Global InformationPakistan information
Islamic Republic of Pakistan
| |
|---|---|
 Flag
 State emblem
(Coat of arms) | |
| Motto: Īmān, Ittihād, Nazam ایمان، اتحاد، نظم "Faith, Unity, Discipline"[2] | |
| Anthem: Qaumī Tarānah قَومی ترانہ "The National Anthem" | |
 Land controlled by Pakistan shown in dark green; land claimed but not controlled shown in light green | |
| Capital | Islamabad 33°41′30″N 73°03′00″E / 33.69167°N 73.05000°E |
| Largest city | Karachi 24°51′36″N 67°00′36″E / 24.86000°N 67.01000°E |
| Official languages |
|
| Native languages | Over 77 languages[4] |
| Religion |
|
| Demonym(s) | Pakistani |
| Government | Federal Islamic parliamentary republic |
• President | Asif Ali Zardari |
• Prime Minister | Shehbaz Sharif |
• Chairman of the Senate | Yusuf Raza Gilani |
• Speaker of the National Assembly | Ayaz Sadiq |
• Chief Justice | Qazi Faez Isa |
| Legislature | Parliament |
• Upper house | Senate |
• Lower house | National Assembly |
| Independence from the United Kingdom | |
• Declaration | 23 March 1940 |
• Recognized dominion | 14 August 1947 |
• Republic | 23 March 1956 |
• Last territory's acquisition | 8 December 1958 |
• Eastern territory withdrawn | 16 December 1971 |
• Current constitution | 14 August 1973 |
| Area | |
• Total | 881,913 km2 (340,509 sq mi)[b][7] (33rd) |
• Water (%) | 2.86 |
| Population | |
• 2023 census | 241,499,431[c] (5th) |
• Density | 273.8/km2 (709.1/sq mi) (56th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2024 estimate |
• Total |  $1.643 trillion[9] (24th) |
• Per capita | $6,955[9] (137th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total |  $338.237 billion[9] (43rd) |
• Per capita | $1,461[9] (158th) |
| Gini (2018) |  29.6[10]low |
| HDI (2022) | 0.540[10] low (164th) |
| Currency | Pakistani rupee (₨) (PKR) |
| Time zone | UTC+05:00 (PKT) |
| DST is not observed | |
| Date format |
|
| Driving side | left[11] |
| Calling code | +92 |
| ISO 3166 code | PK |
| Internet TLD |
|
Pakistan,[e] officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,[f] is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023.[8] Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area and the ninth-largest in Asia. Bounded by the Arabian Sea on the south, the Gulf of Oman on the southwest, and the Sir Creek on the southeast, it shares land borders with India to the east; Afghanistan to the west; Iran to the southwest; and China to the northeast. It shares a maritime border with Oman in the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan in the northwest by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor.
Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures, including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, the Indus Valley civilisation of the Bronze Age,[12] and the ancient Gandhara civilisation.[13] The regions that comprise the modern state of Pakistan were the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid, the Maurya, the Kushan, the Gupta;[14] the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, the Samma, the Hindu Shahis, the Shah Miris, the Ghaznavids, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals,[15] and most recently, the British Raj from 1858 to 1947.
Spurred by the Pakistan Movement, which sought a homeland for the Muslims of British India, and election victories in 1946 by the All-India Muslim League, Pakistan gained independence in 1947 after the Partition of the British Indian Empire, which awarded separate statehood to its Muslim-majority regions and was accompanied by an unparalleled mass migration and loss of life.[16][17] Initially a Dominion of the British Commonwealth, Pakistan officially drafted its constitution in 1956, and emerged as a declared Islamic republic. In 1971, the exclave of East Pakistan seceded as the new country of Bangladesh after a nine-month-long civil war. In the following four decades, Pakistan has been ruled by governments whose descriptions, although complex, commonly alternated between civilian and military, democratic and authoritarian, relatively secular and Islamist.[18]
Pakistan is considered a middle power nation,[19][g] with the world's sixth-largest standing armed forces. It is a declared nuclear-weapons state, and is ranked amongst the emerging and growth-leading economies,[20] with a large and rapidly-growing middle class.[21][22] Pakistan's political history since independence has been characterized by periods of significant economic and military growth as well as those of political and economic instability. It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. The country continues to face challenges, including poverty, illiteracy, corruption, and terrorism.[23][24][25] Pakistan is a member of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, and the Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition, and is designated as a major non-NATO ally by the United States.
- ^ Minahan 2009.
- ^ Kopka 2011.
- ^ Ayres 2009.
- ^ Ethnologue 2022.
- ^ Munir 1975.
- ^ James 2022.
- ^ Bhandari 2022.
- ^ a b PBS 2023.
- ^ a b c d IMF 2024.
- ^ a b IMF 2023.
- ^ Haleem 2013.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Wright-2009was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Badian 1987.
- ^ Wynbrandt 2009.
- ^ Spuler 1969.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Copland-2001was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Metcalf-2006was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Talbot 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Middle power nationwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Zia & Burton 2023.
- ^ Rais 2017.
- ^ Cornwall & Edwards 2014.
- ^ Joseph 2016.
- ^ Baqir 2018.
- ^ SATP 2024.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).