Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says the growth rate of 2.5 percent annually poses a major challenge for the poor country.
“The pace of population growth is faster than economic growth,” he says on Saturday.
The country’s first digital census was carried out by the Statistics Authority last spring. The outcome is, among other things, important for the upcoming election, which is scheduled for November, as it will form the basis for the division into electoral districts.
There has been speculation about the possibility of the election being delayed if the census is not approved in time.
Just over 37 percent of Pakistan’s population lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.