Fifty percent of the population lives in rural areas, while the remaining 50% live in urban and peri-urban areas. The previous government’s program on housing did not address rural and peri-urban issues. Though urban habitats are normally considered to be of “pakka” or permanent type, yet the hard fact is that all the big cities have slums, known as “katchi abadis”, and these are not less than 40-50 percent of the metropolitan cities population. The slums are sprawling, and Even the villages and rural habitats are turning into the worst slums over the years. Pakistan is currently facing an overall housing backlog of around 11-12 million housing units.
The urban housing shortage is estimated to be around 4 million, while the rural and peri-urban housing backlog is around 7-8 million.
The average Household Size in Pakistan is 6.5 persons, while in India and Bangladesh is at around 5. With the shrinking of current household size, say as in India and Bangladesh, the same population would need more housing, meaning that much larger housing backlog under the surface. Year-on-year housing needs of Pakistan: Based on the Country’s population of over 230 million, with a population growth rate of 2.0% and household size of 6.5 persons per household, the year-on-year incremental housing needs is 7 lacs units/year, which includes both urban and rural areas. Pakistan needs to build at least 1 million (10 lacs) housing units/per year just to cover the existing backlog plus the incremental housing needs.