Pakistan’s first digital census began on Wednesday, with the goal of gathering demographic data on every single person in the country in a highly secure effort.
According to officials, 121,000 enumerators in green jackets fanned out across the country to collect the data.
Muhammad Sarwar Gondal, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics spokesperson who oversaw the program, told dpa that 86,000 officers have been deployed in 156 districts throughout the country for the month-long operation.
Given the recent spike in violence, thousands of troops have been deployed for the exercise, in addition to a police officer accompanying each enumerator, he said.
“Digital census is a step that pulls Pakistan out of the ancient past and opens doors to the modern future.
“From scribbled responses on millions of paper sheets to real-time validated data in apps on secure devices with satellite imagery, this is a step towards digital Pakistan,” Tariq Malik said.
According to Malik, the chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
He claimed that big data from the Digital Census would become the core mechanism for evidence-based policy-making for Pakistan, Malik remarked.
As previous censuses were characterized by claims of miscounting and the exclusion of some groups, the digital census aims to save expenses while enhancing accuracy.
The exercise collected key demographic data on urbanisation, migration, the size of different age groups, people’s ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, genders, including transgender persons, educational qualifications, and disabilities.
The preliminary results are due on April 20.
