One in five Pakistani mothers has lost a child: 20% in the 2020 PBS survey, 23% in the 2017-18 DHS

Behind every number in a demographic survey is a family.

Among mothers in their late 40s, the share is 28% to 38%, depending on the survey. Most of these mothers, about 70%, lost one child. About one in five lost two, and one in ten lost three or more. On average, a mother who has lost a child has lost about 1.5.

The loss is not spread evenly.

Among mothers with no formal education or less than primary school, about one in four has lost a child. Among graduates, it is about one in fifteen in the 2020 survey.

Infant mortality shows the same pattern: about 67 deaths per 1,000 births for mothers with no schooling, against about 30 for mothers with a degree. The 2017-18 survey shows the same gap.

Rural mothers are also more likely than urban mothers to have lost a child.
These are mothers’ own accounts, so some losses may be under-reported, especially from long ago. The two surveys differ in how they ask, and some of the gap between them may also reflect real progress. But the direction is clear.

Behind each of these percentages is a mother, and often a grandmother, who carries a loss the statistics will never fully show.

Sources: Pakistan Demographic Survey 2020 (PBS); Pakistan DHS 2017-18 (NIPS/ICF). Ever-married women aged 15-49 with at least one live birth. Analysis by Gallup Pakistan Digital Analytics.