The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world and dating back at least 5,000 years, spread over much of what is presently Pakistan. During the second millennium B.C., remnants of this culture fused with the migrating Indo-Aryan peoples. The area underwent successive invasions in subsequent centuries from the Persians, Greeks, Scythians, Arabs (who brought Islam), Afghans, and Turks. The Mughal Empire flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries; the British came to dominate the region in the 18th century. The separation in 1947 of British India into the Muslim state of Pakistan (with West and East sections) and largely Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved, and India and Pakistan fought two wars - in 1947-48 and 1965 - over the disputed Kashmir territory. A third war between these countries in 1971 - in which India capitalized on Islamabad's marginalization of Bengalis in Pakistani politics - resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. In response to Indian nuclear weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in 1998. India-Pakistan relations have been rocky since the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, but both countries are taking small steps to put relations back on track. In February 2008, Pakistan held parliamentary elections and in September 2008, after the resignation of former President MUSHARRAF, elected Asif Ali ZARDARI to the presidency. Pakistani government and military leaders are struggling to control domestic insurgents, many of whom are located in the tribal areas adjacent to the border with Afghanistan. In January 2012, Pakistan assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2012-13 term.
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Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north
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30 00 N, 70 00 E
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total: 796,095 sq km
country comparison to the world: 36
land: 770,875 sq km
water: 25,220 sq km
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slightly less than twice the size of California
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total: 6,774 km
border countries: Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km
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1,046 km
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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
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mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north
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flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and northwest; Balochistan plateau in west
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lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen) 8,611 m
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land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited petroleum, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone
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arable land: 24.44%
permanent crops: 0.84%
other: 74.72% (2005)
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198,700 sq km (2003)
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233.8 cu km (2003)
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total: 169.39 cu km/yr (2%/2%/96%)
per capita: 1,072 cu m/yr (2000)
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frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August)
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water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes, and agricultural runoff; limited natural freshwater resources; most of the population does not have access to potable water; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
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controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent
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| People and Society ::PAKISTAN |
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noun: Pakistani(s)
adjective: Pakistani
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Punjabi 44.68%, Pashtun (Pathan) 15.42%, Sindhi 14.1%, Sariaki 8.38%, Muhajirs 7.57%, Balochi 3.57%, other 6.28%
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Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Saraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official; lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8%
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Muslim (official) 95% (Sunni 75%, Shia 20%), other (includes Christian and Hindu) 5%
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190,291,129 (July 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6 |
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0-14 years: 35.4% (male 34,093,853/female 32,278,462)
15-64 years: 60.4% (male 58,401,016/female 54,671,873)
65 years and over: 4.2% (male 3,739,647/female 4,157,870) (2011 est.)
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total: 21.9 years
male: 21.9 years
female: 22 years (2012 est.)
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1.551% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 75 |
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24.3 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 63 |
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6.8 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 140 |
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-2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 164 |
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urban population: 36% of total population (2010)
rate of urbanization: 3.1% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
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Karachi 13.125 million; Lahore 7.132 million; Faisalabad 2.849 million; Rawalpindi 2.026 million; ISLAMABAD (capital) 832,000 (2009)
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at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
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260 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
country comparison to the world: 43 |
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total: 61.27 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 26
male: 64.51 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 57.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.)
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total population: 66.35 years
country comparison to the world: 165
male: 64.52 years
female: 68.28 years (2012 est.)
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3.07 children born/woman (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 56 |
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2.6% of GDP (2009)
country comparison to the world: 182 |
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0.813 physicians/1,000 population (2009)
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0.6 beds/1,000 population (2009)
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0.1% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 146 |
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98,000 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42 |
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5,800 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 34 |
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degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria
animal contact disease: rabies
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)
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31.3% (2001)
country comparison to the world: 17 |
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2.7% of GDP (2009)
country comparison to the world: 143 |
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 54.9%
male: 68.6%
female: 40.3% (2009 est.)
