People Groups of Pakistan

pakistan.gif (17569 bytes)

INFORMATION ABOUT PAKISTAN

Geography: Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north
Area:
total: 803,940 sq km
land: 778,720 sq km
water: 25,220 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly less than twice the size of California
Land boundaries:
total: 6,774 km
border countries: Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km
Coastline: 1,046 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north
Terrain: flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and northwest; Balochistan plateau in west
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen) 8,611 m
Natural resources: land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited petroleum, poor quality coal, iron
ore, copper, salt, limestone
Land use:
arable land: 27%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 6%
forests and woodland: 5%
other: 61% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 171,100 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding
along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August)
Environment—current issues: water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes, and
agricultural runoff; limited natural fresh water resources; a majority of the population does not have
access to potable water; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification
Geography—note: controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional invasion routes between
Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent

People
Population: 135,135,195 (July 1998 est.)
note: population figures based on 1981 national census results—1998 census results are pending
Age structure:
0-14 years: 42% (male 29,083,284; female 27,425,172)
15-64 years: 54% (male 37,432,059; female 35,731,170)
65 years and over: 4% (male 2,716,739; female 2,746,771) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.2% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 34.38 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 10.69 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 93.48 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 59.07 years
male: 58.23 years
female: 59.96 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.91 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Pakistani(s)
adjective: Pakistani
Ethnic groups: Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir (immigrants from India and
their descendants)
Religions: Muslim 97% (Sunni 77%, Shi'a 20%), Christian, Hindu, and other 3%
Languages: Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu
(official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official and lingua franca of Pakistani
elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8%
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 37.8%
male: 50%
female: 24.4% (1995 est.)

Government
Country conventional name: Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Government type: federal republic
National capital: Islamabad

Economy
Economy—overview: Pakistan continues to suffer through a damaging foreign exchange crisis.
The crisis stems from years of loose fiscal policies that exacerbated inflation and allowed the public
debt, money supply, and current account deficit to explode. In April 1997, Prime Minister
SHARIF introduced a stimulus package of tax cuts intended to boost failing industrial output and
spur export growth. At that time, the IMF endorsed the program, paving the way for a $1.5 billion
Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility. Although the economy showed signs of improvement
following the measures, SHARIF has refused to implement the tough structural reforms necessary
for sustained, longer-term growth. As a consequence, at yearend 1997, industrial production
continued to flag, foreign exchange reserves continued to teeter around $1 billion—only four
weeks of imports—and borrowing to support the budget deficit already exceeded the amount
allocated for the entire fiscal year. At the same time, the government must cope with long-standing
economic vulnerabilities—inadequate infrastructure, low levels of literacy, and increasing sectarian,
ethnic, and tribal violence.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$344 billion (1997 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 3.1% (1997 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$2,600 (1997 est.)
GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 24.2%
industry: 26.4%
services: 49.4% (1997)
Inflation rate—consumer price index: 11.8% (FY96/97)
Labor force:
total: 37.8 million (1998)
by occupation: agriculture 47%, mining and manufacturing 17%, services 17%, other 19%
note: extensive export of labor, mostly to the Middle East, and use of child labor
Budget:
revenues: $9.6 billion
expenditures: $13.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY96/97)
Industries: textiles, food processing, beverages, construction materials, clothing, paper products,
shrimp
Industrial production growth rate: 3.3% (FY96/97 est.)
Agriculture—products: cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; milk, beef, mutton,
eggs
Exports:
total value: $8.2 billion (FY96/97)
commodities: cotton, textiles, clothing, rice, leather, carpets
partners: EU, US, Hong Kong, Japan
Imports:
total value: $11.4 billion (FY96/97)
commodities: petroleum, petroleum products, machinery, transportation equipment, vegetable
oils, animal fats, chemicals
partners: EU, Japan, US, China
Debt—external: $33 billion (1997 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: $2.2 billion from all bilateral and multilateral sources (FY96/97)
Currency: 1 Pakistani rupee (PRe) = 100 paisa
More Information About Pakistan