This statistic shows the biggest cities in Pakistan as of 2023. In 2023, approximately 18.87 million people lived in Karāchi, making it the biggest city in Pakistan.

This provincial level data provides population statistics for major cities of Pakistan.

Population in largest city in Pakistan was reported at 17648555 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Pakistan - Population in largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

This dataset is about cities in Pakistan. It has 349 rows. It features 3 columns: country, and population.

Pakistan PK: Population in Largest City data was reported at 15,020,931.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 14,650,981.000 Person for 2016. Pakistan PK: Population in Largest City data is updated yearly, averaging 6,793,799.000 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 15,020,931.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 1,853,325.000 Person in 1960. Pakistan PK: Population in Largest City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Pakistan – Table PK.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the urban population living in the country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; ;

Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in Pakistan was reported at 18.31 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Pakistan - Population in the largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Pakistan PK: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 20.922 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 20.928 % for 2016. Pakistan PK: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 21.610 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 23.038 % in 1980 and a record low of 18.670 % in 1960. Pakistan PK: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Pakistan – Table PK.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; Weighted average;

Major Cities Population

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Lahore, Pakistan metro area from 1950 to 2025.

The share of urban population in Pakistan saw no significant changes in 2023 in comparison to the previous year 2022 and remained at around 38.04 percent. Still, the share reached its highest value in the observed period in 2023. A country's urbanization rate refers to the share of the total population living in an urban setting. International comparisons of urbanization rates may be inconsistent, due to discrepancies between definitions of what constitutes an urban center (based on population size, area, or space between dwellings, among others).Find more key insights for the share of urban population in countries like Bhutan and Afghanistan.

Rural population (% of total population) in Pakistan was reported at 61.96 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Pakistan - Rural population - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Quetta, Pakistan metro area from 1950 to 2025.

This horizontal bar chart displays rural population (people) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Pakistan. The data is filtered where the date is 2021. The data is about countries per year.

In 2023, the share of urban population in Pakistan remained nearly unchanged at around 38.04 percent. Still, the share reached its highest value in the observed period in 2023. The urban population refers to the share of the total population living in urban centers. Each country has their own definition of what constitutes an urban center (based on population size, area, or space between dwellings, among others), therefore international comparisons may be inconsistent.

Abstract

A primary objective of the national Time Use Survey in Pakistan is to account for the 24 hours time in term of the full spectrum of activities carried out during the duration. The objectives of the survey are specified as under:- - To profile the quantum and distribution of paid/unpaid work as a means to infer policy/programme implications from the perspective of gender equity. - To collect and analyze the time use pattern of the individuals in order to help draw inferences for employment and welfare programmes. - To collect and analyze the comprehensive information about the time spent by people on marketed and non-marketed economic activities covered under the 1993-SNA, non-marketed non-SNA activities within the General Production Boundary and personal care and related activities that cannot be delegated to others. - To use the data in generating more reliable estimates on work force.

Geographic coverage

The survey covers all urban and rural areas of the four provinces of Pakistan defined as such by 1998 Population Census excluding Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and certain administrative areas of NWFP. The population of geographic areas excluded from the survey constitutes about 2 percent of the total population as enumerated in 1998 Population Census. The population excluded is located in difficult terrain and its enumeration through personal interview is not possible within the given constraints of time, access and cost.

Analysis unit

Households Individuals

Universe

The universe consists of all urban and rural areas of the four provinces of Pakistan, defined as such by Population Census 1998, excluding FATA & Military Restricted Areas. The population of excluded area constitutes about 3% of the total population and is located in different terrain.

Sampling procedure

Sampling Frame Federal Bureau of Statistics has developed its own sampling frame for all urban areas of the country. Each city/town has been divided into a number of enumeration blocks. Each enumeration block consists of 200-250 households on the average with well-defined boundaries and maps. The sampling frame i.e. lists of enumeration blocks as up-dated through Economic Census 2003-04 and the lists of villages/mouzas/dehs published by Population Census Organization as a result of 1998 Population Census have been taken as sampling frame. Enumeration blocks and villages are considered as primary sampling unites (PSUs) for urban and rural domain respectively.

Stratification a) Urban Domain i) Large Sized Cities Karachi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sialkot, Sargodha, Bahawapur, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Peshawar, Quetta and Islamabad are considered as large sized cities. Each of these cities constitutes a separate stratum which is further sub-stratified according to low, middle, high income groups based on the information collected in respect of each enumeration block at the time of demarcation/up-dating of urban area sampling frame. ii) Remaining urban areas After excluding the population of large sized cities from the population of respective administrative division, the remaining urban population of administrative division of four provinces is grouped together to form a stratum called other urban. Thus ex-division in remaining urban areas in the four provinces constitutes a stratum. b) Rural Domain In rural domain, each administrative district in the Punjab, Sindh and NWF Provinces is considered as independent and explicit stratum whereas, in Balochistan, each administrative division constitutes a stratum.

Sample size and its Allocation Keeping in view the resources available, a sample size of 19600 sample households has been considered appropriate to provide estimates of key characteristics at the desired level. The entire sample of households (SSUs) has been drawn from 1388 Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) out of which 652 are urban and 736 are rural. In order to control seasonal variation etc. sample has been distributed evenly over four quarters. This has facilitated to capture the variation due to any seasonal activity as urban population is more heterogeneous therefore, a higher proportion of sample size has been allocated to urban domain. Similarly NWFP and Balochistan being the smaller province, have been assigned higher proportion of sample in order to get reliable estimates. After fixing the sample size at provincial level, further distribution of sample PSUs to different strata in rural and urban domains in each province has been made proportionately.

Sample Design A three-stage stratified sample design has been adopted for the survey. Sample Selection Procedure a) Selection of Primary Sampling Unites (PSUs) Enumeration blocks in urban domain and mouzas/dehs/villages in rural domain are taken as primary sampling unites (PSUs). In the urban domain, sample PSUs from each ultimate stratum/sub-stratum is selected with probability proportional to size (PPS) method of sampling scheme. In urban domain, the number of households in enumeration block as up-dated through Economic Census 2003-04 and population of 1998 Census for each village/mouza/deh are considered as measure of size. b) Section of Secondary Sampling Units (SSUs) Households within sample PSUs are taken as secondary sampling unites (SSUs). A specified number of households i.e. 12 from each urban sample PSU and 16 from each rural sample PSU are selected with equal probability using systematic sampling technique with a random start. Different households are selected in each quarter. c) Selection of Third Stage Sampling Units i.e. Individuals/Persons (TSUs) From the sample households, individuals/persons aged 10+ years within each sample households (SSUs) have been taken as third stage sampling units (TSUs). Two individuals aged 10 years and above among the eligible individuals/persons from each sample household have been interviewed using a selection grid.The grid and selection steps are detailed on p13 of the survey report available under external resources.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The questionnaire has been framed in the light of contemporary precedents and practices in vogue in the developing countries. The recommendations of Gender Responsive Budgeting Initiatives (GRBI) expert who visited Pakistan in June 2006 have been taken into account. Further, the advice of local experts hailing both from data producing and using agencies has also been considered. Survey Questionnaire and Manual of Instructions, for the Supervisors & Enumerators, was finalized jointly by Federal Bureau of Statistics and GRBI Project staff. The questionnaire was also pre-tested and reviewed accordingly. The questionnaire adopted for the survey is given at Annexure-A. All the households selected in the sample stand interviewed. Diary part of the questionnaire is filled-in from two respondents selected from each of the enumerated households. The questionnaire consists of the following six parts. Section-1: Identification of the area, respondents, detail of field visits and staff entrusted with supervision, editing and coding. Section-2: Detailed information about the socio-economic and demographic particulars of the selected households and individuals. Some of the important household characteristics i.e. ownership status and type of the household, earthquake damage, household items, sources of energy, drinking water, transport, health & education facilities, sources of income, monthly income, age and sex composition of the population. Section-3: Demographic detail such as age, sex, marital status, educational level, having children, employment status, source of income etc. of the selected respondent of that household Section-4: Comprised of diary to record the activities performed by the first selected respondent through the 24 hours period between 4.00 a.m. of the day preceding the day of interview and 3.00 a.m. on the day of the interview. Section-5 and 6 pertain to the second selected respondent of the selected household. The diary which is the core instrument of the time use study is divided into forty eight half-hour slots. An open ended question about the activities performed during the thirty minutes was asked from the respondent. Provision for minimum of recording three activities through half hour slot was made. In case of reporting more than one activity, the respondent was probed whether these activities were carried out simultaneously or one after the other. Similarly, the two locations of performing the activities were also investigated in the diary part of the questionnaire. The activities recorded in the diary are then coded by the field enumerator according to the activity classification given at Annex-B.

Cleaning operations

Soon after data collection, the field supervisors manually clean, edit and check the filled in questionnaire and refer back to field where necessary. This does not take much time since most of the manual editing is done in the field. Further editing is done by the subject matter section at the Headquarter. Also during data entry, further editing of error identified by applying computer edit checks is done. In edit checks, data ranges in numerical values are used to eliminate erroneous data as a result of mistakes made during coding. Thus, the survey records are edited and corrected through a series of computer processing stages.

This dataset provides a comprehensive overview of various hunger-related metrics in Pakistan from 2020 to 2023. It includes critical indicators such as the percentage of the population living under poverty, malnutrition rates, food insecurity levels, access to clean water, food production index, and the rate of underweight children. These metrics are essential for understanding the current state of hunger and nutritional challenges faced by the population in Pakistan.

Key Features:

Year:The year of data collection (2020-2023).

Population_Under_Poverty: The percentage of the population living below the poverty line.

Malnutrition_Rate:The percentage of the population suffering from malnutrition.

Food_Insecurity: The percentage of the population experiencing food insecurity.

Access_to_Clean_Water: The percentage of the population with access to clean water.

Food_Production_Index: An index value representing the level of food production.

Children_Underweight:The percentage of children underweight for their age.

Use Cases: This dataset is useful for analyzing trends in hunger and nutrition over recent years in Pakistan. It can support research in areas such as public health, economic development, and food security. The data is valuable for policymakers, researchers, and organizations focused on addressing hunger and improving nutritional outcomes.

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Hyderabad, Pakistan metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Urban population (% of total population) in Pakistan was reported at 38.04 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Pakistan - Urban population (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Abstract

The 2006-07 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) was undertaken to address the monitoring and evaluation needs of maternal and child health and family planning programmes. The survey was designed with the broad objective to provide policymakers, primarily in the Ministries of Population Welfare and Health, with information to improve programmatic interventions based on empirical evidence. The aim is to provide reliable estimates of the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) at the national level and a variety of other health and population indicators at national, urban-rural, and provincial levels.

The 2006-07 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) is the fifth in a series of demographic surveys conducted by the National Institute of Population Studies (NIPS) since 1990. However, the PDHS 2006-07 is the second survey conducted as part of the worldwide Demographic andHealth Surveys programme. The survey was conducted under the aegis of the Ministry of Population Welfare and implemented by the National Institute of Population Studies. Other collaborating institutions include the Federal Bureau of Statistics, the Aga Khan University, and the National Committee for Maternal and Neonatal Health. Technical support was provided by Macro International Inc. and financial support was provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) provided logistical support for monitoring the fieldwork for the PDHS.

The 2006-07 PDHS supplements and complements the information collected through the censuses and demographic surveys conducted by the Federal Bureau of Statistics. It updates the available information on population and health issues, and provides guidance in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating health and population programmes in Pakistan. Some of the findings of the PDHS may seem at variance with data compiled by other sources. This may be due to differences in methodology, reference period, wording of questions and subsequent interpretation. This fact may be kept in mind while analyzing and comparing PDHS data with other sources. The results of the survey assist in the monitoring of the progress made towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The 2006-07 PDHS includes topics related to fertility levels and determinants, family planning, fertility preferences, infant, child and maternal mortality and their causes, maternal and child health, immunization and nutritional status of mothers and children, knowledge of HIV/AIDS, and malaria. The 2006-07 PDHS also includes direct estimation of maternal mortality and its causes at the national level for the first time in Pakistan. The survey provides all other estimates for national, provincial and urban-rural domains. This being the fifth survey of its kind, there is considerable trend information on reproductive health, fertility and family planning over the past one and a half decades.

More specifically, PDHS had the following objectives: - Collect quality data on fertility levels and preference, family planning knowledge and use, childhood—and especially neonatal—mortality levels and awareness regarding HIV/ AIDS and other indicators relevant to the Millennium Development Goals and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper; - Produce a reliable national estimate of the MMR for Pakistan, as well as information on the direct and indirect causes of maternal deaths using verbal autopsy instruments; - Investigate factors that impact on maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality (i.e., antenatal and delivery care, treatment of pregnancy complications, and postnatal care); - Improve the capacity of relevant organizations to implement surveys and analyze and disseminate survey findings.

