Census to produce useful data

ISLAMABAD: The marathon two-phase population and housing census, starting across Pakistan on Wednesday, will throw up very useful data not only about the precise total number of citizens but also different other facets of life and people.

The data will be valuable for policy planning by the government. The census, which is conducted after every ten years and the present one was due in 2008, is being held after a nine-year delay.

It will provide the accurate population size and growth and its density with urban and rural proportion; population by sex, sex ratio, average household size and growth rate; population by province and region wise and by selective age groups; literacy ratio by sex; educated population by level of education; population by mother tongue; labour force participation rates; unemployment rate; marital status; migrant population by place of birth and by reason of shifting; population of five years age group; housing indicators, housing units by number of rooms and type, by construction material, by source of drinking water, by lighting and cooking fuel and by kitchen, bath room and latrine facility.

The two forms will be got filled by the census staff, assisted by the army troops. Their perusal shows that in urban areas, the names of neighbourhoods, roads and street numbers and for the rural region the names of the villages will be noted.

The serial number of the building and even mud huts used for living will be written. Every part of the building that is being used for living be separately noted and whether this premises or any part of it is a collective residence, office, business, shop, factory, school and college or for worship.

In case of collective residence, the name of the head of the family will have to be given along with his national identity card. Moreover, it will be noted in the form whether any economic activity like sewing, embroidery, carpet making, poultry etc., is being conducted in this place.

The names of the persons of all ages, who were in the specific premises in the morning, or are temporarily absent will be written. However, those who are elsewhere in Pakistan or abroad in connection with business, employment or education will not be included.

The persons to be listed will indicate the relationship with the head of the family. They will include spouse, sons, daughters, grandchildren, parents, brothers, sisters, other relatives and also non-relatives living in the same place.

They will be required to write down their ages and marital status like married, unmarried, widow, widower or divorced. They will note their religion including Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Qadiani/Ahmedi, scheduled castes etc.

The citizens will note their mother tongue like Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pushto, Balochi, Kashmiri, Saraiki, Hinduko, Brohi and others along with their nationality Pakistani and others.

Children of five years or grown up people will be asked to tell whether they are literate (having ability to write and read and know simple mathematics) or illiterate. They will also inform whether or not they had been studying; have less than primary or primary, middle, matriculation or equal; intermediate or equal, graduate or equal; masters or equal education or are diploma holders.

The citizens will write in the forms what they had been doing in the past twelve years – whether they had worked (including free of wages work or had been associated with family business); whether they had been students; and whether they had been house servants etc.

The details about the nature of the residence, when it was built, what is its area and the source of energy – electricity, kerosene oil lamp, gas lamp etc., and the source of fuel – woods, electricity, gas, kerosene oil etc., will also be noted. The first phase starting on March 15 will conclude April 15.

The entire Balochistan and Islamabad Capital Territory will be covered in the first phase, which will also be carried out in Peshawar, Swabi, Charsadda and Nowshera districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). It will be conducted in Lahore, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Dera Ghazi Khan, Mianwali, Chiniot, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Kasur, Sheikhupura, Nankana Saheb, Rajanpur, Layya and Muzaffargarh districts of Punjab.

The Sindh districts where the first phase will be held include Karachi, Dadu, Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Tando Allahyar, Tando Mohammad Khan, Sujawal, Matiari, Badin, Thatta, Mirpur Khas, Umerkot and Tharparkar.

 The second phase will be carried out in Azad Kashmir, Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) and Gilgit-Baltistan. It will also cover Attock, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot, Narowal, Okara, Sahiwal, Khanewal, Multan, Lodhran, Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan apart from Jaccobabad, Kashmore, Shikarpur, Shahdadkot, Sukkur, Ghotki, Khairpur, Naushero Feroze, Sanghar, Shaheed Benazir Abad, Chitral, Upper and Lower Dir, Swat, Buner, Malakand, Kohistan, Mansehra, Batagram, Abbottabad, Haripur, Kohat, Karak, Lukki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Tor Ghar and Shangla.