Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday launched Pakistan first digital economic census, calling it a major step toward achieving Pakistan socio-economic goals. He said the initiative would serve as a foundation for evidence-based planning, helping improve policymaking, investment, employment, resource distribution and social services.
Speaking at the launch ceremony organized by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics in Islamabad, the minister said that the digital economic census would enable Pakistan to map out economic activities more accurately. He stressed that by using this data effectively, the country’s economy could move toward sustainable growth.
In addition, Ahsan Iqbal emphasised forty million buildings were geo-tagged during the exercise, identifying 7.2 million entities involved in economic activity. Every entity has been coded by industry, ensuring decisions can be made on a scientific basis. He further highlighted that ten million households are engaged in micro businesses, many of them led by women which could be empowered through this data.
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The minister said that out of 7.2 million entities, 2.7 million are linked to retail trade while 188,000 are involved in wholesale. Around 825,000 are service-related shops, 23,000 are factories and 643,000 are small production units. He added that the census will also help bring the informal sector into the mainstream economy.
On the social side, the census revealed there are 242,000 schools, 36,000 madaris, 11,568 colleges and 214 universities across the country. Pakistan also has 119,000 health facilities and more than 600,000 places of worship. Ahsan Iqbal said this data will support better service delivery and improved governance.
