Pakistan

parliamentary with strong executive, federal republicIndependence 15 August 1947 (from UK

Pakistan as the 1991 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 71 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalIslamabad

Area803,940 km2

Populationas each edition published it

117.49 million July 1991 · 114.65m in 1990

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 2.87% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 19.8 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 57.11 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

6.6 children per woman 1991 · 6.7 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

109 deaths per 1,000 live births 1991 · 110 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $410 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 6.4% in 1993

Geography

11 fields

Total area

803,940km2

land area: 778,720 km2Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of California

Land boundaries

6,774km total

Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km

Coastline

1,046 km Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes

boundary with India;
Pashtun question with Afghanistan;
Baloch question with Afghanistan and Iran;
water sharing problems with upstream riparian India over the Indus

Climate

mostly hot, dry desert;
temperate in northwest;
arctic in north

Terrain

flat Indus plain in east;
mountains in north and northwest;
Balochistan plateau in west

Natural resources

land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited crude oil, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone

Land use

arable land 26%;
permanent crops NEGL%;
meadows and pastures 6%;
forest and woodland 4%;
other 64%;
includes irrigated 19%

Environment

frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west;
flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August);
deforestation;
soil erosion;
desertification;
water logging

Note

controls Khyber Pass and Malakand Pass, traditional invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent

People

14 fields

Population

117,490,278

(July 1991), growth rate 2.5% (1991)

Per 1,000 population(1991)

Birth

43Death

Literacy

35%

(male 47%, female 21%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality

noun--Pakistani(s); adjective--Pakistani

Ethnic divisions

Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir (immigrants from India and their descendents)

Religion

Muslim 97% (Sunni 77%, Shia 20%), Christian, Hindu, and other 3%

Language

Urdu and English (both official);
total spoken languages--Punjabi 64%, Sindhi 12%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu 7%, Balochi and other 9%;
English is lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries, but official policies are promoting its gradual replacement by Urdu

Labor force

28,900,000;
agriculture 54%, mining and manufacturing 13%, services 33%;
extensive export of labor (1987 est.)

Government

Parliamentary with strong executive, federal republic

18 fields

Senate, 87 seats, elected March 1991one dot, one seat

IJI 57Tribal Area Representatives (nonparty) 8PPP 5ANP 5JWP 4MQM 3PNP 2PKMP 1JUI 1independent 1

Type

parliamentary with strong executive, federal republic

Administrative divisions

4 provinces, 1 territory*, and 1 capital territory**;
Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas*, Islamabad Capital Territory**, North-West Frontier, Punjab, Sindh;
note--the Pakistani-administered portion of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region includes Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas

Independence

15 August 1947 (from UK; formerly West Pakistan)

Constitution

10 April 1973, suspended 5 July 1977, restored with amendments, 30 December 1985

Legal system

based on English common law with provisions to accommodate Pakistan's stature as an Islamic state; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday

Pakistan Day (proclamation of the republic), 23 March (1956)

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament (Mijlis-e-Shoora) consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or National Assembly

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, Federal Islamic (Shariat) Court Chief of State--President GHULAM ISHAQ Khan (since 13 December 1988);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Mian Nawaz SHARIF (since 6 November 1990);

Political parties and leaders

Islamic Democratic Alliance (Islami Jamuri Ittehad or IJI)--the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) led by Mohammed Khan JUNEJO is the main party in the IJI;
Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Benazir BHUTTO;
note--in September 1990 the PPP announced the formation of the People's Democratic Alliance (PDA), an electoral alliance including the following four parties--PPP, Solidarity Movement (Tehrik Istiqlal), Movement for the Implementation of Shia Jurisprudence (Tehrik-i-Nifaz Fiqh Jafariya or TNFJ), and the PML (Malik faction);
Muhajir Qaumi Movement (MQM), Altaf HUSSAIN;
Awami National Party (ANP), Khan Abdul Wali KHAN;
Jamiat-ul-Ulema-i-Islam (JUI), Fazlur RAHMAN;
Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), Mohammad Akbar Khan BUGTI;
Pakistan National Party (PNP), Mir Ghaus Bakhsh BIZENJO;
Pakistan Khawa Milli Party (PKMP), leader NA;
Assembly of Pakistani Clergy (Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan or JUP), Maulana Shah Ahmed NOORANI;
Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Qazi Hussain AHMED

Suffrage

universal at age 21 President--last held on 12 December 1988 (next to be held December 1993);
results--Ghulam Ishaq KHAN was elected by Parliament and the four provincial assemblies;
Senate--last held March 1991 (next to be held March 1994);
results--elected by provincial assemblies;
seats--(87 total) IJI 57, Tribal Area Representatives (nonparty) 8, PPP 5, ANP 5, JWP 4, MQM 3, PNP 2, PKMP 1, JUI 1, independent 1;
National Assembly--last held on 24 October 1990 (next to be held by October 1995);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(217 total) IJI 107, PDA 45, MQM 15, ANP 6, JUI 6, JWP 2, PNP 2, PKMP 1, independent 14, religious minorities 10, Tribal Area Representatives (nonparty) 8, vacant 1