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total: 7 years
male: 8 years
female: 6 years (2009)
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total: 7.7%
country comparison to the world: 114
male: 7%
female: 10.5% (2008)
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conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Pakistan
conventional short form: Pakistan
local long form: Jamhuryat Islami Pakistan
local short form: Pakistan
former: West Pakistan
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federal republic
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name: Islamabad
geographic coordinates: 33 41 N, 73 03 E
time difference: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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4 provinces, 1 territory*, and 1 capital territory**; Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas*, Islamabad Capital Territory**, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province), Punjab, Sindh
note: the Pakistani-administered portion of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region consists of two administrative entities: Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan
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14 August 1947 (from British India)
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12 April 1973; suspended 5 July 1977, restored 30 December 1985; suspended 15 October 1999, restored in stages in 2002; amended 31 December 2003; suspended 3 November 2007; restored 15 December 2007; amended 19 April 2010
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common law system with Islamic law influence
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accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt
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18 years of age; universal; note - there are joint electorates and reserved parliamentary seats for women and non-Muslims
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chief of state: President Asif Ali ZARDARI (since 9 September 2008)
head of government: Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz ASHRAF (since 22 June 2012)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president upon the advice of the prime minister
(For more information visit the World Leaders website  )
elections: president elected by secret ballot through an Electoral College comprising the members of the Senate, National Assembly, and provincial assemblies for a five-year term; election last held on 6 September 2008 (next to be held not later than 2013); note - any person who is a Muslim and not less than 45 years of age and is qualified to be elected as a member of the National Assembly can contest the presidential election; the prime minister selected by the National Assembly
election results: Asif Ali ZARDARI elected president; ZARDARI 481 votes, SIDDIQUE 153 votes, SYED 44 votes; Syed Yousuf Raza GILANI elected prime minister; GILANI 264 votes, Pervaiz ELAHI 42 votes; several abstentions; Prime Minister Raja Pervais ASHRAF elected by Parliament - ASHRAF 211 votes, Sardar Mehtab ABBASI 89 votes
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bicameral parliament or Majlis-e-Shoora consists of the Senate (100 seats; members indirectly elected by provincial assemblies and the territories' representatives in the National Assembly to serve six-year terms; one half are elected every three years) and the National Assembly (342 seats; 272 members elected by popular vote; 60 seats reserved for women; 10 seats reserved for non-Muslims; members serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held on 3 March 2009 (next to be held in March 2012); National Assembly - last held on 18 February 2008 with by-elections on 26 June 2008 (next to be held in 2013)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PPPP 27, PML 21, MMA 9, PML-N 7, ANP 6, MQM 6, JUI-F 4, BNP-A 2, JWP 1, NPP 1, PKMAP 1, PML-F 1, PPP 1, independents 13; National Assembly - percent of votes by party - NA; seats by party as of October 2010 - PPPP 127, PML-N 90, PML 51, MQM 25, ANP 13, JUI-F 8, PML-F 5, BNP-A 1, NPP 1, PPP-S 1, independents 18, unfilled seats - 2
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Supreme Court (justices appointed by the president); Federal Islamic or Sharia Court
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Awami National Party or ANP [Asfandyar Wali KHAN]; Balochistan National Party-Awami or BNP-A; Balochistan National Party-Hayee Group or BNP-H [Dr. Hayee BALOCH]; Balochistan National Party-Mengal or BNP-M; Jamaat-i Islami or JI [Syed Munawar HASAN]; Jamhoori Watan Party or JWP; Jamiat Ahle Hadith or JAH [Sajid MIR]; Jamiat Ulema-i Islam Fazl-ur Rehman or JUI-F [Fazl-ur REHMAN]; Jamiat Ulema-i Islam Sami-ul HAQ or JUI-S [Sami ul-HAQ]; Jamiat Ulema-i Pakistan or JUP [Abul Khair ZUBAIR]; Millat-e-Jafferia [Allama Sajid NAQVI]; Muttahida Majlis-e Amal or MMA [Qazi Hussain AHMED]; Muttahida Qaumi Movement or MQM [Altaf HUSSAIN]; National Peoples Party or NPP; Pakhtun Khwa Milli Awami Party or PKMAP [Mahmood Khan ACHAKZAI]; Pakistan Awami Tehrik or PAT [Tahir ul QADRI]; Pakistan Muslim League or PML [Chaudhry Shujaat HUSSAIN]; Pakistan Muslim League-Functional or PML-F [Pir PAGARO]; Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz or PML-N [Nawaz SHARIF]; Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians or PPPP [Bilawal Bhutto ZARDARI, chairman; Asif Ali ZARDARI, co-chairman]; Pakistan Peoples Party-SHERPAO or PPP-S [Aftab Ahmed Khan SHERPAO]; Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaaf or PTI [Imran KHAN]
note: political alliances in Pakistan can shift frequently
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other: military (most important political force); ulema (clergy); landowners; industrialists; small merchants
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ADB, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), C, CICA, CP, D-8, ECO, FAO, G-11, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNSC (temporary), UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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chief of mission: Ambassador Sheherbano REHMAN
chancery: 3517 International Court, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 243-6500
FAX: [1] (202) 686-1544
consulate(s) general: Boston (Honorary Consulate General), Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York
consulate(s): Chicago, Houston
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chief of mission: Ambassador Cameron MUNTER
embassy: Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad
mailing address: 8100 Islamabad Pl., Washington, DC 20521-8100
telephone: [92] (51) 208-0000
FAX: [92] (51) 2276427
consulate(s) general: Karachi
consulate(s): Lahore, Peshawar
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green with a vertical white band (symbolizing the role of religious minorities) on the hoist side; a large white crescent and star are centered in the green field; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam
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star and crescent
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name: "Qaumi Tarana" (National Anthem)
lyrics/music: Abu-Al-Asar Hafeez JULLANDHURI/Ahmed Ghulamali CHAGLA
note: adopted 1954; the anthem is also known as "Pak sarzamin shad bad" (Blessed Be the Sacred Land)
See More......
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