Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world and dating back at least 5,000 years, spread over much of modern-day 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.
- Capital
- Islamabad
- Government
- federal parliamentary republic
- Population
- 257,047,044
- Area
- 796,095 sq km
- Location
- Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north
- Climate
- mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north
- Natural resources
- arable land; extensive natural gas reserves; limited petroleum; poor quality coal; iron ore; copper…
- Languages
- Punjabi 38.8%; Pashto (alternate name; Pashtu) 18.2%; Sindhi 14.6%…
- Religions
- Muslim 96.4%; Hindu 1.6%; Christian 1.4%; less than 1%: scheduled castes…
- Independence
- 14 August 1947 (from British India)
- Administrative divisions
- 4 provinces, 2 Pakistan-administered areas*, and 1 capital territory**;
- Currency
- Pakistani rupees (PKR)
- Export partners
- USA 14%; UAE 10%; China 9%; Germany 7%…
- Import partners
- China 25%; Qatar 11%; UAE 9%; Saudi Arabia 8%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain