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Workforce Safety Vulnerabilities in Pakistan’s Construction Sector Cover

Workforce Safety Vulnerabilities in Pakistan’s Construction Sector

Annals of Global Health

Volume 92 (2026): Issue 1

By: Muhammad Umair and Muhammad Uzair Yousuf

Open Access

|Apr 2026

Figures & tables

Figures & Tables

Fatal occupational injuries in the selected countries and sectors.
Source: Tableau Public [11].

Trends in construction, industrial, and total occupational injury rates (%) in Pakistan.
Source: [15].

Table 1

Index values of occupational injuries by age among construction workers across four provinces of Pakistan (2001–02 to 2017–18).

AGE	2001–02	2003–04	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2017–18	β	TREND
10–20 years	100.0	68.4	90.2	116.6	135.7	102.2	115.0	133.8	130.0	97.2	108.9	109.7	2.1	↑
21–30 years	100.0	57.1	83.1	79.4	99.6	86.4	106.4	88.7	89.2	104.2	104.1	82.7	1.5	↑
31–40 years	100.0	131.5	124.1	111.2	95.1	111.8	80.9	101.1	97.1	104.6	104.2	113.0	−1.1	↓
41–50 years	100.0	133.2	118.0	120.3	76.3	95.4	108.7	100.7	116.1	103.0	87.9	114.2	−1.0	↓
51–60 years	100.0	155.6	94.4	69.7	105.8	109.8	99.5	84.1	73.8	72.8	80.1	96.2	−3.2	↓
>60 years	100.0	127.6	43.0	143.5	33.6	138.3	54.2	65.0	72.9	107.5	98.6	50.0	−2.5	↓

Source: Authors’ calculation from LFS, 2001–02 to 2017–18.

Table 2

Index values of occupational injuries by province and area among construction workers across four provinces of Pakistan (2001–02 to 2017–18).

PROVINCE	2001–02	2003–04	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2017–18	β	TREND
Punjab	100.0	110.7	87.1	100.9	96.7	94.4	89.9	91.9	100.5	94.2	86.5	100.9	−0.6	↓
Sindh	100.0	83.4	105.5	71.5	111.2	103.6	117.6	107.7	85.9	106.0	108.6	71.7	0.0	–
KP	100.0	85.9	178.2	166.0	108.3	140.2	129.8	138.8	151.7	130.7	164.5	183.9	4.6	↑
Balochistan	100.0	96.1	13.2	108.9	25.6	24.9	20.6	42.7	29.9	42.3	47.3	39.1	−4.4	↓

Source: Authors’ calculation from LFS, 2001–02 to 2017–18.

Table 3

Index values of occupational injuries by area (urban vs. rural) among construction workers across four provinces of Pakistan (2001–02 to 2017–18).

AREA	2001–02	2003–04	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2017–18	β	TREND
Urban	100.0	135.6	138.8	141.0	161.6	120.7	128.0	122.5	104.0	130.2	109.1	98.8	−2.1	↓
Rural	100.0	89.3	88.3	87.7	81.4	93.8	91.6	93.2	98.8	90.9	97.3	100.4	0.6	↑

Source: Authors’ calculation from LFS, 2001–02 to 2017–18.

Table 4

Index values of occupational injuries by educational attainment among construction workers across four provinces of Pakistan (2001–02 to 2017–18).

EDUCATION	2001–02	2003–04	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2017–18	β	TREND
No education	100.0	90.6	81.0	90.7	82.5	71.9	81.5	86.4	83.6	84.8	72.6	67.3	−1.8	↓
Primary	100.0	142.5	144.2	121.6	134.0	163.8	149.8	128.9	148.9	150.1	176.7	168.2	4.2	↑
Secondary	100.0	87.7	112.6	101.8	117.4	116.1	93.8	109.6	99.7	91.6	102.7	126.9	0.8	↑
Intermediate and above	100.0	139.5	367.4	434.9	386.0	679.1	876.7	395.3	355.8	481.4	602.3	683.7	39.2	↑

Source: Authors’ calculation from LFS, 2001–02 to 2017–18.

Table 5

Index values of occupational injuries by occupation among construction workers across four provinces of Pakistan (2001–02 to 2017–18).

OCCUPATION	2001–02	2003–04	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2017–18	β	TREND
White‑collar	100.0	2030.8	2753.8	1053.8	353.8	1330.8	1792.3	315.4	930.8	253.8	0.0	792.3	−99.4	↓
Blue‑collar	100.0	97.5	96.5	98.7	99.7	98.4	97.8	99.7	98.9	99.8	100.1	99.1	−0.1	↓
High‑skilled	100.0	102.1	85.7	107.5	106.3	117.4	96.9	77.9	90.4	98.9	98.4	100.4	−0.4	↓
Low‑skilled	100.0	94.7	103.0	93.5	95.7	87.1	98.4	112.7	104.0	100.3	101.1	98.3	0.5	↑

Source: Authors’ calculation from LFS, 2001–02 to 2017–18.

