ISLAMABAD: Rising electricity and gas bills have emerged as the dominant pressure on Pakistani household budgets, forcing families to significantly reduce their spending on food in order to keep up with rapidly increasing utility costs, according to a new analysis by Gallup Pakistan.
The report, titled “Are Pakistanis Eating Less to Afford Electricity and Gas?” and released on Tuesday, presents a 20-year comparison of household consumption patterns based on the government’s Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES).
It reveals a profound structural shift: between 2005 and 2025, the share of the average household budget dedicated to housing and utilities surged from 15% to 25%.
This 10-percentage-point increase represents the largest growth across all major consumption categories.
Experts note that these costs are largely “fixed” and policy-driven, dictated by administered prices and energy tariffs rather than by household choice or consumption preferences.
As these mandatory expenses have absorbed a larger portion of household income, the share of spending on food has declined from 43% to 37%. Gallup Pakistan emphasizes that this decline does not reflect improved affordability or lower food prices. Instead, it signals a “structural squeeze” in which families, faced with stagnant real incomes, are forced to cut back on the quantity and quality of their nutrition simply to pay for power and fuel.
The data suggests that these cutbacks are already manifesting in physical terms. Recent findings indicate a decrease in the per capita consumption of basic staples such as wheat, milk and meat, raising serious concerns about long-term undernourishment, particularly among women and children.
Other areas of household investment have remained stagnant or have been “crowded out” by the rising burden of utility costs. Spending on education and health has remained flat at just 3% each, suggesting that the growing cost of living is preventing families from investing in human capital or improving their overall quality of life.
The report concludes that Pakistan’s cost-of-living crisis is no longer solely an issue of income growth but is increasingly being shaped by the way energy pricing and taxation are reshaping the most basic priorities of daily life.
Without a recalibration of social protection mechanisms and energy policy, the analysis warns that the current trend risks undermining the nation’s broader welfare and long-term nutritional health.
