Lahore: Financial exclusion among ever-married women in Punjab is nearing totality, as recent data indicates a stark disparity between phone ownership and bank account usage. According to Gilani Research Foundation, the Punjab Health and Population Survey (PHPS) 2024-25 reveals that only 3.7% of ever-married women in Punjab hold a bank account that they actively use, highlighting a significant gap in financial inclusion.
The PHPS 2024-25 Baseline Survey Report, which surveyed 19,534 ever-married women aged 15-49 across 36 districts of Punjab, shows that more than 96% of these women do not have an account in a bank or other financial institution that they personally use. This figure is notably lower than national estimates due to the survey’s narrow question, which excludes accounts not actively used by the women themselves and mobile wallets typically counted in national surveys.
Gallup Pakistan’s PHPS Digital Analytics dashboard provides a district and education-level breakdown, showing account ownership ranging from 11.1% in Gujrat to 0.6% in Khanewal. Notably, a mere 16.7% of these women use mobile phones for financial transactions, despite a higher phone ownership rate of 44.0%. This trend indicates that while access to mobile devices has grown, the acquisition of personal bank accounts has not kept pace.
The survey further highlights that account ownership is higher in urban areas (5.4%) compared to rural areas (2.5%). Education appears to play a significant role, with account ownership rising from 0.7% among those with no education to 11.6% among women with higher education. Despite this increase, financial access still lags behind device access, as 81.1% of women with higher education own a mobile phone.
The PHPS, conducted by the Bureau of Statistics Punjab in collaboration with the Population Council and Population Center Pakistan, serves as a baseline for evaluating the World Bank-supported National Health Support Program and Punjab Family Planning Program. It aims to shed light on financial and social indicators across Punjab, allowing for targeted comparisons and policy interventions.