Editorial
The 2023 Population and Housing Census of Pakistan has provided valuable data on key indicators, offering a closer look at the human development landscape across the country’s four provinces. This article seeks to examine the Human Development Index (HDI) of each province using key data from the Census, particularly focusing on education, health, and income indicators, which make up the HDI framework.
The HDI, developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), includes three essential components: education, health, and income. The 2023 Census has provided detailed provincial data on indicators like literacy rates, enrollment ratios, and the percentage of children attending school, all of which impact the education component of the HDI. A notable finding is the wide disparity in literacy rates across the provinces. Punjab leads with 66.3%, followed by Sindh at 57.5%, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 51%, and Balochistan at 42%. This marks a marginal increase in the national literacy rate since 2019, but Balochistan shows a decline from 46% to 42%.
In terms of schooling, the percentage of children aged 5 to 16 attending school also varies significantly, from 73% in Punjab to just 42% in Balochistan, highlighting the educational divide within the country.
The health indicators reveal differences in the percentage of the population with disabilities and those above the age of 60, the latter serving as a proxy for life expectancy. Balochistan has the lowest percentage of people with disabilities (8.5%), but the highest percentage of elderly population (5.5%).
For the income component, indicators such as the size and quality of housing units, urbanization, and per capita income were used. Sindh ranks highest in urbanization, while Punjab leads in housing quality. The data shows a striking difference in housing, with 81% of Punjab’s homes being pucca, compared to only 20% in Balochistan.
Based on the HDI, Punjab emerges as the most developed province with a score of 0.550, followed by Sindh at 0.505. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan are ranked lower at 0.442 and 0.312, respectively. This shows a widening gap between the provinces, particularly with Balochistan’s continuing decline.
