main recommendations of Census Advisory Committee approved by the CCI in its 49th
meeting was involvement of stakeholders through the entire census process. To accomplish this
objective, PBS conducted various rounds of engagement sessions with p rovincial administrations, civil
society organizations, and academia. In this regard, five meetings were conducted with provinces from
6th September, 2021 to 16 th September, 2021, whereas six sensitization workshops were held a t
provincial capitals from 24 th December, 2021 to 10 th January, 2022. Additionally, another round of
sensitization process was commenced on 23 rd May, 2022, with workshops conducted by the PBS team
at all the provincial and regional headquarters.
The purpose of these sessions was to inform about the transparent data collection of census
digitally and role and responsibilities of all federal and provincial stakeholders. Additionally,
stakeholders were made aware of their access to GIS -enabled monitoring, which facilitated tracking
progress of the census . It is worth noting here that the representatives of the provincial governments
remained actively engaged from the planning phase of the census until its completion in the field.
Figure 1.3: Glimpses from Workshops Held at Provincial Capitals
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1.2.2 Role of Consulting Agencies
After approval of the recommendations of Census Advisory Committee and work plan of 18 months to
conduct 7th Population and Housing Census-2023 by the CCI in its 49th meeting, PBS, keeping in view
the challenging timelines, engaged for the Government to Government (G2G) solution National
Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission
(SUPARCO) and National Telecom Corporation (NTC) for provision of software, hardware, latest high
resolution imagery and allied services required for successful completion of the digital census field
operation.
The following Table 1.1 summarizes the role of consulting agencies, NADRA, SUPARCO and
NTC regarding provision of hardware and software during the conduct of 7th Population and Housing
Census-2023.
Table 1.1: Role of Consulting Agencies during the Digital Census-2023
Task
Description
Responsibility
Tablet device and
allied accessories
Provision of 126000 tablet devices and allied accessories
Provision of 126000 secure data SIMs
Hardening and preparation of tablet devices
Dispatching and retrieval of tablet device
NADRA
Datacenter and
Infrastructure
Compute storage and network resources
Two sites, one primary site at NTC Islamabad and one
disaster recovery site at NTC Lahore
Intranet and internet connectivity of sites
Software licenses required for the datacenter
NTC
Census Support
Centers
IT support to field staff
Provision of internet devices
NADRA
NTC
Call center
Establishment of call center at PBS HQ
Operationalization of call center for 6 months
Technology transfer to PBS
NTC
Census Software
Provision of complete turnkey solution
Hosting of census software solutions at infrastructure
provided by NTC
Syncing of data and data security
NADRA
GIS imagery
Provision of GIS imagery
SUPARCO
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1.2.3 Census Software
For the Digital Census-2023, initially eighteen software modules were considered to facilitate various
tasks in a digital format. However, upon careful internal discussions and considerations, it was
determined that some of these modules shared similar features. As a result, the Supervisor Dashboard
and Data Synchronization modules were combined with the Indicator and Trend Analysis and Android
House Listing and Enumeration Data Collection modules, respectively. The final list of modules,
comprising sixteen in total, can be seen Table 1.2.
Table 1.2: Software Modules Finalized for Digital Census-2023
S.
No.
Software Modules
S.
No.
Software Modules
1
Self-enumeration web portal
9
GIS based Dashboard Monitoring
System
2
HR & Task Assignment Web Portal
10
Dashboard for Trend Analysis
3
Training Web portal
11
Data Cleaning Module
4
Inventory Management
12
Complaint Management System
5
Android House listing App
13
Reporting Module
6
Android Enumerator Data Collection
app
14
Public Data Dissemination Portal
7
Communication application
15
CATI support module
8
Area Frame Updation Application
16
MDM
1.2.4 Census Hardware and IT Infrastructure
The digital infrastructure, PBS already have, was not reliable enough to support the extensive census
operation. As a result, it was necessary to upgrade the entire datacenter to meet the necessary standards
for power backups, precision cooling, network and server security, environmental monitoring and
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control, fire suppression systems, and access control systems. Additionally, a secondary site with disaster
recovery capabilities had to be introduced. However, given the tight schedule for the census, procuring
and completing the necessary upgrades for th e datacenter was not feasible. Therefore, the well -
established tier-III Datacenter Infrastructure of National Telecom Corporation (NTC) suitable for this
exercise was utilized to provide round-the-clock support, with multiple active sites including a dedicated
disaster recovery site.
The hardware and IT related requirements chalked out for the Digital Census -2023 included 126000
tablet devices with allied accessories, hardening and preparation of tablet devices, internet SIMs from
Telco’s, compute storage and network resources, two sit es one primary site and one disaster recovery
site, intranet and internet connectivity of sites, data security, IT support to field staff from Census
Support Centers, and establishment of call centers. PBS accordingly engaged National Database and
Registration Authority (NADRA) for provision of 126000 tablets with allied accessories (secured,
hardened devices), Census Software Solution (Enterprise Resource Planning - ERP), Data SIMs and
secure data connectivity, and census field support services.
Figure 1.4: The Digital Architecture Used in Census-2023
1.2.5 Acquisition of High Resolution Imagery
Digital maps of area frame are at the crux of digital enumeration. PBS had already digitized its area
frame, which consisted of approximately 182,000 blocks and conducting surveys through tablets using
the digitized block boundaries. However, due to the sensitivity and magnitude of the census project, PBS
decided to acquire the latest satellite imagery accurate to a level that does not affect the accuracy of geo-