The first digital panel poll of Pakistan underscores advancements across several sectors.

On Wednesday, the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) revealed significant findings from Pakistan’s inaugural digital panel survey-2024, which monitored economic and social transformations over a span exceeding two decades.

The launch occurred during a seminar entitled “Pakistan Panel Household Survey (PPHS): Key Insights and Implications for Policymaking,” which included Dr. Shujaat Farooq, Dean of Research at PIDE, and was conducted by Dr. Karim Khan, Dean of Academics at PID, according to a news release.

Dr. Farooq said that 76 percent of the families questioned in 2010 were successfully re-tracked in 2024, representing an outstanding accomplishment in longitudinal research.

The PPHS, supported by RASTA-DDR and in conjunction with the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), has extended from 16 to 30 districts, currently encompassing key urban centers including Lahore, Karachi, Hyderabad, and Peshawar.

The 2024 round encompasses 8,621 households across the nation and represents the inaugural totally digital poll, executed on tablets for real-time monitoring and enhanced data quality.

The 2024 wave featured several new study modules, including learning poverty, care work, disability, financial literacy, and an extensive part on child well-being and parenting, as well as updated consumption categories like “eating out.”

Data from PPHS 2024 indicate both advancements and ongoing difficulties in education. Despite advancements in reading rates, 34 percent of kids in Grades 3 to 8 are unable to solve Grade 2 level division problems, underscoring significant learning poverty.

Affordability constitutes a significant obstacle, with 71 percent of parents identifying financial limitations as the primary cause of school dropout. Dropout rates for middle and matric levels are 34 percent and 21 percent, respectively, highlighting considerable disparities in educational outcomes.

Labour market data indicate disparate tendencies. Male labor force participation decreased somewhat from 80 percent to 78 percent, and female involvement rose modestly from 23.7 percent to 26.9 percent over a span of 14 years.

Notwithstanding the modest increase, women continue to be predominantly engaged in agriculture and informal employment, with restricted access to higher-value industries. Occupational mobility has stagnated, with minimal transition from blue-collar to white-collar employment.

The results regarding intergenerational mobility are promising. University graduates currently constitute 9 percent of the younger generation, in contrast to merely 1 percent of their dads, indicating advancement in educational attainment.

Ownership of inherited family residences rose from 58 percent to 81 percent, with half of the questioned families (50 percent) considering themselves financially superior to their parents.

The poll indicates significant advancements in health. Antenatal care coverage has risen by 28.5 percentage points since 2001, attaining 80.9 percent, whereas skilled birth attendance has climbed by 69.5 points to 88.5 percent. Home births have decreased significantly to 11.6 percent, a reduction of 57.5 points, while TT vaccine coverage has risen to 72.3 percent, reflecting a 35-point enhancement.

Nonetheless, regional discrepancies endure, especially in Balochistan, where access to maternity healthcare is still restricted.

Trends in child malnutrition indicate progress, with stunting decreasing from 60 to 43 percent and the prevalence of underweight children falling from 50 to 33 percent, despite a minor rise in wasting.

Food insecurity, meanwhile, persists extensively. Only 19.5 percent of households can consistently afford their preferred meals, but 30 percent occasionally forgo three meals daily.

Over 60 percent of households regarded inflation as the most significant shock affecting their livelihoods.

The PPHS presents a complex depiction of poverty and inequality. According to the Cost of Basic Needs (CBN) methodology, Pakistan’s poverty rate is 30.5 percent, with 36.6 percent in rural regions and 17.8 percent in urban regions.