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A wall is a structure that defines a space, provides shelter, supports the roof, and often carries
load. The materials of wall can be categorized as : Burnt Bricks/Blocks, Raw bricks/mud,
wood/bamboo, plywood/cardboard, stone and others . According
to HIES 2024–25, Burnt Bricks/Blocks continue to be the most
widely used material for wall construction in Pakistan,
accounting for 86 percent of households , showing a modest
increase from 82 percent in HIES 2018–19. The use of Burnt Bricks/Blocks remains significantly
higher in urban areas (97 percent) compared to rural areas (78 percent), reflecting the continued
urban advantage in access to durable construction materials.
86% 10% 2% 3%
Burnt /Bricks/Block Mud Bricks/Mud Wood/Bamboo Others
At the provincial level, the highest prevalence of Burnt Brick/Block construction is observed in
Punjab (94 percent), followed by Sindh (80 percent) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (78 percent), while
Balochistan remains considerably lower at 52 percent, despite showing a notable improvement
from 33 percent in 2018–19. This upward shift in Balochistan suggests gradual improvements in
housing conditions, particularly in urban centers. The use of Mud Bricks/Mud—the second most
common wall material—declined nationally from 14 percent in 2018 –19 to 10 percent in 2024 –
25. Its use is predominantly rural (15 percent), compared to only 2 percent in urban areas .
Provincially, Balochistan (42 percent) continues to record the highest reliance on mud-based walls,
followed by Sindh (14 percent) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (7 percent), while Punjab shows the
lowest at 6 percent, reflecting improved structural durability across most regions.
The proportion of households using wood, bamboo, or other materials remains minimal and
relatively unchanged between the two survey years. Overall, HIES 2024–25 findings highlight a
gradual but consistent shift toward more durable wall materials , particularly in Sindh, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan , underscoring improvements in housing quality and construction
standards across the country (Table 12).
Burnt bricks/blocks
remain dominant: Used
by 86% of households, up
from 82%.
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6.7.3 Fuel Used for Lighting and Cooking
The fuel used for lighting is categorized as: Electricity, Electricity & Solar (both), Solar Energy,
Gas/Kerosene Oil, Gas, Candles, Firewood, and Others. The HIES 2024–25 data highlight a major
transition in household lighting sources , with a clear shift from exclusive reliance on grid
electricity toward solar and hybrid electricity-and-solar systems.
In 2024–25, Pakistan saw a notable shift in the fuel used for household lighting, moving from
almost complete reliance on electricity toward more diversified and sustainable sources. While
electricity remained the p rimary source at 7 8%, hybrid systems combining electricity and solar
power increased significantly to 11%, and standalone solar panel usage rose from 4% in 2018–19
to 7% in 2024-25. This shift indicates that more people are now using solar and hybrid optio ns.
Overall, lighting access improved slightly to 96 percent, reflecting steady progress in energy
availability and diversification . Disaggregated by urban, rural, and both, as given in Figure 6.8.
The detailed results are provided in Table 13.
The HIES provincial 2024-25 survey also gathered information on the main source of fuel used
for cooking, which includes Gas, Wood/Sticks, and other fuels (such as dung cakes and crop
residue). As shown in Table 14, gas remains the primary source of fuel for cooking in Pakistan,
reported by 47 percent of households, showing no significant change from 47 percent in HIES
2018–19. The use of gas continues to be much higher in urban areas (84 percent) compared to rural
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areas (2 2 percent), highlighting persistent disparities in access to piped gas and distribution
infrastructure.
Figure 6.8: Fuel Used for Lighting
At the provincial level, Sindh records the highest reliance on gas (55 percent), followed by Punjab
(49 percent), while lower usage is observed in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (32 percent) and Balochistan
(33 percent). The limited gas availability in these
regions indicates greater dependence on traditional
fuels and restricted energy networks. Wood and
sticks remain the second most common source of
cooking fuel, used by 40 percent of households in
2024–25, down from 45 percent in 2018 –19. Their use is predominantly rural (58 percent),
compared to only 13 percent in urban areas . Provincially, the highest proportion of households
using wood or sticks is recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (6 5 percent) and Balochistan (57
percent), followed by Sindh (35 percent) and Punjab (33 percent), reflecting continued reliance on
biomass fuels in rural and remote areas.
The share of households using other fuels (such as dung cakes, crop residues, or kerosene)
increased slightly from 7 percent to 13 percent, mainly in rural regions. Overall, HIES 2024–25
findings suggest that while gas remains the dominant cooking fuel , biomass dependence persists
in rural Pakistan due to limited infrastructure and affordability constraints.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Electricity Electricity & solar Solar Others
87
9
2 1
71
12 11 6
78
11 7 4
Urban Rural Both
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6.7.4 Clean Fuel Used for Lighting, Cooking and Heating: Clean fuels, as defined under (SDG
7.1.2)9, refer to technologies and fuels used for cooking, heating, and
lighting that do not pose health hazards. In many developing countries,
households still depend on solid fuels such as wood, charcoal, biomass,
and kerosene oil, often used with inefficient technologies like open fires,
traditional stoves, space heaters, or lamps. This dependence leads to high levels of indoor air
pollution, posing serious health risks. Inefficient cooking fuels alone are estimated to cause over
four million deaths each year—primarily among women and children—a toll greater than that from
tuberculosis, HIV, and malaria combined ( Table 15) presents information on household use of
clean fuels for cooking, heating, and lighting (SDG Indicator 7.1.2).
