Social Development in Punjab, Pakistan: A District-Level Analysis

Social considerations are imperative for sustainable economic development. Inclusive growth requires achieving both economic and social progress simultaneously. Based on a basic human needs approach, this paper constructs a Social Development Index (SDI) for 36 districts of Punjab, designed to assess the capacity of each district’s society to meet basic human needs across multiple dimensions. The SDI integrates indicators covering health, education, sanitation, and economic participation, producing a comprehensive spatial picture of social development performance across Punjab. District-level rankings and spatial mapping reveal systematic inequalities between Punjab’s central and peripheral districts, with implications for social investment targeting and pro-poor policy design.