Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
NATIONAL CENSUS REPORT 189
Figure 5.11: District Wise Comparison of Main Fuel i.e. Natural Gas (Sui Gas)/LPG/LNG Used for Cooking
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
NATIONAL CENSUS REPORT 190
IV. Availability of Kitchen, Bathroom and Toilet Facilities
The information on the availability of kitchen, bathroom, and Toilet facilities within the premises
of housing units was also collected in the Census 2023 as shown in Table 5.19.
Kitchen: It was found that 60.40% of the housing units in the Pakistan have a separate kitchen
as reported in Census -2023. Separate kitchen is more prevalent in the urban areas with
proportion of 71.66% as compared to rural areas where it stands at 53.13%. The facility of
shared kitchen is recorded at 17.36% of housing units in Census-2023, a decrease from 24.57%
in Census- 2017. Moreover, 22.24% of housing units have no kitchen facility in the Pakistan
with 30.26% in rural areas and 9.82% in urban areas.
Punjab and Islamabad have the highest percentage of households with a separate
kitchen facility, at 62.76% and 85.04%, respectively, reflecting better housing conditions and
infrastructure. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa follows with 62.12%, while Balochistan has 53.06%, and
Sindh has the lowest percentage at 55.33%, indicating a relatively higher prevalence of shared
or absent kitchen facilities as illustrated in Figure 5.12. The percentage of households with no
kitchen facility is most pronounced in Sindh at 20.97%, followed by Balochistan at 15.06%,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 14.09%, and Punjab at 26.5%.
Figure 5.12: Provincial Percentages of Housing Units by Kitchen Facility Used, Census -2023
Bathroom: The availability of separate bathroom facility in the housing units has been reported
as 66.60% of the total housing units in Census -2023 increasing from 54.27% reported in
Census-2017. The incidence of separate bathroom is more common in urban areas i.e. 77.61%
as compared to rural areas i.e. 59.50%. The shared bathroom facility has decreased from
23.60% in Census-2017 to 18.07% in Census -2023. Shared bathrooms in housing units of
urban area i.e. 17.25% are less than in rural areas where it is found as 18.60% of housing
facilities. Moreover, 15.33% of the housing units have no bathroom at the province level, while
21.90% in rural areas, and 5.14% of housing units in urban areas do not have a bathroom.
62.12
62.76
55.33
53.06
85.04
23.79
10.74
23.7
31.88
11.13
14.09
26.5
20.97
15.06
3.83
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Punjab Sindh Balochistan Islamabad
Seperate Shared None
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
NATIONAL CENSUS REPORT 191
Toilet: The term "sanitation" encompasses more than just cleanliness; it includes hygiene, the effective collection of liquid and solid waste, and their environmentally responsible disposal. A well-functioning sanitation system acts as a barrier against fecal diseases by ensuring proper collection and disposal of human waste, while also minimizing the risk of groundwater and distribution system contamination that could pose health risks through drinking water. Sanitation is also a key indicator of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly “Goal 6”.
It may be noted that of housing units reported having Toilet facility is 87.14% in Census-2023 as compared to 82.01% in Census-2017, shows an increase of 5.13% as compared to 2017.
In Census-2017, the availability of Toilet facility in housing units was accounted as either the housing unit has separate, shared or no Toilet facility and further the options available were that the Toilet was either connected with sewerage system, connected with septic tank, connected with open drain, pit with slab, other, or none of these options. However, in Census 2023, the breakdown for Flush and Non-Flush Toilet were introduced and separate options for flush and non-flush categories were introduced as in Flush Toilet the options were same as in Census 2017 but the options for Non-Flush Toilet was either connected with dry raised toilet, dry pit toilet and other. It was found that 40.86% of the total housing units reported the availability of Toilets connected with sewerage, from which 69.39% of housing units are in urban areas and 18.56% of housing units are in rural areas. Moreover, 19.50% of housing units have reported Toilets connected with septic tanks, with the incidence higher in rural areas as compared to urban areas, and 16.48% of housing units have their Toilet connected with open drain. Furthermore, 15.67% housing units reported the Toilet facility as pit with slab type with higher incidence in rural areas at 23.99% as compared to urban areas at 5.01%, and 5.30% of housing units reported their Toilet facility to fall under the category 'other'. Moreover, 12.86% of housing units have no Toilet facility shows decrease as compared to 17.99% reported in Census 2017.