Geographic coverage

The survey provides estimates at national, urban and rural, and provincial levels (each as a separate domain).

The sample for the 2006-07 PDHS represents the population of Pakistan excluding the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA) and restricted military and protected areas. Although the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) were initially included in the sample, due to security and political reasons, it was not possible to cover any of the sample points in the FATA.

In urban areas, cities like Karachi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalbad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sialkot, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Peshawar, Quetta, and Islamabad were considered as large-sized cities.

Analysis unit

• Household
• Children under five years
• Women age 15-49
• Men

Kind of data

Sample survey data

Sampling procedure

The 2006-07 PDHS is the largest-ever household based survey conducted in Pakistan. The sample is designed to provide reliable estimates for a variety of health and demographic variables for various domains of interest. The survey provides estimates at national, urban and rural, and provincial levels (each as a separate domain). One of the main objectives of the 2006-07 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) is to provide a reliable estimate of the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) at the national level. In order to estimate MMR, a large sample size was required. Based on prior rough estimates of the level of maternal mortality in Pakistan, a sample of about 100,000 households was proposed to provide estimates of MMR for the whole country. For other indicators, the survey is designed to produce estimates at national, urban-rural, and provincial levels (each as a separate domain). The sample was not spread geographically in proportion to the population; rather, the smaller provinces (e.g., Balochistan and NWFP) as well as urban areas were over-sampled. As a result of these differing sample proportions, the PDHS sample is not self-weighting at the national level.

The sample for the 2006-07 PDHS represents the population of Pakistan excluding the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA) and restricted military and protected areas. Although the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) were initially included in the sample, due to security and political reasons, it was not possible to cover any of the sample points in the FATA.

In urban areas, cities like Karachi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalbad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sialkot, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Peshawar, Quetta, and Islamabad were considered as large-sized cities. Each of these cities constitutes a stratum, which has further been substratified into low, middle, and high-income groups based on the information collected during the updating of the urban sampling frame. After excluding the population of large-sized cities from the population of respective former administrative divisions, the remaining urban population within each of the former administrative divisions of the four provinces was grouped together to form a stratum.

In rural areas, each district in Punjab, Sindh, and NWFP provinces is considered as an independent stratum. In Balochistan province, each former administrative division has been treated as a stratum. The survey adopted a two-stage, stratified, random sample design. The first stage involved selecting 1,000 sample points (clusters) with probability proportional to size-390 in urban areas and 610 in rural areas. A total of 440 sample points were selected in Punjab, 260 in Sindh, 180 in NWFP, 100 in Balochistan, and 20 in FATA. In urban areas, the sample points were selected from a frame maintained by the FBS, consisting of 26,800 enumeration blocks, each including about 200-250 households. The frame for rural areas consists of the list of 50,588 villages/mouzas/dehs enumerated in the 1998 population census.

The FBS staff undertook the task of a fresh listing of the households in the selected sample points. Aside from 20 sample points in FATA, the job of listing of households could not be done in four areas of Balochistan due to inability of the FBS to provide household listings because of unrest in those areas. Another four clusters in NWFP could not be covered because of resistance and refusal of the community. In other words, the survey covered a total of 972 sample points.

The second stage of sampling involved selecting households. In each sample point, 105 households were selected by applying a systematic random sampling technique. This way, a total of 102,060 households were selected. Out of 105 sampled households, ten households in each sample point were selected using a systematic random sampling procedure to conduct interviews for the Long Household and the Women's Questionnaires. Any ever-married woman aged 12-49 years who was a usual resident of the household or a visitor in the household who stayed there the night before the survey was eligible for interview.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face

Research instrument

The following six types of questionnaires were used in the PDHS: - Community Questionnaire - Short Household Questionnaire - Long Household Questionnaire - Women’s Questionnaire - Maternal Verbal Autopsy Questionnaire - Child Verbal Autopsy Questionnaire

The contents of the Household and Women’s Questionnaires were based on model questionnaires developed by the MEASURE DHS programme, while the Verbal Autopsy Questionnaires were developed by Pakistani experts and the Community Questionnaire was patterned on the basis of one used by NIPS in previous surveys.

NIPS developed the draft questionnaires in consultation with a broad spectrum of technical experts, government agencies, and local and international organizations so as to reflect relevant issues of population, family planning, HIV/AIDS, and other health areas. A number of meetings were organized

Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Okara, Pakistan metro area from 1950 to 2025.