Written by Niala Mohammad

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) carried out its sixth population census earlier this year after a 19 year long gap. According to the preliminary results Pakistan has had an overall 57% population increase since its last census conducted in 1998.

The 2017 preliminary census results show Pakistan’s population at 207.7 million; 106.45m males, 101.31m females and 10,418 transgenders.

According to the preliminary statistics, men outnumber women in Pakistan, there are 105 men for 100 women.

This was for the first time in the country’s history that the transgender community was counted separately in a nation-wide census. With the majority of the transgender population living in Punjab Province (Punjab 6,709, Sindh 2,527, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa 913, Islamabad 133 , Baluchistan 109 and 27 in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

With an annual growth rate of 2.4 percent, Pakistan’s population has more than doubled. The new data reveals an acceleration in the population growth rate of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Baluchistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), while growth in Punjab and Sindh has declined.

However, Punjab (110m) and Sindh (47m) still show as being the most populated provinces within Pakistan. Khyber Pukhtunkhwa  is the third most populated province estimated to have at 30m people, Baluchistan 12m, and FATA at roughly 5 million.

**Written by Niala Mohammad https://twitter.com/nialakhalil

**Information attained from Pakistan Bureau of Statistics <http://www.pbs.gov.pk>