Table 6

Index values of occupational injuries by unsafe acts among construction workers across four provinces of Pakistan (2001–02 to 2017–18).

UNSAFE ACT	2001–02	2003–04	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2017–18	β	TREND
Excess speed	100.0	27.9	95.9	117.4	95.4	79.8	64.6	69.7	67.9	88.1	78.0	95.4	0.0	–
Horseplay	100.0	347.7	405.6	301.9	426.2	629.9	498.1	794.4	596.3	746.7	615.9	732.7	49.7	↑
Failure of safety devices	100.0	14.2	137.2	146.6	222.4	185.2	211.0	213.1	133.0	165.8	161.0	173.4	7.9	↑
Unsafe equipment	100.0	191.7	137.6	165.1	118.1	173.7	238.7	197.2	188.1	188.4	166.5	147.7	3.7	↑
Unsafe position	100.0	97.5	89.1	82.5	105.8	99.6	107.9	106.0	118.5	104.8	116.1	103.9	1.8	↑
Fail to use protective equipment	100.0	554.2	188.1	427.1	101.7	345.8	288.1	252.5	833.9	578.0	50.8	406.8	14.0	↑
Unsafe loading/stacking	100.0	203.2	145.9	105.7	112.5	64.5	89.1	154.1	107.7	63.0	115.5	110.5	−3.8	↓
Others	100.0	119.1	71.7	57.5	39.7	47.6	25.1	13.5	30.0	27.5	38.3	29.3	−7.2	↓

Source: Authors’ calculation from LFS, 2001–02 to 2017–18.

Table 7

Index values of occupational injuries by treatment among construction workers across four provinces of Pakistan (2001–02 to 2017–18).

TREATMENT	2001–02	2003–04	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2017–18	β	TREND
Hospitalized	100.0	102.2	94.5	105.9	76.9	84.9	74.6	62.9	77.1	41.0	34.4	89.6	−4.5	↓
Consultation	100.0	128.8	134.8	114.2	94.9	109.2	108.1	107.3	96.5	114.8	126.7	108.1	−0.4	↓
Time off work	100.0	108.9	102.7	130.2	158.6	153.7	138.3	143.5	134.3	152.2	118.3	128.6	2.5	↑
None	100.0	22.8	19.4	37.2	79.7	44.5	66.9	72.8	95.9	63.3	67.7	64.4	2.2	↑

Source: Authors’ calculation from LFS, 2001–02 to 2017–18.

Table 8

Index values of occupational injuries by unsafe condition among construction workers across four provinces of Pakistan (2001–02 to 2017–18).

UNSAFE CONDITION	2001–02	2003–04	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2017–18	β	TREND
Unguarded/inadequately guarded	100.0	242.4	309.9	245.7	203.2	250.1	130.1	140.0	154.7	160.0	174.1	106.3	−8.2	↓
Defective tool	100.0	130.6	115.5	148.6	139.2	210.9	180.8	149.6	138.8	176.0	172.6	170.3	5.3	↑
Unsafe design	100.0	101.0	121.0	125.8	169.4	118.8	153.5	210.6	173.0	163.8	178.8	124.1	5.8	↑
Poor illumination	100.0	85.0	120.4	79.2	85.8	75.4	159.2	98.3	102.1	110.4	128.3	193.8	5.5	↑
Inadequate ventilation	100.0	40.4	41.4	6.1	21.2	52.0	23.7	35.9	18.2	0.0	47.0	36.9	−3.0	↓
Improper clothing and footwear	100.0	141.7	163.5	100.4	166.6	118.5	151.9	163.5	152.1	98.8	32.6	97.5	−4.1	↓
No protection equipment	100.0	63.5	62.1	86.1	85.7	64.4	86.8	85.2	104.0	69.4	65.3	123.7	1.5	↑
Poor housekeeping	100.0	27.4	83.0	127.8	87.2	61.2	20.1	38.7	35.5	56.3	88.0	12.2	−4.4	↓
Slippery surfaces	100.0	68.8	90.5	90.4	104.8	90.4	133.7	116.7	125.2	139.5	118.9	146.2	5.4	↑
Other	100.0	110.7	55.6	41.4	20.1	29.5	12.6	9.9	22.3	14.8	21.0	21.5	−7.3	↓

Source: Authors’ calculation from LFS, 2001–02 to 2017–18.

Additional files

Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.5077 | Journal eISSN: 2214-9996

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Language: English

Submitted on: Nov 12, 2025

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Accepted on: Mar 26, 2026

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Published on: Apr 15, 2026

Published by: Ubiquity Press

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 1 issue per year

Keywords:

construction industry,

index value trend,

Labour Force Survey,

occupational injuries

© 2026 Muhammad Umair, Muhammad Uzair Yousuf, published by Ubiquity Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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