1. What are different approaches to compile GDP?

  • Production Approach
  • Expenditure Approach
  • Income Approach

2. What is the current base year?

1999-2000

3. What will be the new base year?

2005-06

4. What is the difference between GDP at constant and current prices?

GDP at Constant Price: GDP at constant prices indicates economic growth to measure the performance of the economy over time or in comparison with other countries/in comparison with previous periods. It is also known as real GDP.

GDP at Current Prices: The market value of goods and services produced in a country during a year. It is also known as nominal GDP.

5. What are major sectors of the economy of Pakistan?

  • Agriculture
  • Industry
  • Services

6. How per capita income of Pakistan is calculated?

GNP/Total Population

7. When were the input/output tables compiled last time?

1990-1991

8. How the number of users are calculated for CPR?

100 Units of Condom=1user; 13 cycles of Oral Pills= 1user; 5 vials of Injectable=1user; 1 insertion of IUD=1user and 1 cases of Contraceptive Surgery= 1 user.

9. What is the concept of Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) and how it is calculated?

The CPR is the percentage of women who are practicing, or whose life partners are practicing, any form of contraception. It is usually measured for married women aged 15-49 years only. The Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) is calculated on the basis of consumption of contraceptive by converting number of units sold into users.

CPR (%)= No. of Users x 100
MWRA (MWRA=married women of reproductive age)

10. How CYP is calculated?

144 Units of Condom=1CYP; 15 Cycles of Oral Pills= 1CYP; 5 Vials of Injectable=1CYP; 1 Insertion of IUD = 3.5 CYP and 1 Case of Contraceptive Surgery = 12.5 CYP.

11. What is the concept of CYP?

The term Couple Years of Protection (CYP) is one of several commonly used indicators to assess the family planning efforts. It refers to the protection provided by contraceptive methods during one-year period, based upon the volume of all contraceptives sold or distributed to clients during that period. It is also an indirect estimator of birth control.

12. What are Data sources?

The data sources are: The Provincial Population Welfare Departments (PWDs); Population Welfare Departments AJK, GB ,FATA; District Population Welfare Office, Islamabad; Family Planning Association of Pakistan (FPAP) ; Marie Stopes Society of Pakistan (NGO); Social Marketing of Contraceptive (SMC) and Regional Training Institutes (RTIs).

13. What is Methodology for the compilation of Contraceptive Performance reports?

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics collects contraceptive performance data on monthly basis by post, through e-mail and by fax. After editing and coding, the data is classified according to tabulation plan and processed at Data Processing Centre of PBS. The data is entered on monthly basis and thereafter consolidated in the form of quarterly and annual report.

14. How does Contraceptive Performance data flow?

The District Population Welfare Office collects Contraceptive Performance Reports from all reporting units (Family Welfare Centers, Reproductive Health Services Centers-A, Mobile Service Units etc.), After consolidating, these reports are transmitted to its provincial Population Welfare Department. The provincial Population Welfare Departments forward these reports to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Apart from the provincial departments, FATA, AJK, GB, eminent NGOs (FPAP, Marie Stopes and SMC) also provide Contraceptive Performance data to PBS for compilation of quarterly & annual reports.

15. What are the objectives of Contraceptive Performance Reports?

These reports provide basis for estimating annual contraceptive requirement and distribution in the country.

16. What are the annual inflation rates for the last five years?

Statement showing yearly indices and %change in CPI, SPI & WPI
(Base year 2007-08=100) How one can obtain the historical data regarding prices/price indices?

The historical data regarding price indices/prices can be obtained on demand according to PBS data dissemination policy.

17. How PBS assign weights to different items?

For CPI, Family Budget survey was conducted during 2007-08 and weight for eachitem were assigned according to consumption pattern of the households. For WPI,the value of marketable surplus was used for deriving the weights of item. Thevalue of marketable surplus is the value of item available for sale in the wholesalemarket, whichis equal to the total value of production less consumption byproducer plus imports, minus export if any.

18. Which classification is being used by PBS?

COICOP (Classification Of Individual COnsumption according to Purpose) is currently being used for CPI items, while CPC (Central Product Classification) is being used for WPI items.

19. What is the schedule for release of Price indices?

PBS is releasing the weekly SPI report on every Friday, while CPI, WPI & monthlySPI figures are released on 1st or 2nd of every month.

