Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data show that 70% of households had access to an internet facility in HIES 2024–25, compared with 34% in HIES 2018–19—a rise of 36 percentage points. That is a household measure, not the share of people using the internet: PBS reports individual internet use separately at 57% in 2024–25.
What does 70% household internet access mean?
PBS defines household internet access as the number of households with access to an internet facility expressed as a percentage of all households. In other words, the reported 70% describes households, not individual users, devices owned, or people with personal internet subscriptions. The PBS HIES page describes the item as access to an internet facility.
The 70% figure comes from HIES 2024–25, which PBS describes as its first digital HIES and the ninth provincial-level round in the survey series. PBS’s press release is dated 1 January 2026.
How did household access change between the two HIES rounds?
PBS reports household access of 34% in HIES 2018–19 and 70% in HIES 2024–25. The difference is 36 percentage points—not a 36% increase. These are observations from two survey rounds; they do not show a continuously measured annual trend between 2018–19 and 2024–25.
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The PBS HIES 2024–25 Social Report states: “In Pakistan, household internet access has significantly increased, rising from 34% in 2018–19 to 70% in 2024–25.”
How does access differ between urban and rural households?
In 2024–25, PBS reports internet access for 82% of urban households and 61% of rural households. Both rates were higher than their respective 2018–19 figures, but the urban rate remained higher in the latest round.
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| Household group | HIES 2018–19 | HIES 2024–25 |
|---|---|---|
| Urban | 51% | 82% |
| Rural | 24% | 61% |
Figures are PBS-reported household internet access rates from the HIES page.
What are the household access rates by province?
The PBS social report gives these provincial household rates for the two survey rounds:
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| Province | HIES 2018–19 | HIES 2024–25 |
|---|---|---|
| Punjab | 33% | 69% |
| Sindh | 37% | 67% |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 41% | 77% |
| Balochistan | 19% | 69% |
These are household access rates, not provincial shares of all internet users. Source: PBS HIES 2024–25 Social Report.
Why is individual internet use reported as a different figure?
Household access asks whether a household has access to an internet facility. Individual internet use measures people. PBS reports that 57% of individuals used the internet in 2024–25, compared with 17% in 2018–19. The 70% household figure therefore should not be described as the percentage of Pakistanis who use the internet.
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The individual-use comparison is reported in the PBS HIES 2024–25 press release.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the figures establish—and what they do not
The PBS results establish higher reported household access in the 2024–25 round than in 2018–19, alongside differences between urban and rural areas and among provinces. They do not, on their own, identify why access changed or prove that a particular policy, technology, or event caused the increase.
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PBS reports device-access measures separately, so household internet access should not be treated as a measure of smartphone or computer ownership. The cited material does not state sampling error or a confidence interval for these comparisons.
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