Communists

the Communist party is officially banned but is allowed to operate openly

Other political or pressure groups

military remains dominant political force; ulema (clergy), industrialists, and small merchants also influential

AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Najmuddin SHAIKH;
Chancery at 2315 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 939-6200;
there is a Pakistani Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador Robert B. OAKLEY;
Embassy at Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad (mailing address is P. O. Box 1048, Islamabad or APO New York 09614);
telephone [92] (51) 826161 through 79;
there are US Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore, and a Consulate in Peshawar

Flag

green with a vertical white band 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

Economy

Pakistan is a poor Third World country faced with the usual problems of rapidly increasing population, sizable government deficits, and heavy dependence on foreign aid.

17 fields

Inflation, consumer prices

5.7%

(FY90)

Unemployment rate

10%

(FY91 est.)

External debt

$20.1billion

(1990 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$5.6 billionExpenditures

$10.2 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $2.7 billion (FY91 est.)

Overview

Pakistan is a poor Third World country faced with the usual problems of rapidly increasing population, sizable government deficits, and heavy dependence on foreign aid. In addition, the economy must support a large military establishment and provide for the needs of 4 million Afghan refugees.

A real economic growth rate averaging 5-6% in recent years has enabled the country to cope with these problems. Almost all agriculture and small-scale industry is in private hands, and the government seeks to privatize a portion of the large-scale industrial enterprises now publicly owned.

In December 1988, Pakistan signed a three-year economic reform agreement with the IMF, which provides for a reduction in the government deficit and a liberalization of trade in return for further IMF financial support. Late in 1990, the IMF suspended assistance to Pakistan because the government failed to follow through on deficit reforms.

Pakistan almost certainly will make little headway on raising living standards for its rapidly expanding population; at the current rate of growth, population would double in 29 years.

GNP

$43.3 billion, per capita $380; real growth rate 5.0% (FY90 est.)

Exports

$4.8 billion (f.o.b., FY90);
commodities--rice, cotton, textiles, clothing;
partners--EC 31%, Japan 11.6%, US 11.5% (FY89)

Imports

$6.5 billion (f.o.b., FY90);
commodities--petroleum, petroleum products, machinery, transportation equipment, vegetable oils, animal fats, chemicals;
partners--EC 26%, US 16%, Japan 14% (FY89)

Industrial production

growth rate 7.5% (FY91 est.); accounts for almost 20% of GNP

Electricity

7,575,000 kW capacity; 29,300 million kWh produced, 270 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

textiles, food processing, beverages, petroleum products, construction materials, clothing, paper products, international finance, shrimp

Agriculture

25% of GDP, over 50% of labor force;
world's largest contiguous irrigation system;
major crops--cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, and vegetables;
livestock products--milk, beef, mutton, eggs;
self-sufficient in food grain

Illicit drugs

illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; government eradication efforts on poppy cultivation of limited success

Economic aid

(including Bangladesh before 1972) US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $4.5 billion authorized (excluding what is now Bangladesh);
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-88), $8.2 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.3 billion;
Communist countries (1970-89), $3.2 billion

Currency

Pakistani rupee (plural--rupees); 1 Pakistani rupee (PRe) = 100 paisa

Exchange rates

Pakistani rupees (PRs) per US$1--22.072 (January 1991), 21.707 (1990), 20.541 (1989), 18.003 (1988), 17.399 (1987), 16.648 (1986), 15.928 (1985)

Fiscal year

1 July-30 June

Communications

8 fields

Merchant marine, 29 ships by typeone square, one ship

passenger-cargo 4cargo 24petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 129 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 339,855 GRT/500,627 DWT

Airports, 115 total, 105 usable

permanent-surface runways

75runways over 3,659 m

1runways 2,440-3,659 m

31runways 1,220-2,439 m

Networkskm

Highways

101,315 (1985)Railroads

8,773 (1985)Pipelines

250 (1987)

Highways: (1987); 40,155 km paved, 23,000 km gravel, 29,000 km improved earth, and 9,160 km unimproved earth or sand tracks · Railroads: ; 7,718 km broad gauge, 445 km meter gauge, and 610 km narrow gauge; 1,037 km broad-gauge double track; 286 km electrified; all government owned · Pipelines: ; 4,044 km natural gas; 885 km refined products

Railroads

8,773 km total;
7,718 km broad gauge, 445 km meter gauge, and 610 km narrow gauge;
1,037 km broad-gauge double track;
286 km electrified;
all government owned (1985)

good international radiocommunication service over microwave and INTELSAT satellite;
domestic radio communications poor;
broadcast service good;
813,000 telephones (1990);
stations--19 AM, 8 FM, 29 TV;
earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT