Nearly 12 per cent of households in the country, according to a government survey, have reported having at least one facility such as computer, laptop and tablet, making it the least penetration of information and communication technologies in the country.
The Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) survey 2019-20, conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), covered 176,790 households across rural and urban communities, collecting information on a range of social sector issues information technology, education and health by facilities and services.
The survey mainly covers indicators on household’s level with the facility of computer, laptop, tablet, mobile and internet for individuals who are 10 years and older using a computer, ICT skills, internet and ownership and usage of mobile/smartphone.
The survey shows that percentage of ICT is higher with 19pc in urban areas as compared to rural areas with 7pc. Punjab is at the top with 13pc households having at least one facility such as computer/laptop/tablet 22pc in urban and 8pc in rural areas while Balochistan is at the bottom with 6pc households using any of the facilities 13pc in urban and only 1pc in rural areas.
In Islamabad, 40pc households reported having at least one such facility. In Punjab, Lahore with 24pc is at top and Rajanpur with 3pc at the bottom. In Sindh, Karachi East is at the top with 33pc and Tharparkar at the bottom with 1pc.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar with 25pc is at the top and Kohistan at the bottom with 2pc households having at least one facility such as computer/laptop/tablet. In Balochistan, Barkhan with 20pc is at the top and Khuzdar at the bottom with no household having at least one such facility.
According to surveys almost 93pc households enjoy having mobile or smartphones.
