Gallup poll shows girls and rural students face steeper barriers despite gains in enrollment and literacy rates
Nearly 28% of children ages 5 to 16 are not enrolled in school, and girls are disproportionately affected, with 34% of girls out of school compared to 22% of boys. These disparities are more pronounced in rural areas, particularly among girls, where exclusion from education is much worse, revealing a clear intersection of gender and geography as a predictor of educational disadvantage.
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The HIES survey conducted by Gallup Pakistan highlights that although two-thirds of Pakistanis aged 10 and older have attended school at some point, access to education remains highly unequal across the country. The national literacy rate is 63% and male literacy is 73%, while the female literacy rate stands at 52%. Urban areas fare better, with 77% literacy compared to 56% in rural areas.
While 68% of children are enrolled in primary school, the numbers drop sharply at the highest levels of education: only 40% are enrolled in middle school and about 30% in matric. This sharp decline in retention highlights the challenges many face in continuing their education, particularly in rural and disadvantaged areas, pointing to structural barriers such as school distance, safety concerns and increasing opportunity costs as children age, especially pronounced for rural girls.
According to their analysis, dropout patterns show that the transition from primary to secondary school is a point of attrition. Economic pressures, domestic responsibilities and limited post-primary education options contribute to early exit from the education system.
For girls, these challenges are compounded by social expectations and early marriage.
At the provincial level, Punjab leads with the highest literacy rate at 66%, while Sindh has 61%, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) at 55% and Balochistan is far behind at just 43%. This provincial gap further illustrates the unequal distribution of educational opportunities, with Balochistan facing unique challenges such as inadequate infrastructure and a lack of accessible educational resources.
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Gallup Pakistan’s analysis highlights that while progress has been made in increasing school enrollment, the real challenge lies in addressing the persistent and deep-rooted inequalities that continue to shape Pakistan’s education system. These inequalities, linked to gender, geography and economic factors, prevent many children from receiving a quality education. Going forward, authorities must focus not only on increasing school enrollment, but also on improving retention rates, ensuring gender equity, and reducing the impact of geographic and economic barriers to education.
