The 7th Population and Household Digital Census, the first in Pakistani history to be entirely digital , will begin on February 1 .For it, NADRA provided a comprehensive IT solution. It is taking place in 628 tehsils and approximately 185,000 census blocks. Android-based smart devices with house listing and enumeration apps synched with GPS and GIS will be used. The Android application supports online and offline use with capabilities for easy data synchronization. The pre-census, census, and post-census stages will all be supported by the system for the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics PBS.
The previous procedure entailed visiting each household and completing paperwork. This year, door-to-door salespeople will have tablets or cellphones with digital data entry capabilities.
A population census must be conducted every ten years, according to Pakistan’s constitution. The outcomes of censuses are utilized for future policy planning, resource distribution, sampling strategies, constituency delimitation, and apportionment.
Censuses were conducted in 1951, 1961, and 1972 (postponed one year due to the 1971 war), and in 1981. However, due to partisanship, the ensuing censuses weren’t held until 1998 and 2017.
Rapid digitization is being experienced, particularly since covid-19, when there was social distancing and widespread lockdowns, which led to financial services being digitized and people moving toward e-commerce. Thus PBS recently announced the first digital census.
PBS conducted in-depth training for enumerators in 27 districts. The population growth, urban-rural ratio, gender, age, literacy, languages, religion, disability, migration, ethnicity, and economic activity would all be covered. This endeavour would make it simpler to oversee each step and would be committed to a precise, inclusive, and error-free procedure. The Chief Statistician visited Thar and Karachi to supervise the testing of the census application, and to meet the Sindh Chief Minister to inform him about PBS’s commitment to an inclusive, accurate, and transparent digital process.
The results of the 2017 census, which used a paper-based questionnaire and traditional methodology, were disputed.
Pakistan is taking a significant step by switching to a “digital census” after short preparations. Other countries have greatly evolved since then. Turkey has made headway in integrating the combined census approach, whereas Iran and Egypt have successfully conducted digital censuses. Improved urban area representation in censuses has also been exceptionally beneficial in Bangladesh and India. However, all of these nations underwent long periods of preparation and iterative testing.
Iran spent two full years designing and planning the 2016 electronic census, with the help of 20 dedicated workgroups and committees. The 2017 e-census in Egypt took two years to organize. Is PBS ready to make the transition to the computer age, or is it only moving out of political expediency?
Although NADRA has finished its work before the deadline, it is uncertain if the digital census exercise, which has not yet started, will be finished by the end of March. In the first week of March, the fieldwork would be finished, and data validation would follow. Data at the block level may need to be validated for two to three weeks before being presented to the CCI for approval
A census needs a strong planning phase. In 2021, a technical committee for the census was established, and in a record-breaking three months, required to finish its proposals. PBS has already made the suggestions public. The actual census will be managed by a National Census Coordination Center. The census does not yet have an action plan detailing all phases, either as nothing has been prepared or nothing made public. If the full census is to be conducted, after pilot testing, a complete dress rehearsal is needed.
The United Nations Statistical Commission defines a completely digital census as one using satellite data, aerial photography, a geo-referenced address registry, and geographic information systems (GIS) for enumeration maps. These tools are essential for census mapping. As a result, the automation (e-census/digital census) would involve the demarcation of enumeration regions during the pre-enumeration phase using digital maps. These maps would greatly increase everyone’s confidence if widely distributed to the general public and political leadership.
While the PBS plans to transfer data gathered during in-person interviews using a handheld data collection instrument, other steps like using GIS facilities for data collection, as well as editing and cleaning data, require a trained staff of experts and a qualified internet network to enable direct transfer of data from the handheld instruments to the central data centre. It is unclear if the Support Services Wing of PBS’s GIS Wing has the infrastructure to meet UNSC standards and fulfill Pakistan’s first-ever digital census obligations.
To improve accuracy and the ability to visualize enumeration areas using imagery, it is claimed that the National Statistical and Spatial Data System can provide a map-digitizing capability. If these maps are made available to the public, they will alleviate many fears.
Iran and Egypt conducted two pilot tests before the e-census was officially launched and used. The first pilot test was carried out in 2014 for the 2016 Iranian census to verify the information already accessible and to compare early findings. The prerequisites were examined, verified, and tested again in 2015.
The expected response rate is the main source of concern. What may be expected of Pakistan, where there is significant illiteracy, particularly among women? After all, the 2017 census, conducted using conventional paper interviews, is currently under question. The survey’s online completion rate in Iran received a reassuringly high response rate. Only 68 percent of respondents in highly educated Canada completed the online component in the third iteration. Other nations’ experience shows the switch to digital and self-enumeration needs to be gradual.
Above all, the public deserves to be fully informed about the efforts and should have faith in the system through open communication census.
The results of the census cannot be repeatedly challenged. The 2017 census shows doing things in two lengthy bursts is unhelpful. The enumeration step must be brief and continuous. Additionally, complete transparency in data collection and processing, with respect to the provinces, should be guaranteed. Incorporating technology into every aspect of the census would help reduce scepticism and foster faith in the results.
By involving the provinces, various ministries, and universities, a high-level advisory group might be constituted. Like the one in Egypt, it should be led by a federal minister and comprise members of civil society and government experts. The 2022 Census Action Plan should be discussed in advance with lawmakers, major political parties, and the media to avoid the risk of the results being disregarded even before the pricey and time-consuming process begins.
NADRA has handed over the final batch of 126,000 Android tablet devices to PBS. But it’s still unclear whether new boundaries will be drawn in time for the upcoming general elections.
The distribution of these tablets across the 495 census districts proved difficult. However, in nine days, NADRA successfully completed the exercise meant to supplement the specialized training of almost 90,000 enumerators at 932 locations.
The efforts of the NADRA team of 100 experts in quickly assembling and distributing 126,000 tablet computers were considerable. At the manufacturing facility, the team successfully ruggedized and hardened the huge quantity of tablets.
The digital census is a step lifting Pakistan out of its ancient past and opens the door to a modern future. A step towards a digital Pakistan is going from handwritten responses on millions of sheets of paper to real-time authenticated data in applications on safe devices with satellite imagery. The big data from the digital census would serve as the cornerstone of Pakistan’s system for developing evidence-based policies. Using contemporary agile methodology, NADRA created the digital solution for a digital census in just three weeks.
Data center services, call center services, the establishment of technical support centers at each tehsil level, as well as an online web portal for the general public and other allied services, are all included in the comprehensive digital solution. The house listings and enumeration applications developed and deployed on Android are coordinated with a global positioning system (GPS) and geographic information system (GIS). The digital census application for Android supports online and offline use with smooth data synchronization. The pre-census, census stage, and post-census stages of the census will all be supported by the system for PBS.
PBS’s technological partner for the initial digital census project is NADRA. NADRA’s role in this massive national exercise is to offer IT-related services in order to make the census activity a stunning success. As a result, the census process will be more open, and utilizing technology and digitization, it will guarantee that the complete population is documented.
On December 16, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) established a link between the conduct of a new delineation and the official notification of the final results of the first digital census exercise, which has not yet begun, by March 31, 2023. After determining the least amount of time needed under constrained time constraints, a choice was made, and it was communicated to the government. In the event that the final notification of the census results is released after December 31, 2022, the ECP has already ruled out new delimitation.
Although NADRA has finished its work before the deadline, it is uncertain if the digital census exercise, which has not yet started, will be finished by the end of March. In the first week of March, the fieldwork would be finished, and data validation would follow. Data at the block level may need to be validated for two to three weeks before being presented to the CCI for approval.
