- Joined
- Jan 1, 2015
- Messages
- 7,950
- Likes
- 7,908
Opening a thread to analyse the demographic distribution in Pakistan, after post 2017 census.
Results are not yet publicised.
Results are not yet publicised.
Pakistan Census 2017 watch thread
- Thread starter Screambowl
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2016
- Messages
- 2,226
- Likes
- 7,024
What the census will not be documenting
During the national census, 13 questions pertaining to demographic details per household will be asked as specified in Form 2. Enumerators going door-to-door will collect data such as the name of the head of the family, the relationship of other persons living in the household to the head of the family, gender, age, marital status, religion, mother tongue, nationality, literacy, occupation during the last 12 months, CNIC (for those above the age of 18), nature of residence (owned, rented, without rent) etc. Recently, debate in Sindh, ensued over the exclusion of Gujrati - it is one of the languages not listed in this form. Moreover, the listing of only six religions, omitting some, was taken up by members of the Sindh government.
Form 2A (shown above) with additional questions on fertility, disability, etc will not be used during the upcoming national census next month.
Form 2A, with an additional twenty questions, will not be used during the census. Therefore, additional and detailed information such as the district of birth for all individuals, the duration of residence at present, previous district of residence (whether urban or rural), details pertaining to education, fertility (for women between 15 to 49 years, data collected on total live births), migration, disabilities, etc will not be collected. Information collected for this questionnaire point to significant socio-economic statistics that are imperative for meaningful policymaking. This omission, therefore, implies the exercise is being conducted in a hurried manner without giving thought to the purpose of a national census and its impact on the broader health of a nation. — Razeshta Sethna
During the national census, 13 questions pertaining to demographic details per household will be asked as specified in Form 2. Enumerators going door-to-door will collect data such as the name of the head of the family, the relationship of other persons living in the household to the head of the family, gender, age, marital status, religion, mother tongue, nationality, literacy, occupation during the last 12 months, CNIC (for those above the age of 18), nature of residence (owned, rented, without rent) etc. Recently, debate in Sindh, ensued over the exclusion of Gujrati - it is one of the languages not listed in this form. Moreover, the listing of only six religions, omitting some, was taken up by members of the Sindh government.
Form 2A (shown above) with additional questions on fertility, disability, etc will not be used during the upcoming national census next month.
Form 2A, with an additional twenty questions, will not be used during the census. Therefore, additional and detailed information such as the district of birth for all individuals, the duration of residence at present, previous district of residence (whether urban or rural), details pertaining to education, fertility (for women between 15 to 49 years, data collected on total live births), migration, disabilities, etc will not be collected. Information collected for this questionnaire point to significant socio-economic statistics that are imperative for meaningful policymaking. This omission, therefore, implies the exercise is being conducted in a hurried manner without giving thought to the purpose of a national census and its impact on the broader health of a nation. — Razeshta Sethna
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2016
- Messages
- 2,226
- Likes
- 7,024
Army involvement goes beyond security cover
Given that enumerators are local officials — schoolteachers or patwaris — Asim Bajwa, the chief statistician at PBS, believes that “they need someone to monitor the exercise so that the enumerator is safeguarded from local pressure.” He explains the role of the army as “keeping a countercheck on the civilian side because we can’t be trusted with a headcount.”
One PBS governing council member (on condition of anonymity) confirms that data collected by the army will not be processed alongside Form 2 (used by enumerators) at the post-enumeration stage. Information collected by army persons will include the name of the head of the household and number of Pakistanis and foreigners residing in a particular household. He goes on to say that “the civilian dispensation is simply interested in doing a headcount; the army is being brought on board to lend credibility and they are doing their own headcount through an independent form printed by PBS for that purpose. If the results are not reliable and not comparable to other data collected, then the onus lies with the PBS.
Instead of investing in better trained enumerators and supervisory staff able to form a meaningful pool for future sample surveys and/or bussing-in enumerators from other districts, it appears the only solution that PBS managers could come up with was badgering the military to supervise the census, says Nuzhat Ahmed, former director of the Applied Economics Research Centre. This has meant that over 50pc of the cost has been budgeted for payments to the army — cost shared by the provinces for what appears to be duplicating headcount data.
Given that enumerators are local officials — schoolteachers or patwaris — Asim Bajwa, the chief statistician at PBS, believes that “they need someone to monitor the exercise so that the enumerator is safeguarded from local pressure.” He explains the role of the army as “keeping a countercheck on the civilian side because we can’t be trusted with a headcount.”
