The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) has unveiled key findings from the Pakistan Panel Household Survey (PPHS) 2024 — the country's only long-term, nationally representative survey tracking household-level economic and social change for over two decades.
At a seminar titled "Pakistan Panel Household Survey (PPHS): Key Insights and Implications for Policymaking," PIDE's Dean of Research Dr Shujaat Farooq said that 76 per cent of the households surveyed in 2010 were successfully re-tracked in 2024, calling it a major milestone in longitudinal research.
Conducted with the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics under the RASTA-DDR programme, the 2024 round expanded coverage from 16 to 30 districts, including major cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Hyderabad, and Peshawar. The fully digital survey covered 8,621 households nationwide, ensuring real-time monitoring and data quality.
The new wave introduced modules on learning poverty, care work, disability, financial literacy, and child well-being. Findings showed that 34 per cent of Grade 3-8 students cannot solve Grade-2 level division problems, while 71 per cent of parents cited financial constraints as the main cause of school dropout.
Labour participation trends showed a slight decline among men (80% to 78%) but a modest rise for women (23.7% to 26.9%), though most remain in agriculture and informal jobs.
Health outcomes have improved, with antenatal care coverage up to 80.9 per cent, skilled birth attendance reaching 88.5 per cent, and home births declining sharply to 11.6 per cent. Child stunting fell from 60 to 43 per cent, but food insecurity persists, as only 19.5 per cent of households can always afford desired meals.
National poverty stands at 30.5 per cent — 36.6 per cent in rural areas and 17.8 per cent in urban ones — with inequality widening despite falling poverty rates. Social protection coverage has improved, with 22-23 per cent of households now benefiting from BISP and Zakat, compared to 10 per cent in 2010.
Dr Farooq said the PPHS 2024 data will soon be made publicly available, along with a detailed technical report prepared by RASTA. He expressed hope that the dataset would inform research and policymaking across Pakistan.
Dean Academics Dr Karim Khan commended the survey's methodological rigor and said its detailed household tracking makes PPHS a vital tool for policy formulation.
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