ISLAMABAD: Nearly 12 per cent of households in the country, according to a government survey, have reported having at least one facility such as computer, laptop and tablet, making it least penetration of information and communication technologies in the country.

The Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) survey 2019-20, conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), covered 176,790 households across rural and urban communities, collecting information on a range of social sector issues — information technology, education and health by facilities and services.

The survey mainly covers indicators on household’s level with the facility of computer, laptop, tablet, mobile and internet for individuals who are 10 years and older using computer, ICT skills, internet and ownership and usage of mobile/smartphone.

The survey shows that percentage of ICT is higher with 19pc in urban areas as compared to rural areas with 7pc. Punjab is at top with 13pc households having at least one facility such as computer/laptop/tablet — 22pc in urban and 8pc in rural areas — while Balochistan is at bottom with 6pc households using any of the facilities — 13pc in urban and only 1pc in rural areas.

Survey says almost 93pc households enjoy having mobile or smartphone

In Islamabad, 40pc households reported having at least one such facility such. In Punjab, Lahore with 24pc is at top and Rajanpur with 3pc at bottom. In Sindh, Karachi East is at top with 33pc and Tharparkar at bottom with 1pc.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar with 25pc is at top and Kohistan at bottom with 2pc households having at least one facility such as computer/laptop/tablet. In Balochistan, Barkhan with 20pc is at top and Khuzdar at bottom with no household having at least one such facility.

Almost 93pc of households in the country reported having mobile/smartphone. Percentage is higher in urban areas (96pc) than rural areas (91pc).

KP is at top with 95pc households having facility of mobile phones — 98pc in urban and 94pc rural areas. According to the survey, 94pc households in Punjab, 92pc in Balochistan and 91pc in Sindh reported having the facility of mobile/smartphone. In Islamabad, 99pc households have mobile/smartphone facility.

The district-wise situation reveals that Layyah with 98pc, Korangi with 99pc, Shangla with 99pc and Pishin with 99pc are at top in their respective provinces, while Khanewal with 82pc, Dadu with 72pc and Mohammand and Khuzdar with 70pc each are at bottom.

Punjab with 34pc has the highest number of households having access to internet facility, whereas regional gap has been observed with 50pc urban and 25pc rural households having internet facility.

About 33pc households in KP, 32pc in Sindh and only 21pc in Balochistan have access to internet facility.

According to the survey, 70pc households in Islamabad, 57pc in Rawalpindi, 68pc in Karachi East, 51pc in Peshawar, 51pc in Kohlu, 8pc Rajanpur, 3pc in Tharparkar, 2pc in South Waziristan and 1pc in Shaheed Skindarabad have internet facility.

In the education sector, Islamabad has the highest percentage of children attending school (85pc), followed by Rawalpindi (83pc), Korangi (82pc), Abbottabad (77pc), Pishin (59pc), Rajanpur (40pc), Thatta (26pc), Mohmand (28pc) and Dera Bugti, Shaheed Sikandarabad and Sherani (14pc).

Almost two-thirds of districts in Punjab have less than 25pc out-of-school children, with Rajanpur at top with 48pc and Chakwal and Narowal at bottom with 9pc.

In Sindh, Thatta district is at top with 71pc children out of school while Karachi Central is at bottom with 21pc.

In KP, Mohmand district is at top with 57pc children out of school while Abbottabad with 9pc is at bottom. In Balochistan, Shaheed Sikandarabad district is at top with 76pc children out of school while Nushki with 23pc is at bottom.

The literacy rate of 85pc in Islamabad is the highest in the country, followed by Korangi (84pc), Rawalpindi (82pc), Abbottabad (74pc), Quetta (64pc) Rajanpur (42pc), Tharparkar (29pc), Mohmand (26pc) and Dera Bugti and Khuzdar (22pc).

In the health sector, KP with 8.6pc has comparatively higher prevalence of sick or injured population, with Orakzai district at top with 14.7pc and Khyber at bottom with 3.1pc.

Sindh with 8.1pc has comparatively less sick or injured population, with Larkana district at top with 25.1pc and Shikarpur at bottom with 1.8pc. Punjab has 6.8pc prevalence rate, with Toba Tek Singh district at top with 10.9pc and Sialkot at bottom with 2.8pc.

Balochistan has 6.1pc sick or injured population, with Gwadar district at top with 14.1pc. Islamabad has 4.8pc sick or injured population.

Among the provinces, Punjab with 81pc in 2019-20 has the highest percentage of children who are fully immunised based on record as compared to 70pc in 2014-15, followed by KP with 69pc in 2019-20 as compared to 58pc in 2014-15, Sindh with 52pc in 2019-20 as compared to 45pc in 2014-15 and Balochistan with 35pc in 2019-20 as compared to 27pc in 2014-15.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2021