Pakistan unveils first digital economic Census

ISLAMABAD: The Planning Commission has unveiled the findings of Pakistan’s first-ever Digital Economic Census, providing comprehensive data on businesses, workforce, housing, and educational institutions across the country.

According to the report, Pakistan hosts a total of 7.104 million businesses, employing 25.34 million people across the country.

The province-wise breakdown shows that Punjab has 4.3 million businesses with a workforce of 13.6 million, Sindh has 1.3 million businesses with 5.7 million workers, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 1 million businesses with 3.9 million workers, and Balochistan has 0.3 million businesses with 1.3 million workers. The federal capital Islamabad accounts for 86,000 businesses and a workforce of 600,000.

The census further reveals that Pakistan has 2.78 million retail shops, 188,843 wholesale outlets, 825,254 service establishments, 256,926 hotels, and 119,789 hospitals. Among the hospitals, 13,883 are public while 105,956 are privately run.

According to the data, Pakistan has 1.1 million mixed-use (residential and commercial) buildings, 30.4 million residential structures, and 5.1 million commercial buildings. Additionally, 530,000 households are living in huts, tents, or caves.

The Planning Commission reported that the country has a total of 242,616 schools, of which 143,599 are public and 99,017 are private. Pakistan also has 11,568 colleges, including 4,026 public and 6,942 private institutions, along with 214 universities, of which 123 are public and 91 are private. Furthermore, there are 36,331 madrassas (religious seminaries) operating nationwide.

The findings of the Economic Census were announced at the Ministry of Planning. This marks Pakistan’s first digital economic census, conducted in conjunction with the seventh Housing and Population Census 2023, representing a significant milestone in data-driven policymaking.