Towards the end of April, Gallup Pakistan, which is affiliated it Gallup International and is Pakistan’s foremost social research lab, released the results of an opinion poll regarding income and joblessness during the Covid-19 pandemic. The press release states, “According to a Gilani Research Foundation Survey carried out by Gallup & Gilani Pakistan, over 4 in 5 (84%) Pakistanis claim to have lost a significant portion of their income during coronavirus outbreak and 7 in 10 (68%) report losing their job, both highest among 17 countries surveyed.”
The question
“In the context of Coronavirus, which of the following is valid for you: lost a significant part of income, lost job, temporarily stopped working, democracy is not effective in such a crises, worked part time, me or family member caught coronavirus/got sick or none of these?” The survey was carried out through telephonic interviews among a sample of 1,014 men and women in urban and rural areas of all four provinces across Pakistan, from April 04 to April 10, 2020 as a part of Gallup Pakistan Coronavirus Attitude Tracker Survey 2020, Wave 3.
The results
- 84% Pakistanis said they lost a significant part of income
- 68% claimed to have lost their job
- 49% temporarily stopped working
- 49% claimed that democracy is not effective in such a crises
- 14% worked part time
- 7% said they or a family member caught coronavirus/got sick
- 3% said none of these was valid for them
Looking at the bigger picture
“Pakistan ranked highest amongst 17 countries in people reporting that they lost their job, lost a significant part of their income or in the belief that democracy is not effective in such a crisis situation,” states the press release. Malaysia ranks highest for people claiming to work part time and those that report themselves or a family member got sick/caught coronavirus while Philippines reports highest percentage of people that have temporarily stopped working due to COVID-19.