The digitally conducted Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) FY25 helps explain Pakistan’s dangerously high public discontent, along with the risks and opportunities the situation entails. A more informed and connected population trapped in economic stagnation creates fertile ground for populism, criminal and terrorist networks. Yet, with timely policy shifts that unlock sustained growth, the same awareness and connectivity could drive rapid development.
Almost universal connectivity, rapid digitisation, and access to limitless online information have dismantled the old notion that deprivation is a matter of fate. Greater public exposure to comforts online has sparked aspirations and increased awareness of wealth and income disparity and opportunity gaps. While the desire to improve life and living standards is powerful, the absence of a clear pathway for personal growth and career advancement pushes many towards shortcuts, often blurring ethical boundaries.
The latest HIES shows little progress in key social and economic indicators since the FY19 survey. Literacy rose only marginally from 60 per cent to 63pc, while the share of out-of-school children aged 5-16 declined slightly from 30pc to 28pc.
Health outcomes improved marginally: better immunisation coverage, pre- and post-natal care, and access to skilled birth attendants helped reduce neonatal and infant mortality, yet rates remain high at 35 and 47 per thousand live births, respectively. Gains in housing quality, access to piped water and sanitation are simply limited and male employment rates have dropped.
Pakistan has become one of the region’s most digitally connected societies, yet social progress remains slow and male employment has fallen
In contrast, the survey records a dramatic surge in digital connectivity. Household internet access more than doubled from 34pc in FY19 to 70pc in FY25. Mobile phone ownership reached 96pc of households, with 98pc of urban households connected to the internet. Individual internet use rose sharply from 17pc to 57pc over the period.
“Better-informed individuals can clearly see the gap between their living standards and those of the wealthy. This sense of ‘relative deprivation’ is a powerful source of discontent. People increasingly recognise that their circumstances are not merely the result of personal failure but stem from broader structural problems, including political patronage, unfair systems, wage stagnation, limited access to affordable education, and discrimination. This awareness fuels frustration with the existing order, replacing passive acceptance with growing resentment,” remarked an analyst anonymously.
“Despite private security and state-of-the-art safeguards at my home and factories, I don’t feel safe,” a leading business tycoon said, reflecting on Bangladesh’s 2024 youth uprising. “I fear the anger of a large pool of frustrated young people turning against those seen as successful. I don’t believe that the state could protect the elite if mob fury spills over. I‘ve already moved my family abroad and am exploring options to shift part of my business to the West.”
“I believe the risk of public backlash spiralling into an anarchic situation is real. The government must act swiftly to stabilise the economy and pursue a more inclusive growth model. The elite should also curb conspicuous consumption to avoid provoking public resentment. Businesses, meanwhile, need to abandon the practice of suppressing wages, which form only a small share of costs and are already far below global norms, and start respecting employees’ right to dignified living,” a leading businessman said privately.
However, an Islamabad-based economist questioned, “Are the HIES findings even credible? Can a sample survey truly reflect on-ground reality?” The survey, conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), covers 2,343 enumeration blocks and 32,785 households nationwide.
Defended the HIES methodology, PBS’s chief statistician, Dr Naeem uz Zafar, noted that the high mobile penetration is corroborated by the Pakistan Telecommunication Agency. He acknowledged the puzzling decline in male employment, partly reflected in gig work captured by the Labour Force Survey FY25.
He added that while enrolment gains appear modest, improving gender parity and stronger female participation in education indicate greater human capital gains for women. Improvements in family planning and maternal, newborn, and child health indicators, he said, also point to growing awareness and better health outcomes.
A formal cabinet response on the HIES did not arrive by the deadline, but Dr Nadeem Javed, Vice Chancellor, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, described the survey as revealing “a striking paradox”: Pakistan has become one of the region’s most digitally connected societies, with near universal mobile ownership and about 70pc internet access, yet social progress remains slow and male employment has fallen.
He attributed this to household economic stress in recent years. While household incomes rose by roughly 97pc, household spending climbed faster, about 133pc, driven largely by higher electricity, gas and health costs. This squeezed spending on food, education and small businesses.
“Digital access on its own could not offset these pressures. Without digital work and commerce, connectivity remains a convenience rather than a livelihood,” he argued. “As recovery takes hold, policy must pivot from access to opportunity, linking connectivity with skills, online work, digital trade and small business growth to translate reach into productivity, incomes and human development,” Dr Javed added.
Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, January 25th, 2026
