Pakistan
- Capital:
- Islamabad
- Continent:
- Asia
- Region(s):
- Southern Asia, South Central Asia
- Largest Cities:
- Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad
- Abbreviation:
- PAK
* As of 1/8/2026
1 birth
Every 4.6 seconds
1 death
Every 19.0 seconds
1 emigrant
Every 27.6 seconds
1 person
Every 7.6 seconds
508K
750K
1M
2.5M
5M
7.5M
10M
18.5M
The country of Pakistan has a history that dates back to almost 2,500 years B.C. It is considered to be one of the most highly advanced and highly developed civilizations of those ancient times. Finally becoming a sovereign state (and eventually recognized as an official mark on the map of the world) on August 14, 1947, this country is known for having deep roots in the Islamic religion. The country’s capital is Islamabad, and the country features four different provinces: North West Frontier Province, Sindh, Balochistan, and Punjab.
There have been very drastic and dramatic social changes in Pakistan. These vital changes have ushered in a new era of urbanization and the creation of a couple of megacities within the country. As of 2003, the country became one of the most urbanized cities in all of South Asia, mainly because city dwellers made up about 36 percent of its entire population at that point. About 50 percent of Pakistani citizens live in a place where at least 5,000 other citizens reside as well.
Most Pakistani people come from the ancestral group known as the Indo-Iranians. The largest ethnic group in Pakistan consists of those of Punjabi ethnicity, while Pashtuns and Sindhis are the second and third largest ethnic groups in the country, respectively. There is a special mixed ethnic group between the Punjabi ethnicity and the Sindhi ethnicity, and this group makes up about 10 percent of the entire Pakistani population.
When we consider the foreigners who live in Pakistan, a majority of them come from Afghanistan. Smaller foreign groups include those from Iraq, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Somalia, Burma, and Tajikistan. The most popular language in Pakistan is Punjabi, a language in which 48 percent of the population speaks. Second is the language Sindhi, which is spoken by 12 percent of the population; and coming in third is the language Saraiki, spoken by 10 percent of the population. Urdu is the national local language of Pakistan, even though it is only spoken as the first language by 3 percent of the population.
Punjabi (44.7%)
Pashtun (Pathan) (15.4%)
Sindhi (14.1%)
Saraiki (8.4%)
Muhajirs (7.6%)
Balochi (3.6%)
Other (6.3%)
The main religion in Pakistan is Muslim (official).
Muslim (official)
Other (includes Christian and Hindu)
English is widely spoken throughout the government of Pakistan, mainly because it is actually the official language of the government of the country. Many government officials, civil servants, and members of the military speak English in their daily conversations and their meetings.
In the year 1984, the life expectancy of a Pakistani citizen was only at 56.9 years. As of the year 2002, the life expectancy has jumped up to 63 years of age. The improvement was a direct result of improved medical facilities and better educated health professionals available in the country. The downside, unfortunately, is that doctors and nurses are still in short number for the citizens that need them. There is only 1 nurse for every 3,700 people in the country. There are approximately .6 beds per 1,000 individuals residing in Pakistan as well. If the country is looking to improve health among its citizens and continue to grow their life expectancy rate, then the number of available doctors and nurses needs to continue to grow. If these numbers do not improve, then the people of Pakistan will actually see their life expectancy rate dip back down to the numbers of the mid 1990’s (59 years of age).
The life expectancies of males and females are generally the same in Pakistan. As of 2002, men were expected to live around 63.7 years, while women were expected to live 63.4 years. (These numbers are according to the National Institute of Population Studies.)
In addition, the median age is only 23.8 years of age.
The access to clean drinking water and improved sanitation services are also important factors to consider in terms of quality of life. 91.4% of the population has improved access to clean drinking water while 8.6% still have unimproved access. When it comes to sanitation access, only 63.5% of the population has this available, while 36.5% still struggle.
To break this down even more specifically, the population of Pakistan grew, on average, at a rate of 3 percent per year from 1951 until the middle of the 1980’s decade. From the mid 1980’s until the year 2000, the growth of the population slowed down to about 2.6 percent per year; and from 2000 to 2012, to about 2 percent per year. The reason for this slow population increase may be that the country spent a lot of time and effort to slow down the population growth. As a result of these efforts, it is a lot poorer than what is was a long time ago. If it did not make any effort to slow down its population increase, then there would actually be 49.13 million MORE people in the country than the current reports. But on the other end, they would also be a lot richer as a country. In other words, Pakistan, had it not slowed down its population increase, would actually be 52 percent richer than it is right now. Obviously, history cannot be changed, so the efforts have been switched to educating its population instead.