Figure 6.9: Percentage of Households Using Clean Fuel for Cooking, Lighting and Heating At the national level, (Figure 6.9 ) the proportion of households using clean fuel increased slightly from 35 percent in 2018-19 to 38 percent in 2024-25, with urban usage remaining stable at 74 percent while rural usage improved marginally from 12 to 13 percent. Across provinces , Punjab recorded a small rise from 36 to 40 percent, mainly due to improved rural access. Sindh remained the leading province with a 51 percent share. Urban access rose from 80 to 83 percent, but rural usage fell from 15 to 11 percent, likely reflecting the impac t of the 2022 floods. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) showed notable progress, increasing from 11 to 18 percent, driven by growth in both urban and rural areas. Balochistan remained unchanged overall at 24 percent, with minor variations between urban (47 to 51 percent) and rural (15 to 13 percent) households.
9 unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/?Text=&Goal=7&Target=7.1 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Pakistan Punjab Sindh KP Balochistan 38 40 51 18 24 35 36 50 11 24 2024-25 2018-19
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List of Statistical Tables
Table 1: Main Source of Drinking Water- by Province and Region
Table 2: Percentage of Households Paying for Water –by Region and Water Source
Table 3: Who Installed the Water Delivery System - by Province and Region
Table 4: Distance to Drinking Water Source by Province (Time-based assessment)
Table 5: Type of Toilet Used by the Household-by Province and Region
Table 6: Type of Sanitation System Used – by Province and Region
Table 7: Garbage Collection Systems from the Household – by Province and Region
Table 8: Percentage of Households with the Facility of Specific Place of Hand Washing with Soap and
Cleansing Agent - by Province and Region
Table 9: Percentage of Households by Household Tenure by Province and Region
Table 10: Percentage of Households by Number of Rooms- by Province and Region
Table 11: Percentage of Households by Material Used for Roof -by Province and Region
Table 12: Percentage of Households by Material Used for Walls by Province and Region
Table 13: Percentage of Households by Fuel Used for Lighting-by Province and Region
Table 14: Percentage of Households by Fuel Used for Cooking-by Province and Region
Table 15 : Percentage of Households with Clean Fuel Used for Cooking, Lighting , and Heating – by
Province and Region
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Table 1: Main Source of Drinking Water- by Province and Region
2024-25 2018-19 Provinces and Reasons Urban Rural Total Urban Rural Total Pakistan
Tap Water 33 14 22 31 11 18 Hand Pump 5 33 22 6 34 24 Motorized Pump 32 36 35 30 38 35 Dug well 0 3 2 1 4 3 Tanker/Truck/Water Bearer 7 2 4 7 2 4 Filtration Plant 14 7 10 19 4 9 Others 8 4 6 7 6 7 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 Punjab
Tap Water 20 12 15 17 8 12 Hand Pump 6 31 20 6 33 23 Motorized Pump 42 44 43 37 49 44 Dug well 1 1 1 0 1 0 Tanker/Truck/Water bearer 5 2 3 6 2 4 Filtration Plant 22 9 14 31 6 15 Others 5 1 3 3 0 1 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 Sindh
Tap Water 51 7 31 73 8 42 Hand Pump 5 71 34 8 69 37 Motorized Pump 15 12 14 10 7 8 Dug well 0 4 2 1 6 3 Tanker/Truck/Water bearer 10 1 6 6 3 4 Filtration Plant 4 1 3 1 0 1 Others 15 4 10 3 6 4 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Tap Water 46 20 24 45 19 24 Hand Pump 5 14 12 6 14 12 Motorized Pump 41 42 42 39 34 35 Dug well 2 7 6 7 11 11 Tanker/Truck/Water bearer 1 1 1 0 1 1 Filtration Plant 3 7 6 1 0 0 Others 2 10 8 2 20 17 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 Balochistan
Tap Water 53 34 40 53 19 28 Hand Pump 2 11 8 2 8 6 Motorized Pump 13 24 20 15 29 25 Dug Well 1 9 7 1 11 9 Tanker/Truck/Water Bearer 29 11 17 24 12 15 Filtration Plant 0 1 0 1 0 0 Others 3 11 8 4 20 16 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 NOTE: Household obtaining water from the source indicated expressed as a percentage of the total number of households. 2.Categories: “Other” includes Spring, River/Pond, Canal/Stream, Bottle water, and others. 3.Totals may not add to 100 because of rounding.
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NOTES: 1. The first column gives the percentage of households obtaining water from the source indicated. The second column gives the households that pay for water, expressed as a percentage of the households that obtain water from the source indicated. The third column gives the average amount paid per month by those households that pay for water, where sample size permits. 2. Categories: “Other” includes Dug Well, Spring, River/Pond/Canal/Stream, Filtration plant, and other. 3. Totals for columns may not add up to 100 because of rounding.
Table 2: Percentage of Households Paying for Water –by Region and Water Source
2024-25 2018-19 Region And Water Source H.Holds Getting Water From Source H.Holds Paying For Water Use Average Amount Paid For Month (Rupees) H.Holds Getting Water From Source H.Holds Paying For Water Use Average Amount Paid For Month (Rupees) Pakistan
Tap Water 22 42 1199 18 59 257 Hand Pump 22 1
24 1
Motorized Pump 35 4
35 5
Bottle Water 3 93
2 82
Tanker/Truck/Water Bearer 4 88
4 91
Other 14 17
16 22
Total 100 20 2421 100 22 505
Urban
Tap Water 33 47 1281 31 62 274 Hand Pump 5 5
6 5
Motorized Pump 32 7
30 7
Bottle Water 7 93
6 84
Tanker/Truck/Water Bearer 7 91
7 92
Other 15 25
20 41
Total 100 35 2745 100 41 523
Rural
Tap Water 14 35 1027 11 54 222 Hand Pump 33 1
34 1
Motorized Pump 36 2
38 4
Bottle Water 0 89
0 28
Tanker/Truck/Water Bearer 2 81
2 89
Other 13 11
14 5
Total 100 10 1620 100 11 464