Karachi's population balloons by 59 pc: census

Results released for citywide population in the provisional census conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics show that Karachi’s population has ballooned to 14.9 million in 2017 as compared to 9.39 million in 1998.

Thirty-three per cent of Sindh’s 47.9 million-strong population lives in the province’s two major cities, Karachi and Hyderabad. 

While the provincial capital’s population grew by 59pc in nineteen years, Hyderabad’s population only grew by 0.6 million during the same time.

Pakistan's total population was recorded at 207.774 million, as per the provisional summary results of the Sixth Population and Housing Census.

Punjab — the largest province in terms of population — houses 110 million people. The province’s capital, Lahore, witnessed a 116pc growth in population, from 5.1 million in 1998 to 11.12 million in 2017.

Other cities in the province recorded minor increases in their respective populations; Faisalabad – which housed approximately two million people in 1998 – is now home to 3.2 million residents. Gujranwala’s population increased by 0.89 million while Multan’s population grew from 1.16 million in 1998 to 1.73 million in 2017.

The federal capital’s population grew dramatically from 0.5 million in 1998 to 1.01 million in 2017. The population of Islamabad’s twin city, Rawalpindi grew by 0.7 million in nineteen years.

Of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s thirty-million population, 1.9 million people reside in the provincial capital Peshawar.

The provincial capital of Balochistan, Quetta, saw its population grow by 43pc from 0.56 million in 1998 to 1.001 million in 2017.