Pakistan

Pakistan is the world's seventh most populous country with 138 million in an area about the size of Texas and Louisiana combined. Over three quarters of the population is Sunni Muslim (most of the remainder is Shiite) and the country was originally designed as a Islamic state upon independence from the British in 1947.

Prior to 1971, Pakistan as we know it today was just one half of Pakistan, known as West Pakistan. East Pakistan was separated from the West by India and about 1000 miles. East Pakistan revolted against West and became Bangladesh, proving that a fragmented state leaves a lot to be desired.

The Pakistan of today has problems with most of its neighbors. Afghanistan, to the west, sent thousands of refugees into Pakistan during the decade following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Problems with India in the east, and to a lesser extent China in the north, are the result of the Kashmir region. Officially known as Jammu-Kashmir, the region is claimed by both India and Pakistan because of its mixed Muslim and Hindu (India is a Hindu country) population. Three wars have been fought over the region and almost occurred a fourth time in 1990. Military presence by Pakistan, India, and China is high and the region could again spark a war. Most maps of the region show a boundary between the countries involved but the territory is far from being divided.

From the Indus River delta and the coast of the Arabian sea to the peaks of the Karakoram Range (including the world's second highest peak, K-2), Pakistan has a diverse topography. Climate varies as inland areas can get as hot as 122° F (50° C) while the mountains drop to well below freezing. Leading products include rice, cotton, and heroin (the drug production is not condoned by the government). Literacy is just under 40%.

Pakistan has a male-dominated society and has a low ratio of females to males (105 males to every 100 females). About 70% of the children in primary school are male. Population growth is high at about 2.4% natural increase per year, indicating a doubling of the population to 276 million by 2030! The average woman has 4.9 children in her lifetime. Life expectancy from birth is low, about 59 years. The Islamic Republic has strict punishments for law breakers, including the death penalty for blasphemy.

The capital was moved from the country's port city of Karachi to an inland location at Islamabad. This "forward" capital, located to the south of Kashmir, represents a push by the country towards the disputed area. The country, which has a population density of about 400 people per square mile, is divided into four provinces (and two territories): Baluchistan in the southwest, Punjab in the east (both India and Pakistan have a Punjab region), Sind in the southeast, and the North-West Frontier in the northwest.

For more information, visit the Maps and Geography of Pakistan page, which is part of this site's online World Atlas.

Public domain map and flag from the CIA World Factbook.

Subscribe to the weekly Geography Newsletter to stay updated about this site.

Discuss in my forum