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Country profile: Pakistan
Facts and statistics on Pakistan including history, population, politics, geography, economy, religion and climate
The Guardian, Thursday 23 April 2009
Potted history of the country: Pakistan, created by the partition of India in 1947, has been under military rule for most of its existence. A US ally throughout, it has lurched from crisis to crisis, including three wars with India. In 1998, the country successfully test-fired a nuclear bomb. Its decision to join the US war on terror after the September 11 attacks was significant, fuelling an Islamist rebellion at home.
At a glance Location: South Asia Neighbours: Afghanistan, Iran, India, China Size: 307,374 square miles (excluding disputed territoties of Kashmir, Jammu, Junagardh, Manavadar) Population: 158,700,000 (6th) Density: 516.3 people per square mile Capital city: Islamabad (population 780,000) Head of state: President Asif Ali Zardari
Head of government: Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani
Currency: Pakistani rupee Time zone: Pakistan standard time (+5 hours) International dialling code: +92 Website: pakistan.gov.pk Data correct on Thursday 23 April 2009 Political pressure points: The country is riven by ethnic, sectarian and civil-military tensions. The Punjab province is dominant, to the great resentment of the other three provinces. Democratic governments, when they have existed, have lived in constant fear of military takeover. Sensitive foreign and security policy remains in army hands.
Population mix: Punjabi 44.68%, Pashtun 15.42%, Sindhi 14.1%, Sariaki 8.38%, Muhagirs 7.57%, Balochi 3.57%, other 6.28%
Religious makeup: Muslim 96% (majority Sunni)
Main languages: Urdu and English (official),Punjabi, Pashtu, Sindhi, Saraiki
Living national icons: Mohsin Hamid (author), Imran Khan (policitian and former cricketer), Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali (Ghazal singers), Abdul Sattar Edhi (philanthropist), Iftikhar Arif (poet), Younis Khan (cricketer)
Pakistan on a map. Source: Graphic Landscape and climate: Deserts in the south, fertile plains in the Punjab. Three mountain ranges in the north - the Hindu Kush, the Karakoram and the Himalayas, include the world's second-highest peak, K2. Pakistan has hot, humid summers in the plains, with pleasant winters. In the mountains, it snows heavily.
Highest point: K2 8,611 metres
Area covered by water: 9,737.5 square miles
Healthcare and disease: Healthcare is generally poor in public hospitals, with many suffering ****** conditions. There are private hospitals and clinics where it is possible to pay for a better standard of care. Doctors tend to be good but aftercare is deficient. Polio recently returned in some areas, as a result of Islamic extremists stopping vaccinations against it.
Average life expectancy (m/f): 65/66
Average number of children per mother: 3.6
Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births: 320
Infant deaths per 1,000 births: 97
HIV/Aids rate: 0.1%
Doctors per 1,000 head of population: 0.80
Adult literacy rate: 54.9% (m 68.7%; f 40.2%)
Economic outlook: Mounting instability has meant that international investment has dried up since 2007 and even local businesses are reluctant to commit capital. There are chronic power shortages, high inflation and high interest rates, along with a poorly educated workforce.
Main industries: Petroleum, textiles, automobiles, electrical goods, agriculture
Key crops/livestock: Wheat, sugar cane, rice, cottonseed, dry onions
Key exports: Textiles, vegetable products
GDP: £64,773m (46th)
GDP per head: £408
Unemployment rate: 5.3%
Proportion of global carbon emissions: 0.43%
Most popular tourist attractions: The Karakoram highway, which runs from Islamabad to China, is an engineering miracle that opens up much of Pakistan's mountains.
Local recommendation: Sufi religious festivals show the more tolerant, colourful side of Pakistan. The biggest is the three-day festival at Sehwan Sharif, an oasis town in Sindh, in late summer or autumn each year.
Traditional dish: Kadai (curry)
Foreign tourist visitors per year: 850,600
Media freedom index (ranked out of 173): 152
Did you know ... The Badshahi mosque is one of the world's largest, holding 100,000 worshippers.
National anthem:
Blessed be the sacred land
Happy be the bounteous realm
Symbol of high resolve
Land of Pakistan
Blessed be thou citadel of faith
· Information correct on date of first publication, Thursday 23 April 2009.
