Estimating Poverty Level and Sustainable Development in Rural Pakistan
Abdul Hameed*
Ihtsham ul Haq Padda**

Poverty is an imperative barrier in the way of sustainable development today, in a world where approximately 1.02 billion people cannot afford the basic needs for survival and go to bed hungry each night. Generally, poverty is a rural phenomenon.

Pakistan is ranked 149 out 188 economies in the world with respect to poverty. Sustainable development linked with living standards (such as living space, clean drinking water, and sanitation), agriculture and non-agriculture assets and environmental and energy issues are important concerns for rural areas of Pakistan. Different methods are used to estimate rural poverty and sustainable development. This paper contributes to understanding poverty and sustainable development with the help of a Wealth Index Analysis of rural Pakistan. It also identifies sustainable development scarcity levels through the sustainable development goals (SDGs) at the household level. Principal Component Analysis is used to construct the poverty and sustainable development index by using the Pakistan Rural Household Survey (2013). The results will highlight, with proper guidelines, the policy options for reduction in rural poverty and ways to implement the SDGs at the rural household level.
* Mr Abdul Hameed is a Ph.D. Economics Student at the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology in Islamabad and an Economic Analyst at Innovative Development Strategies (Pvt.) Ltd, Pakistan.
** Mr Ihtsham ul Haq Padda is Head of the Economics Department at the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology in Islamabad, Pakistan.