PSLM (District Level Survey)

Pakistan Social & Living Standards Measurement survey (PSLM) is flagship survey of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and the main mechanism to provide data for Monitoring Development plans at National/Provincial/District level for evidence-based policy making. PSLM surveys are being conducted since 2004 at alternate years and have become regular activity of PBS since 2015.

PSLM district level survey is the main source of monitoring developments plans at district level & its data used for Estimation of Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) by PD&SI. UN has adopted new development plan for post 2015 monitoring called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Under SDGs there are 17 goals, 169 targets and 234 indicators. By considering the ground realities and SDGs, questionnaire of PSLM survey has been reviewed by technical committee. On the recommendations of technical committee changes has been incorporated and Modules regarding Disability, Migration, Information communication technology, Solid Waste Management, FIES and assets has been included in PSLM district level questionnaire for monitoring of related indicators at district level. Further 21 SDGs indicators will be reported through the survey at district level. In previous rounds of district level PSLM survey, the sample size of approximately 5300 block covering 80,000 households were covered. However, for PSLM 2019-20, sample size has been raised to 6500 blocks covering 195,000 households by considering disability variable, as disability is a rare event and for reliable estimates 30 household has been enumerated from each selected block. Further, AJ&K and GB at district level are covered in this survey; previously, AJ&K and GB were representative at overall province level.

Objectives:

• Monitoring development plans at District level.
• Monitoring and Reporting of SDGs.
• Only data source to estimate Multidimensional Poverty at District level

Main Sectors Covered

The indicators are developed at district level in the following sectors.

1. Education
2. Employment and Income
3. Information Communication and Technology
4. Health
5. Disability
6. Migration
7. Housing Water Sanitation and Hygiene.
8. Household Perception and Satisfaction.
9. Food Insecurity Experience Scale.

Round Completed:

Seven PSLM District Level Surveys have been completed 2004-05, 2006-07, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2014-15 and 2019-20

Methodology

The Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) District Level Survey 2019-20 is a flagship initiative of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), designed to generate district-level estimates for key social sectors. This survey covered a nationally representative sample of 195,000 households, ensuring comprehensive data collection across the country.

A significant milestone in the history of PBS, this survey was the first to be conducted electronically, utilizing tablet-based data collection with an Android-based software developed exclusively by the Support Services Wing of PBS. This software, integrated with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions, enhanced transparency, efficiency, and credibility in the data collection process. The adoption of digital methodologies also facilitated the timely availability of high-quality data, thereby strengthening evidence-based policymaking and research.

Field Operation:

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) is the national statistical organization responsible for the collection, processing, compilation, and dissemination of official statistics across various sectors, supporting data-driven decision-making at the national and regional levels.

To ensure comprehensive and efficient data collection, PBS operates a network of 34 Regional Field Offices and 115 District Offices strategically located across Pakistan. These offices are fully equipped with modern resources and staffed with trained and experienced field personnel, ensuring the accurate and timely collection of data from diverse geographical and socio-economic settings. By leveraging its well-established infrastructure and professional workforce, PBS upholds the credibility, transparency, and reliability of national statistics, playing a crucial role in policy formulation, socio-economic planning, and development initiatives. The Field activities of the twelveth round of PSLM Surveys were carried out during October, 2019 to March, 2020.

Sample Design:

Universe

The universe for survey consists of all urban and rural areas of four provinces of Pakistan, ICT, and Azad Jammu & Kashmir & Gilgit Baltistan excluded military restricted areas. It is worth mentioning here that areas of FATA now merged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been covered in this survey.

Sampling Frame

After Census-2017 sample frame of PBS has been updated and now used for sample selection of PSLM 2019-20. Each enumeration block is comprised to 200-250 houses on the average with well-defined boundaries and maps. In urban areas each enumeration block is treated as PSU while in rural areas villages are divided into blocks with well-defined boundaries & maps and each separate block within village is considered as PSU.

The numbers of enumeration block in urban and rural areas of the country are:

NUMBER OF ENUMERATION BLOCKS AS PER SAMPLING FRAME 2017

Stratification Plan

Urban and rural part of each administrative district for all four provinces, Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan has been considered as two separate independent stratums. Domain of estimation is district for all provinces.

Sample Units:

A two stage stratified random sample design has been adopted for the survey.

Selection of Primary Sampling Units (PSUs)

Enumeration Blocks in both Urban and Rural domain are taken as Primary Sampling Units (PSUs). Sample PSUs from each ultimate stratum/sub-stratum are selected with probability proportional to size (PPS) method of sampling scheme. In both urban and rural domains, the number of households in an enumeration block has been taken as measure of size (MOS).

Selection of Secondary Sampling Units (SSUs)

The households of sample PSUs have been taken as Secondary Sampling Units (SSUs). 30 households have been selected from urban and rural domains respectively by using systematic sampling technique. It is pertinent to mention here that prevalence of disability variable is rare, therefore, 30 households at the second stage has been selected randomly for true representation and coverage of disability variable. Previously, 12 and 16 households from urban and rural areas were selected respectively.

Sample Size and Its Allocation

As already mentioned that disability variable has been added for the first time in district level PSLM survey, therefore, sample size has been estimated keeping in view the coverage and representation of rare event of disability variable. All socio-economic indicators i.e. Net Enrollment Rate, Prenatal care, Immunization etc. are representative at 5% Margin of Error (MOE) and Disability is representative at 11% MOE district level for four provinces of Pakistan.

Keeping in view the variation observed in the population about the characteristics for which estimates are to be developed, distribution of population in the urban & rural domains, geographical level of estimates required, availability of field resources and cost, and especially for disability variable coverage, the sample size of 195,000 households covering 6500 sampled areas (enumeration blocks & villages) have been considered sufficient to generate variable estimates at district level in respect of four provinces including Azad Jammu & Kashmir and GB.

Dropped Areas

607 sample blocks were not covered due to lockdown restriction implementation to control spread of COVID-19 pandemic, un-approachable/security problems/military restricted areas in the country. Province wise details of dropped areas are as under:

Province	Urban	Rural	Total
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	04	26	30
Punjab	31	157	188
Sindh	82	32	114
Balochistan	40	191	231
Azad Jammu &Kashmir	02	23	25
Gilgit/Baltistan	01	18	19
Total	160	447	607