Facts and statistics on Pakistan including history, population, politics, geography, economy, religion and climate
The Guardian, Thursday 23 April 2009
Potted history of the country: Pakistan, created by the partition of India in 1947, has been under military rule for most of its existence. A US ally throughout, it has lurched from crisis to crisis, including three wars with India. In 1998, the country successfully test-fired a nuclear bomb. Its decision to join the US war on terror after the September 11 attacks was significant, fuelling an Islamist rebellion at home.
At a glance Location: South Asia Neighbours: Afghanistan, Iran, India, China Size: 307,374 square miles (excluding disputed territoties of Kashmir, Jammu, Junagardh, Manavadar) Population: 158,700,000 (6th) Density: 516.3 people per square mile Capital city: Islamabad (population 780,000) Head of state: President Asif Ali Zardari
Head of government: Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani
Currency: Pakistani rupee Time zone: Pakistan standard time (+5 hours) International dialling code: +92 Website: pakistan.gov.pk Data correct on Thursday 23 April 2009 Political pressure points: The country is riven by ethnic, sectarian and civil-military tensions. The Punjab province is dominant, to the great resentment of the other three provinces. Democratic governments, when they have existed, have lived in constant fear of military takeover. Sensitive foreign and security policy remains in army hands.
Population mix: Punjabi 44.68%, Pashtun 15.42%, Sindhi 14.1%, Sariaki 8.38%, Muhagirs 7.57%, Balochi 3.57%, other 6.28%
Religious makeup: Muslim 96% (majority Sunni)
Main languages: Urdu and English (official),Punjabi, Pashtu, Sindhi, Saraiki
Living national icons: Mohsin Hamid (author), Imran Khan (policitian and former cricketer), Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali (Ghazal singers), Abdul Sattar Edhi (philanthropist), Iftikhar Arif (poet), Younis Khan (cricketer)
Pakistan on a map. Source: Graphic Landscape and climate: Deserts in the south, fertile plains in the Punjab. Three mountain ranges in the north - the Hindu Kush, the Karakoram and the Himalayas, include the world's second-highest peak, K2. Pakistan has hot, humid summers in the plains, with pleasant winters. In the mountains, it snows heavily.
Highest point: K2 8,611 metres
Area covered by water: 9,737.5 square miles
Healthcare and disease: Healthcare is generally poor in public hospitals, with many suffering ****** conditions. There are private hospitals and clinics where it is possible to pay for a better standard of care. Doctors tend to be good but aftercare is deficient. Polio recently returned in some areas, as a result of Islamic extremists stopping vaccinations against it.
Average life expectancy (m/f): 65/66
Average number of children per mother: 3.6
Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births: 320
Infant deaths per 1,000 births: 97
HIV/Aids rate: 0.1%
Doctors per 1,000 head of population: 0.80
Adult literacy rate: 54.9% (m 68.7%; f 40.2%)
Economic outlook: Mounting instability has meant that international investment has dried up since 2007 and even local businesses are reluctant to commit capital. There are chronic power shortages, high inflation and high interest rates, along with a poorly educated workforce.
Main industries: Petroleum, textiles, automobiles, electrical goods, agriculture
Key crops/livestock: Wheat, sugar cane, rice, cottonseed, dry onions
Key exports: Textiles, vegetable products
GDP: £64,773m (46th)
GDP per head: £408
Unemployment rate: 5.3%
Proportion of global carbon emissions: 0.43%
Most popular tourist attractions: The Karakoram highway, which runs from Islamabad to China, is an engineering miracle that opens up much of Pakistan's mountains.
Local recommendation: Sufi religious festivals show the more tolerant, colourful side of Pakistan. The biggest is the three-day festival at Sehwan Sharif, an oasis town in Sindh, in late summer or autumn each year.
Traditional dish: Kadai (curry)
Foreign tourist visitors per year: 850,600
Media freedom index (ranked out of 173): 152
Did you know ... The Badshahi mosque is one of the world's largest, holding 100,000 worshippers.
National anthem:
Blessed be the sacred land
Happy be the bounteous realm
Symbol of high resolve
Land of Pakistan
Blessed be thou citadel of faith
· Information correct on date of first publication, Thursday 23 April 2009.
