On 1 January 2026 Federal Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Prof Ahsan Iqbal formally launched the Household Integrated Economic Survey 2024-25, marking the public release of results gathered by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The launch at the Ministry of Planning brought together the Chief Statistician Dr Naeem uz Zafar (SI), Muhammad Sarwar Gondal (SI) Member SS/RM and Deputy Director General Ms Rabia Awan (PSLM/PCS), along with technical committee members and senior officers from the ministry and PBS.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics completed and released the Household Integrated Economic Survey 2024-25 after field operations concluded in June 2025. Endorsed by the Technical Committee, this is the first fully digital HIES following the Digital Population and Housing Census 2023. The survey covered 32,000 households on a quarterly basis, with a fully integrated ERP system used for data collection, task management and real-time monitoring, strengthening the integrity and timeliness of official statistics.
Deputy Director General Rabia Awan presented the key findings that signal rapid shifts in Pakistan’s digital and social landscape. Literacy rose to 63 percent from 60 percent nationwide, while out-of-school children declined from 30 percent to 28 percent. Household mobile or smartphone ownership reached 96 percent and household internet access climbed from 34 percent to 70 percent, with individual internet use jumping from 17 percent to 57 percent. Full immunization based on records increased to 73 percent from 68 percent, and use of clean fuels rose to 38 percent.
Health and demographic indicators also showed improvement: neonatal mortality fell from 41 to 35 per thousand live births and infant mortality from 60 to 47 per thousand, while total fertility rate edged down from 3.7 to 3.6 children per woman. PBS reported higher household incomes and consumption, with food accounting for 37 percent of spending and housing and fuel 26 percent at the national level, followed by restaurants and hotels at 6.63 percent, clothing and footwear at 6.28 percent and transport at 6.21 percent.
At the launch the Minister emphasised that stronger data systems have transformed the ministry and PBS into modern, data-driven institutions and noted previous milestones such as the digital population census and Digital Agriculture Census. He said the Digital HIES will enable deeper research and better business decision-making. Reflecting on past economic shocks and planning challenges, the Minister expressed optimism about recovery and projected around 4 percent GDP growth for the current fiscal year, while stressing an urgent education push to raise participation to 90 percent and bring the estimated 25 million out-of-school children into classrooms.
The Minister called for policy continuity, political stability and a national effort under initiatives like the 5Es Framework of URAAN and Marka-e-Taraqqi to accelerate development. He urged media and stakeholders to focus on evidence-based debate and measurable outcomes such as reducing stunting, increasing school enrolment and improving healthcare. PBS said the Digital HIES 2024-25 provides a robust evidence base for targeted, inclusive policy interventions and serves as a call to action for accelerating Pakistan’s social and economic progress.