One PBS governing council member (on condition of anonymity) confirms that data collected by the army will not be processed alongside Form 2 (used by enumerators) at the post-enumeration stage. Information collected by army persons will include the name of the head of the household and number of Pakistanis and foreigners residing in a particular household. He goes on to say that “the civilian dispensation is simply interested in doing a headcount; the army is being brought on board to lend credibility and they are doing their own headcount through an independent form printed by PBS for that purpose. If the results are not reliable and not comparable to other data collected, then the onus lies with the PBS.
Instead of investing in better trained enumerators and supervisory staff able to form a meaningful pool for future sample surveys and/or bussing-in enumerators from other districts, it appears the only solution that PBS managers could come up with was badgering the military to supervise the census, says Nuzhat Ahmed, former director of the Applied Economics Research Centre. This has meant that over 50pc of the cost has been budgeted for payments to the army — cost shared by the provinces for what appears to be duplicating headcount data.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2016
- Messages
- 2,226
- Likes
- 7,024
The economics of the census
In the recent past, the 2011 census was suspended after a 3-day house listing operation. While this aborted exercise cost the nation close to Rs4 billion, no penal action was taken against officials responsible for the fiasco, if any. Verbal blame was levied against political parties and some unnamed vested interests. Then, the census was delayed for another five years, until the Supreme Court took it upon itself to direct the federal government to hold a census.
On the basis of a summary from the statistics division of the Ministry of Finance, the Council of Common Interests approved a budget of Rs14.2bn for the census to be drawn from provincial financial shares. At the time, the finance ministry envisaged sharing of the budgeted amount to be equally divided between the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) and the army for providing 380,000 troops for the exercise.
The Rs7bn earmarked for PBS (population wing) were spread across four quarters. An amount of Rs2bn was released initially. Most of that money went into the purchase of vehicles, machine and equipment. Once the exercise became imminent in the face of SC pressure, another Rs2bn was released by the Ministry of Finance. The remaining Rs3bn has also been released last month. Sources within PBS allege that most vehicles, machine, equipment and refurbished offices remained in the use of officials with the Federal Bureau of Statistics wing that dominates the Bureau and that they faced stiff resistance over the sharing of resources meant explicitly for the census.
In contrast, the 2011 census in India is estimated to have cost 22bn Indian rupees or $350 million. This was the 15th census conducted in India and the 7th after Independence while, in comparison, Pakistan has conducted five national censuses. On another note, while PBS has reduced number of questions for the upcoming census in Pakistan next month, from 33 to 13, the Indian census form required every citizen to respond to 29 questions. — Fahim Zaman
In the recent past, the 2011 census was suspended after a 3-day house listing operation. While this aborted exercise cost the nation close to Rs4 billion, no penal action was taken against officials responsible for the fiasco, if any. Verbal blame was levied against political parties and some unnamed vested interests. Then, the census was delayed for another five years, until the Supreme Court took it upon itself to direct the federal government to hold a census.
On the basis of a summary from the statistics division of the Ministry of Finance, the Council of Common Interests approved a budget of Rs14.2bn for the census to be drawn from provincial financial shares. At the time, the finance ministry envisaged sharing of the budgeted amount to be equally divided between the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) and the army for providing 380,000 troops for the exercise.
The Rs7bn earmarked for PBS (population wing) were spread across four quarters. An amount of Rs2bn was released initially. Most of that money went into the purchase of vehicles, machine and equipment. Once the exercise became imminent in the face of SC pressure, another Rs2bn was released by the Ministry of Finance. The remaining Rs3bn has also been released last month. Sources within PBS allege that most vehicles, machine, equipment and refurbished offices remained in the use of officials with the Federal Bureau of Statistics wing that dominates the Bureau and that they faced stiff resistance over the sharing of resources meant explicitly for the census.
In contrast, the 2011 census in India is estimated to have cost 22bn Indian rupees or $350 million. This was the 15th census conducted in India and the 7th after Independence while, in comparison, Pakistan has conducted five national censuses. On another note, while PBS has reduced number of questions for the upcoming census in Pakistan next month, from 33 to 13, the Indian census form required every citizen to respond to 29 questions. — Fahim Zaman
Last edited:
| Thread starter | Similar threads | Forum | Replies | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Pakistan census results 2017, massive population increase | Pakistan | 67 | |
|
17 years and no census in Pakistan — A country running on guesswork | Pakistan | 3 | |
|
Attacks on Chinese in Pakistan | Pakistan | 10 | |
|
British Tabloid says unknown gunmen killed terrorists in pakistan | Internal Security | 38 |
