Introduction

Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) is flagship survey of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and the main mechanism to provide data for Monitoring Development plans at National/Provincial for evidence-based policy making. The survey was designed to provide Social & Economic indicators in the alternate years at provincial and district level. HIES provincial level survey, provides information on Income and Consumption as well as on social indicators at National and Provincial level with urban / rural breakdown and by consumption quintiles.
Developments in HIES
The HIES has been conducted, with some breaks, since 1963. However, in 1990 the HIES questionnaire was revised in order to address the requirements of a new system of national accounts. The four surveys of 1990-91, 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1996-97 were conducted using the revised questionnaire. In 1998-99, the HIES data collection methods and the questionnaire were revised to reflect the integration of HIES with the Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (PIHS). After this the HIES was conducted as an Integrated Survey with PIHS in 1998-99 and 2001-02. Subsequently the survey was renamed in 2004 as Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) Survey and the same module of the HIES remain intact. PSLM, (District Level) Survey and PSLM/ HIES (National/ Provincial level) Survey were conducted on alternating years. Before this Survey, six rounds of HIES were conducted during 2004-05, 2005-06, 2007-08, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2013-14. However, in 2015-16, special survey namely Household Integrated Income & Consumption survey (HIICS) was conducted for rebasing of price indices, for which all items were disaggregated and asked in detail in order to compute separate weight. It is pertinent to mention that survey is designed in such a way that it also provided all data and information regarding HIES.

Objective of Survey:

HIES is the main mechanism to provide data for: –

• Estimation of consumption-based poverty (CBN from HIES Provincial level survey).
• Planners / Policy Makers, Research workers, Statisticians and National / International Organizations use the data.

Incorporated Modules

• Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)
• Out of Pocket Health Expenditure
• Information Communication and Technology (ICT)
• Disability and Migration

Main Sectors Covered by HIES (Provincial Level)

• Demographic characteristics
• Education
• Health
• Population Welfare
• Household Characteristics
• Water Sanitation and Hygiene
• Household Income, Consumption & Expenditure
• Household Assets, Household Amenities
• Saving & Liabilities

Eight HIES Provincial Level Survey have been completed 2004-05, 2005-06, 2007-08, 2010-11 & 2011-12, 2013-14, 2015-16 HIICS (Specialized year) and 2018-19.

On Going Activities

HIES 2024-25: –

The first-ever digital Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) 2024-25 is being launched on a quarterly basis, marking a significant milestone in the transition from manual to electronic data collection. Prior to the survey’s launch, the questionnaire was reviewed by the technical committee. Based on the committee’s recommendations, several amendments were made, including the incorporation of income from digital platforms. Additionally, the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) section has been revised in line with the recommendations of UTA to enhance its scope and accuracy.

Following the directions of the Chief Statistician, PBS, currently field operation for the 9th round of HIES survey is underway. Key activities are progressing smoothly, with efforts focused on completing the survey successfully and within the timeline.

Highlights of HIES 2024-25:

1. Review and updating of HIES 2024-25 Questionnaire:

   • Reviewed with input from Technical Committee comprising private & public sector stakeholders, academia, and organizations.
   • Updated ICT, Housing & Employment modules to align with international Telecommunication Union (ITU) Manual.
   • Focused on ICT access and usage by household and individuals.
   • Focused on e-commerce measurement at household level on the use of Internet for purchases rather than sales transition.
2. Field Staff Training:  A comprehensive 3-day training plan was organized for the field staff to launch the first ever digital Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) 2024-25. The training sessions included lectures, hands-on exercises, group discussions, and mock activities supplemented by detailed manuals and digital resources. Also, trainers and trainees were thoroughly evaluated to ensure the training’s effectiveness.

Training Location Data: The training took place in different cities of the country, detail is as under:

Field Operation: 

Field activities for collection of quarterly data across country through HIES 2024-25 are in progress, and to be completed in December 2025. Android devices were used by engaging field staff of Regional Offices of PBS.

