Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
NATIONAL CENSUS REPORT 138
4.3.2 Population Distribution by Mother Tongue According to the Census-2023, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in Pakistan identified by 36.98% of the population as their mother tongue which has slightly decreased from Census-2017 with 38.78% (Tabel 4.14). The second most spoken language is Pushto 18.15% which has marginally decreased from Census-2017 with 18.24% followed by Sindhi 14.31% which has decreased from Census-2017 with 14.57%. The share of other languages spoken in Pakistan are: Saraiki 12.00%, Urdu 9.25%, Balochi 3.38%, Hindko 2.69%, Others 1.39%, Brahvi 1.16%, Mewati 0.46%, Kohistani 0.43%, Kashmiri 0.11%, Shina 0.05%, Balti 0.02%. The percentage of Kalasha is very nominal. Additionally, five new languages Shina, Balti, Mewati, Kalasha, and Kohistani have been included in the Census-2023. Table 4.14: Percentage of Population by Mother Tongue :Census Year 2017 and 2023
2017
2023
Language
Number
Percentage
Number
Percentage
Total
Speakers
All
Areas
Rural
Urban
Total
Speakers
All
Areas
Rural
Urban
Urdu
14,706,159
7.08
1.35
17.07
22,249,307 9.25
1.51 21.50
Punjabi
80,536,390
38.78
35.93
43.74
88,915,544 36.98
34.23 41.32
Sindhi
30,256,372
14.57
16.38
11.41
34,401,564 14.31
16.43 10.94
Pushto
37,885,441
18.24
21.68
12.24
43,633,946 18.15
22.44 11.36
Balochi
6,281,087
3.02
3.33
2.50
8,117,795 3.38
3.84 2.65
Kashmiri
359,669
0.17
0.12
0.26
274,080 0.11
0.07
0.19
Saraiki
25,324,637
12.19
15.01
7.29
28,849,579 12.00
14.86
7.47
Hindko
5,065,879
2.44
2.57
2.22
5,590,559 2.32
2.69 1.75
Brahvi
2,567,677
1.24
1.42
0.91
2,778,670 1.16
1.39 0.79
Shina *
-
116,951 0.05
0.05 0.04
Balti *
-
52,134 0.02
0.01 0.05
Mehwati *
- 1,094,219 0.46
0.46 0.44
Kalasha * -
7,466 0.00
0.00 0.00
Kohistani *
- 1,039,007 0.43
0.67 0.06
Others 4,701,315 2.26 2.21 2.37 3,337,268 1.39
1.35 1.44
- Asked for the first time in Census-2023.
4.4 Distribution of 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, separate
numbers are collected for them.
Table 4.15 displays the Nationality of the Population of Pakistan based on 2017 and 2023 censuses. In Census 2023, the total population of Pakistan is around 240.5 million, with over 238.38 million being Pakistani citizens i.e. 99.12% and about 211.64 million Non- National residents i.e. 0.88%. In rural areas, there are 99.18% Pakistani and 0.82% Non- National whereas in urban areas there are 99.01% Pakistani and 0.99% Non- National.
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
NATIONAL CENSUS REPORT 139
Table 4.15: Nationality by Region in Census 2017 and 2023
Province Wise Analysis of Non-National Table 4.16 shows that the majority of non-nationals in Census 2023 are Afghanis i.e. 1,923,453 while remaining are almost nominal with Bengali (26,900), Chinese (3,568) and Others (172,158) living in Pakistan. The Afghani population living in Rural area (1,095,726) are more than Urban area (827,727). Similarly, Bengali, Chinese and Others Non- Nationals living in Rural areas are greater in number than those living in Urban areas.
Among the provinces, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has the highest number of Afghan nationals (939,878), making up 2.31% of its population. Balochistan follows with 474,812 Afghanis (3.26%), the highest proportion among all provinces. In Sindh, 145,875 Afghan nationals (0.26%) reside, while Punjab has Afghan National 310,832 (0.24%). The capital, Islamabad, has 52,056 Afghan nationals (2.28%). Other nationalities, including Bengalis, Chinese, and various others, are present in much smaller numbers across all provinces. Table 4.16: Nationality by Region and Catagories Census-2023
Area Nationality Census-2023
Pakistani Afghani Bangali Chinese Others Pakistan Total 238,332,010 1,923,453 26,900 3,568 172,158 Percent 99.12 0.80 0.01 0.001 0.07 Rural Total 146,066,316 1,095,726 5,484 1,717 99,140 Percent 99.18 0.74 0.004 0.001 0.07 Urban Total 92,265,694 827,727 21,416 1,851 73,018 Percent 99.01 0.89 0.02 0.002 0.08 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Total 39,668,974 939,878 539 266 31,463 Percent 97.61 2.31 0.001 0.001 0.08 Punjab Total 126,959,469 310,832 1,224 1,843 59,937 Percent 99.71 0.24 0.001 0.001 0.05 Sindh Total 55,426,749 145,875 24,137 757 40,891 Percent 99.62 0.26 0.04 0.001 0.07 Balochistan Total 14,049,619 474,812 926 314 36,340 Percent 96.48 3.26 0.01 0.002 0.25 Islamabad Total 2,227,199 52,056 74 388 3,527 Percent 97.55 2.28 0.003 0.02 0.15 Area Nationality Census-2017 Nationality Census-2023 Pakistani Non-National Pakistani Non-National All Areas 99.33 0.67 99.12 0.88 Rural 99.39 0.61 99.18 0.82 Urban 99.21 0.79 99.01 0.99 Nationality 206,287,447 1,397,179 238,332,010 2,126,079
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
NATIONAL CENSUS REPORT 140
District Wise Analysis of Non-National
The four districts with higest percentage having higher Non-National nationals in Census-2023
are from Balochistan. These are Quetta, Pishin, chagai, Killa Saifullah and Peshwar from
Khyber Pakhtun Khawa with population i.e. 11.98%, 11.66%, 8.09%, 7.83% and 7.64% . The
population of Non-Pakistani nationals is lowest in Sindh, Larkana district with 0.0304%
population whereas district, Umerkot, Kambar Shadad Kot and Shikar pur are 0.0414% ,
0.0355% and 0.0402% with population of Non-Pakistani. The District Okara from Punjab is
0.0412% with Non-National National.
