Pakistan has more mosques and madrassas compared to factories, says economic census

Islamabad: There are over 6,00,000 mosques and 36,000 religious seminaries in Pakistan as compared to 23,000 factories, according to the country's first ever economic census report.

The report comes at a time when the cash-strapped country continues to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for the second review of the USD 7 billion bailout package.

The data related to the economic sector was obtained as part of the Population and Housing Census, 2023 but its details were released on Thursday, The Express Tribune said.

The objectives of the economic census are to provide a complete and detailed picture of the structure and characteristics of the economy and to collect information on the nature of activity, size, employment, and ownership of establishments, it said.

The detailed report, released by Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, showed that there are 23,000 factories and at least 6,43,000 small production units.

The data revealed that out of a total of 40 million permanent units in Pakistan, there were about 7.2 million employment structures where 25.4 million people were working as of 2023.

Out of a total workforce of 25.4 million, the largest is engaged in the services sector, accounting for 45 per cent or 11.3 million, according to the report.

This is followed by the social sector with 30 per cent or 7.6 million workers while the production sector employed only 22 per cent of the total workforce.

“The services sector employs almost double the workforce than those in the production sector, debunking the myth that industry is the country's main job-creating sector,” said a government official.

Out of the 7.2 million recorded establishments that have also been geo-tagged, major classifications include 2.7 million retail shops, 1,88,000 wholesale shops, 2,56,000 hotels, and 1,19,000 hospitals.

Among the educational institutions, the economic survey said, there were over 2,42,000 schools, 11,568 colleges, 214 universities, 6,04,000 mosques, and 36,331 madrassas.

Out of the total 2,42,616 schools, mostly are government-run, and include 11,568 colleges, with a slightly higher share of the private sector.

Across provinces, the country has 29,836 public offices, 10,452 semi-government offices and 19,645 banks.

There are 1,19,789 hospitals, where private facilities make up the majority.

The report showed that Punjab and Sindh, especially the Karachi region, have the highest concentration of both economic establishments and workforce, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan at the end.

The report also showed that most businesses in Pakistan are small scale, employing only a handful of people. As many as 7.1 million economic structures employ between 1 and 50 people while the number of firms employing between 51 and 250 is merely 35,351.

There are only 7,086 units that employ more than 250 people, the report said.

Most of the structures in Pakistan are in Punjab (58 per cent of the total establishments), followed by Sindh (20 per cent), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (15 per cent) and Balochistan accounting for a mere 6 per cent. The Islamabad capital region has the smallest share with only 1 per cent, the report said.

“Credible data is the backbone of sustainable development, as it enables evidence-based planning and effective decision-making,” said Iqbal while speaking at the report launch event.