20. How many items are included in the basket of goods and services of CPI, SPI and WPI?

The basket of CPI comprises of 487 items, WPI comprises of 463 items, while SPIbasket comprises of 53 essential items.

21. What formula is being used for computation of Price indices by PBS?

The weighted Laspeyre’s formula is used for computation of price indices.

22. What is the coverage of Price Indices?

Detail of coverage is as under:

  • SPI prices are being collected from 53 markets of 17 cities.
  • CPI prices are being collected from 76 markets of 40 cities.
  • WPI prices are being collected from 21 wholesale markets of 21 cities.

23. What is base year of current Price Indices?

Currently, PBS is computing the three indices with base 2007-08.

24. What is periodicity of price indices?

The CPI and WPI are computed on monthly basis, while SPI is computed on weekly basis.

25. What are the main Price Indices being computed by PBS on regular basis?

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) is computing the following three indices on regular basis:-

  1. Consumer Price Index (CPI)
  2. Wholesale Price Index (WPI)
  3. Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI)

26. What is the format of PSLM data for users?

Data is usually available in ASCII format, but for the convenience of data users, data is also converted in to SPSS and STATA format and provided along with questionnaire, coding scheme used for survey including Industry & Occupation codes.

27. How one can have PSLM data?

Micro data can be provided as per dissemination policy of PBS, which is available at the website www.pbs.gov.pk.

28. Is HIES data available at District Level?

No, HIES data comprising of approximately 18000 households and it is representative at National/provincial level, therefore it cannot be disaggregated at district level.

29. Are the PSLM & HIES same or different surveys?

The PSLM surveys are conducted at district level and at Provincial level respectively in alternate years. PSLM District level survey collects information on key Social indicators whereas through provincial level surveys (Social & HIES) collect information on social indicators as well as on Income and Consumption. So HIES is conducted under the umbrella of PSLM.

30. How the reliability of the estimates can be obtained?

Coefficient of variation (CV) is used to obtain the reliability of estimates.

31. How you allocate sample size for the survey?

Allocation of sample size for a particular sample survey among ultimate strata is made using Proportional allocation methodology.

32. How you determine the sample size for the survey?

The different estimation formulas are used for computation of sample size at desired level of confidence with certain margin of errors. Consequently, sample size is fixed keeping in view the available resources and time constraints.

Which sampling technique is used by PBS for the ongoing sample surveys?

Two stage stratified random sampling technique is used.

33. What is the status of up-dation of new sampling frame?

Updation of new sampling frame for rural areas is in progress through a development project.

What is a Quick Count Technique?

The “Quick Count” is the process of counting structures, households, dwellings, establishments, industries, within a demarcated block by going around without undertaking listing.

34. What is Listing Technique?

The “Listing” is the process of (Getting started from North West corner of a block or some prominent point/landmark, moving clockwise, the closing point of the sector will coincide with starting point) listing structures, households, dwellings, establishments, industries, within a demarcated block by “asking” from the respondents on door to door.

35. When sampling frame was last updated?

The Urban Area frame was updated in the year 2013. It is generally updated after every 5 years. The lists of enumeration blocks were updated during Economics Census 2003 - 2004 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.

36. What is the meaning of Enumeration Block (EB)?

All the urban and rural areas comprising cities/towns/Mauzas/Dehshave been divided into small compact areas known as Enumeration blocks. EB usually have 200-250 houses on the average, with well-defined boundaries and maps.

37. What is the difference between Rural and Urban PSU?

All the Geographical areas notified by the respetive provincial Govnermnet authoirties as urban areas is called as on urban areas while rest is rural areas. The blocks formed in there two domains are called urban and rural PSUs. In both Rural and Urban domains the enumeration blocks are taken as Primary Sampling Units (PSUs).

38. What is a Secondary Sampling Unit?

The listed households of sample PSUs are considered Secondary Sampling Units (SSUs).

39. What is a Primary Sampling Unit?

Primary Sampling unit is a geographical urban/rural area containing 200-250 households on the average, which is generally called as Enumeration block.

40. What is a sampling unit?

An eligible member for which the required information is collected is called the sampling unit. Whereas the aggregate of the sampling units comprises the sample size.