The dry raised Toilet and dry pit Toilet was included in Census 2023 and the values reported are 0.65% and 1.54% respectively.
The reason of no toilet at higher side in Census 2023 is may be due to flood in 2022.
The prevalence of such housing units with no toilet is higher in rural areas i.e. 19.50%, as
compare to urban areas where it is 2.57%. In urban areas, the proportion of housing units with
no Toilet facility has decrease from 2.87% in Census-2017 to 2.57% in Census-2023. In rural
areas during the same period this proportion is also decreased from 33.77%. to 19.50% (Table
5.19).
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
NATIONAL CENSUS REPORT 192
Table 5.19: Percentage of Housing Units Having Kitchen, Bathroom and Toilet Facilities and Rural/Urban, Census-2017 and 2023 *Asked for the first time in Census-2017 Figure 5.13, highlights significant variations in access to sanitation. Flush toilets are the most commonly used facility, with Islamabad leading at 96.49% and Punjab at 88.25%, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 81.18%, Sindh at 70.63%, and Balochistan at 53.52%. These figures indicate that urban areas, particularly in Islamabad and Punjab, have better access to proper sanitation infrastructure compared to rural and underdeveloped regions.
The use of non-flush toilets is highest in Balochistan at 23.36%, followed by Sindh at 10.3%, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 8.74%, Punjab at 2.24%, and Islamabad at only 2.51%. The presence of non-flush toilets suggests a lack of adequate sanitation infrastructure in many areas, particularly in Balochistan and Sindh, where water shortages and poverty contribute to the continued use of such facilities.
The percentage of households with no toilet facility is highest in Balochistan at 23.12%, followed by Sindh at 19.34%, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 10.08%, Punjab at 9.5%, and Islamabad at just 1%. The high proportion of households without toilets in Balochistan and Sindh reflects critical infrastructure challenges, emphasizing the urgent need for improved sanitation services in these regions.
Overall, the data reveals stark disparities in sanitation access across provinces, with Islamabad and Punjab having the best facilities, while Balochistan and Sindh lag behind in both flush toilet access and overall sanitation coverage. These findings highlight the need for targeted policy interventions to improve sanitation infrastructure, particularly in rural and underdeveloped areas, to ensure better hygiene, public health, and overall living conditions. Housing Facilities 2017 2023 All Areas Rural Urban All Areas Rural Urban Kitchen Separate 56.16 45.05 66.81 60.40 53.13 71.66 Shared 24.57 22.1 26.94 17.36 16.61 18.52 None 19.27 32.86 6.24 22.24 30.26 9.82 Bathroom Separate 54.27 38.62 69.27 66.60 59.50 77.61 Shared 23.60 21.06 26.03 18.07 18.60 17.25 None 22.13 40.32 4.71 15.33 21.90 5.14 Toilet (Flush) Connected with Sewerage 43.41 10.76 74.69 40.86 18.56 69.39 Connected with Septic Tank 3.85 4.94 2.79 19.50 26.74 10.25 Connected with Open Drain 14.83 18.1 11.69 16.48 20.06 11.91 Pit with Slab 13.8 21.4 6.53 15.67 23.99 5.01 Toilet (Non-Flush) Dry Raised toilet *
0.65 0.94 0.28 Dry Pit toilet *
1.54 2.37 0.48 Other* 6.12 11.02 1.42 5.30 7.35 2.67 Toilet Availability (Separate + Shared) 82.01 66.23 97.13 87.14 80.50 97.43 None (No Toilet) 17.99 33.77 2.87 12.86 19.50 2.57 Number of Households 8,478,047 4,148,451 4,329,596 38,292,556 23,268,867 15,023,689
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
NATIONAL CENSUS REPORT 193
Figure 5.13: Provincial Percentages of Housing Units by Toilet Facility Used, Census-2023
District Wise Analysis of Toilet Facility (Flush)
In Pakistan, toilet facility vary widely within districts. The district wise analysis has been
conducted to identify disparities, understand challenges, and inform policy decisions to
improve toilet facilities across districts. For purpose of analysis toilets are categorized into
three main types: Flush, Non -Flush, and No Toilet. Toilets (Flush) are further divided into
categories such as: Flush connected to a sewer, Flush connected to a septic tank, Flush
connected to a pit, Flush connected to an open drain.