District wise population of Non-National has been depicted in the figure 4.8. The data,
categorized into different Non-National population brackets ranging from 0.25% to 5.01% and
above as shown below:
• Up to 0.25 Non -National: 0.25% Non-National population reside in 69 districts of
Pakistan that show a significant portion.
• 0.26 – 0.50 Non-National: There are 17 districts falling in this bracket.
• 0.51 – 1.00 Non-National: There are 13 districts falling in this Range.
• 1.01 – 2.00 Non-National: There are 16 districts falling in this Range.
• 2.01 - 5.00 Non-National: 13 district Fall in this Category.
• 5.01 or above Non-National: There are only 8 districts in this bracket.
Figure 4.8: District Wise Non-National National Census -2023
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
NATIONAL CENSUS REPORT 141
4.5 Population With Disability In the previous censuses 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 could not 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, the Technical Committee recommended to include set of questions designed by Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG). Disability statistics are measured through proxy as per guidelines provided by Washington Group on Disability Statistics (WG) by combining two options i.e. a lot of difficulty to perform the activity and cannot perform the activity at all.
As per Table 4.17, the total number of disabled population in Pakistan according to the
Census-2023 is recorded as 7,448,574 out of which 54.89% are male, 45.10% are female. Table
3.15 shows that disabled persons constitute only 3.10% of the total population. The disability
rate for male (disabled male as a percentage of total male population) is 3.30% and for the
female (disabled female as a percentage of total female population) is 2.88%. Out of the total
disabled population, 63.57% are recorded in rural areas where as 36.43% are residing in urban
areas.
Table 4.17: Disabled Population and Percentage Distribution by Sex and Rural/Urban,
Province wise Analysis of Disabled Population
The figure 4.9 depicts that in province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Islamabad 3%
population is disabled while in Sindh and Balochistan, it is only 2%. However, percentage
of female population is less disabled as compared to male population in all provinces
alongwith Federal Capital Islamabad.
Figure 4.9: Percentage of Disabled Population
Description
Total Disabled Population
Male
Female
Total
7,448,574
4,088,899
3,359,675
Rural
4,735,395
2,583,031
2,152,364
Urban
2,713,179
1,505,868
1,207,311
Disability Percent
Total
3.10
3.30
2.88
Rural
3.22
3.42
3.00
Urban
2.91
3.11
2.70
3.10
3.16
3.52
2.33
2.10
3.20
3.30
3.38
3.81
2.39
2.16
3.56
2.88
2.94
3.22
2.28
2.02
2.79
PAKISTAN
KHYBER
PAKHTUNKHWA
PUNJAB
SINDH
BALOCHISTAN
ISLAMABAD
Total
Male
Female
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
NATIONAL CENSUS REPORT 142
4.5.1 Population with Functional Limitation It is 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 also added 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.
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.
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 Pakistan is recorded as 23,170,373. Out of this population, 52.83% are male and 47.17% are
female. Table 4.18 shows that persons with functional limitation make up only 9.64% of the
total population in Pakistan. The population of male with functional limitation (functional
limitations in male as a percentage of total male population) is 9.88% and for the female
(functional limitations in female as a percentage of total female population) is 9.37%.
Furthermore, out of the total population with functional limitations, 58.83% reside in rural
areas, while 41.17% 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 4.18: Population and Percentage Distribution of Functional Limitation by Sex and
Rural/Urban, Census-2023
Description
Total *Population by
Functional Limitation
Male
Female
Total
23,170,373
12,239,992
10,930,381
Rural
13,630,475
7,158,341
6,472,134
Urban
9,539,898
5,081,651
4,458,247
Functional Limitation percent
Total
9.64
9.88
9.37
Rural
9.26
9.49
9.01
Urban
10.24
10.50
9.96
*Note: It is possible that an individual can face more than one difficulty in performing his daily functions.