Methodology

Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) 2018-19

Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) is being conducted under PSLM project since 2004 to 2019. It provides information at National/ Provincial level with urban/ rural breakdown. The survey contains the data collected from 24,809 household based on 1802 urban & rural Primary sampling units (PSUs). The method of team approach has been adopted by PSLM Management Team, Support Services Team, Field Teams and Sample Design Section of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

Field Operation:

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) is the primary national agency responsible for gathering, processing, compiling, and distributing official statistics across various sectors, aiding informed decision-making at both national and regional levels.

To ensure efficient and comprehensive data collection, PBS manages a network of 34 Regional and Field Offices strategically positioned throughout Pakistan. These offices are equipped with modern tools and staffed by skilled professionals, enabling the accurate and timely collection of data from diverse geographic and socio-economic landscapes. Through its well-established infrastructure and experienced workforce, PBS upholds the integrity, transparency, and reliability of national statistics, playing a key role in shaping policies, socio-economic planning, and development strategies. The period of field enumeration of PSLM/HIES 2018-19 was from August 2018 to June 2019 using team approach.

Sample Design of HIES Survey 2018-19

Objectives:

The data generated though PSLM/HIES provincial level Survey will be used to produce 24 SDGs indicators and to provide consumption expenditure data for computation of poverty incidence by Ministry of Planning Development & special indicatives.

Universe:

The universe for survey consists of all urban and rural areas of the four provinces of Pakistan including ICT, excluded military restricted areas. It is worth mentioning here that areas of erstwhile FATA now merged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been covered in this survey.

Sampling Frame:

Sampling Frame updated through Census 2017 has been used for sample selection. 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 and 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:

1. No OF ENUMERATION BLOCKS AS PER SAMPLING FRAME (2017)

Note: The above enumeration blocks are as per 2017 sampling frame used for the survey.

Sample Design:

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

Stratification Plan:

The stratification plan for urban and rural areas is as follows.

Urban Domain:

For urban domain, each administrative division for all four provinces has been considered as an independent stratum.

Rural Domain:

For rural domain, each administrative district in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and each administrative division in Balochistan, has been considered as an independent stratum

Selection of Primary Sampling Units (PSUs):

Enumeration blocks in both Urban and rural domains 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.

Selection of Secondary Sampling Units (SSUs):

The households of sample PSUs have been taken as Secondary Sampling Units (SSUs). 12 and 16 households have been selected from urban and rural domains respectively by using systematic sampling technique.

Sample Size and its Allocation:

Keeping in view the objectives of the survey, the sample size for the four provinces, AJK &Gilgit Baltistan has been fixed at 1995 sample blocks (PSU’s) comprising 28500 households (SSU’s), which is expected to produce reliable results at provincial level with urban and rural break down.

The distribution plan of PSUs and SSUs by province and region is as under:

PROFILE OF THE HIES SAMPLE 2018-19

Dropped Areas:

Out of 1820 PSUs, of all four provinces 18 PSUs (6 urban and 12 rural PSUs) were dropped due to bad law and order situation. Out of these 18 dropped PSUs 15 (4 urban and 11 rural PSUs) belong to Balochistan. 1131 Non- Contacted / Refusal households which are also excluded from the covered households. One areas of each both AJK and GB are dropped. However, results for the AJK and G.B are not given in the report.

UN has adopted new development plan for post 2015 monitoring called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Under SDGs, initially there were 17 goals, 169 targets and approximately 505 indicators, after review and input from all member states now the indicators are reduced to 234 with 17 goals and 169 targets. SDGs have extensive and wider agenda tam MDGs and it put greater emphasis on disaggregation at all levels. Therefore   it will be important to improve the availability and access to data and statistics disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national context.

As mentioned above HIES survey was one of the main mechanism for monitoring of MDGs, therefore keeping in view the new development agenda of SDGs and changing ground realities, Technical committee for HIES has been reconstituted with the approval of Chief Statistician to review the HIES Questionnaire and recommend necessary amendments/inclusions.