District-wise toilet rates show a wide disparity (figure 5.14). The toilet availability for
houses includes any of the flush and non -flush facility. The data, categorized into different
toilet rate brackets, is as follows:
• Up to 50.0% Flush Toilet: 33 districts fall into this category, indicating that in these areas,
the Flush Toilets facilities are comparatively low.
• 50.1% to 65.0% Flush Toilet: 20 districts that have toilet rates within this range,
reflecting low levels of toilet facility at home.
• 65.1% to 80.0% Flush Toilet: 21 districts where toilet rates fall into this bracket,
suggesting better sanitation facility.
• 80.1% and Above Flush Toilet: The largest group with 62 districts, shows that significant
portion of districts with availability of toilet.
Provincial comparison reveals that the highest percentage of households with flush toilets is in
Punjab, where 88 percent household reported flush toilet in 2023. While in Balochistan only
54 percent households have access to the Flush toilet. In Pakistan Karachi Central and Korangi
are top ranked the districts where 97.4% household have access to Flush Toilet, followed by
Gujranwala (96.8%), Karachi South (96.6%) and Islamabad (96.5%).
The Flush toilet availability across 136 districts stands at 80.61%. The districts with
Flush toilet, higher than 80.61% are 61. Whereas, 75 districts, or over half of Pakistan's total,
have Flush toilet access under 80.61%. This number provides a baseli ne for evaluating the
equitable distribution of toilet across Pakistan's districts.
81.18
88.25
70.63
53.52
96.49
8.74
2.24
10.03
23.36
2.51
10.08
9.50
19.34
23.12
1.00
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa
Punjab Sindh Balochistan Islamabad
Flush Toilet Non Flush Toilet No Toilet
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
NATIONAL CENSUS REPORT 194
Figure 5.14: District Wise Toilet Facility Pakistan, Census-2023 By analyzing the low ranked districts in terms of the Flush Toilet facilities, has been observed in District Barkhan (28.5%), Musakhel (26.7%), Sujawal (23.9%), District Kohlu (22.5%), and Panjgur (22.5%). The districts stand in the low rank owing to many factors like remote and scattered population, scarce resources, inadequate infrastructure, traditional norms.
The district wise toilet availability (flush) comparison is also illustrated in the figure 5.15. The Purple and red vertical dashed lines represent national and provincial average of toilet facility (flush), respectively. All districts bars shown in descending order with respect to percentages of toilet availability (flush).
Punjab leads in the availability of flush toilet facilities, with 30 districts surpassing the national average while 18 exceed the provincial average of 88.25%. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa follows closely, with 19 districts above the national average and 17 performing better than the provincial average of 81.18%.
In Sindh, 9 districts are above the national average and 12 districts are exceeding the provincial average of 70.62%. However, districts such as Sujawal, Tharparkar, Thatta, Badin, Umerkot and Tando Muhammad Khan reflect lower-than-average access, pointing to critical gaps in the availability of flush toilet facilities.
Balochistan reports the lowest access overall, highlighting severe sanitation challenges. Only district Quetta surpass the national average, and 9 are above the provincial average of 53.52%. Districts such as Panjgur, Kohlu , Musakhel, Barkhan, and Washuk are among the most affected, with alarmingly low availability of flush toilet facilities.