A new analysis reveals that households in Pakistan own more washing machines and refrigerators than their Indian counterparts, a surprising trend that challenges the conventional wisdom of using GDP per capita as a primary measure of living standards.
The report, conducted by Gallup and Gilani Pakistan, highlights that despite trailing India on the headline economic indicator of GDP per capita, Pakistani households match or exceed their neighbours in the ownership of several key consumer durables, according to information today.
The most significant disparity is in washing machines, with nearly 58 per cent of Pakistani households possessing the labour-saving device compared to just 20 per cent in India.
A similar pattern is observed in refrigerator ownership, which stands at approximately 56 per cent in Pakistan, surpassing India’s figure of around 50 per cent.
Conversely, India maintains a strong lead in television ownership at about 66 per cent, whereas Pakistan”s ownership is recorded at 50 per cent. India also holds a narrow advantage in car ownership, at roughly 8 per cent versus Pakistan”s 6 per cent.
Ownership of two-wheeled transport is largely comparable across both nations, with motorcycle ownership standing at approximately 55 per cent in India and 53 per cent in Pakistan.
The research suggests these consumption patterns indicate that Pakistani households have historically placed a greater emphasis on acquiring domestic appliances that reduce manual labour. In contrast, Indian households appear to have invested more in entertainment assets.
The findings underscore a broader lesson: national economic figures do not mechanically translate into household welfare. The analysis concludes that actual living standards are shaped by a complex mix of factors including consumption choices, relative prices, infrastructure, and historical preferences, not by income alone.
This analysis draws upon long-run data from the Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, covering 2000-2025, alongside comparable Indian household estimates.