1 in 14 vs 1 in 5: Pakistan Beats India on Toilets , Raises questions regarding narratives around rising India and how Pakistan’s poverty rate is not a true reflection of changing society

Access to a toilet is not a luxury.

It is a basic human right — tied to dignity, health, and safety.

Yet the numbers tell a story that challenges our dominant narratives.

In India, roughly 1 in 5 households (~20–22%) still lack a toilet within the home

In Pakistan, that figure is closer to 1 in 14 (~7%)

Put differently:

The number of people in India without access to a toilet is comparable to the entire population of Pakistan.

But isn’t India “doing better”?

By many conventional metrics — yes.
India’s poverty rate (using $2.15/day) is estimated around ~10–12%
Pakistan’s is significantly higher, often estimated ~35–40%+ depending on methodology

India has grown at ~6–7% annually over the past decade
Pakistan has struggled at ~2–3% on average

⚖️ So what explains the gap?
Despite:
~2x higher income per person
Much faster growth
Lower measured poverty
India still has:
3x higher share of households without toilets compared to Pakistan


And yet:

Lower measured poverty in India does not fully translate into better basic living conditions.

Pakistan — despite slower growth and weaker macro fundamentals — has:

Delivered more universal access to a basic necessity
Achieved this through gradual, less visible progress

A deeper question on measurement

There is also a growing conversation globally about:

1/Whether India’s GDP growth may be somewhat overstated
2/Whether headline indicators are painting a rosier picture than lived reality
3/Without getting into technical debates, one simple check is:
4/Do headline gains translate into basic dignity at the household level?

If a country ensures near-universal access to such a basic human need,
does it deserve to be seen as lagging?

Perhaps it’s time to complement the growth story with a dignity story.