Islamabad: New analysis from Gallup Pakistan Digital Analytics, based on microdata from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), reveals a stark gender divide in where Pakistanis spend their final moments. While home remains the most common place of death for both men and women, women are significantly more likely to die at home than men - pointing to deeper inequalities in access to healthcare at the end of life.

Home Is the Primary Place of Death - Especially for Women

Nearly 62% of female deaths occur at home, compared to 56% of male deaths. While dying at home can reflect personal or cultural preferences, this gap raises critical questions about women's access to timely and institutional healthcare during severe illness.

Around 40% of male deaths occur in hospitals, clinics, or dispensaries, compared to 36% among women. This suggests that men are more likely to reach institutional healthcare even at advanced stages of illness.

Almost 4% of male deaths occur on the road, compared to under 2% for women, reflecting men's greater exposure to traffic, occupational hazards, and public spaces.

The data do not, on their own, establish discrimination. However, they point toward structural constraints that disproportionately affect women - including limited mobility, delayed care-seeking, reduced decision-making power, and barriers to accessing health facilities at critical moments. End-of-life outcomes, much like education and income, appear deeply shaped by gendered access to systems and services.

End-of-life care is a sensitive but revealing indicator of inequality within health systems. Where people die often reflects who gets timely care, who reaches hospitals, and who does not. The gender gap observed here suggests that health inequities persist even at life's final stage - and deserve far greater policy and public attention.

In Pakistan, dying at home is the norm - but women are far more likely than men to do so. This pattern highlights a quiet yet powerful dimension of gender inequality in healthcare access, underscoring the need to examine not just who receives care, but who reaches care at all.

Gilani Research Foundation is a not-for-profit public service project to provide social science research to students, academia, policymakers, and concerned citizens in Pakistan and across the globe.

Gilani Research Foundation is headed by Dr. Ijaz Shafi Gilani who pioneered the field of opinion polling in Pakistan and established Gallup Pakistan in 1980. Currently, Dr. Gilani, who holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and has taught at leading universities in Pakistan and abroad, is Chairman of Gallup Pakistan.

Gallup Pakistan is not related to Gallup Inc. headquartered in Washington D.C. USA. We require that our surveys be credited fully as Gallup Pakistan (not Gallup or Gallup Poll). We disclaim any responsibility for surveys pertaining to Pakistani public opinion except those carried out by Gallup Pakistan, the Pakistani affiliate of Gallup International Association.