The separation in 1947 of British India into the Muslim state of Pakistan (with two sections West and East) and largely Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved, and India and Pakistan fought two wars - in 1947-48 and 1965 - over the disputed Kashmir territory. A third war between these countries in 1971 - in which India capitalized on Islamabad's marginalization of Bengalis in Pakistani politics - resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. In response to Indian nuclear weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in 1998. The dispute over the state of Kashmir is ongoing, but discussions and confidence-building measures have led to decreased tensions since 2002.

Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north

30 00 N, 70 00 E

total: 803,940 sq km
land: 778,720 sq km
water: 25,220 sq km

total: 6,774 km
border countries: Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km

1,046 km

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

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

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

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen) 8,611 m

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

arable land: 24.44%
permanent crops: 0.84%
other: 74.72% (2005)

182,300 sq km (2003)

frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August)

water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes, and agricultural runoff; limited natural fresh water resources; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification

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

165,803,560 (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 39% (male 33,293,428/female 31,434,314)
15-64 years: 56.9% (male 48,214,298/female 46,062,933)
65 years and over: 4.1% (male 3,256,065/female 3,542,522) (2006 est.)

total: 19.8 years
male: 19.7 years
female: 20 years (2006 est.)

2.09% (2006 est.)

29.74 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

8.23 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

-0.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 70.45 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 70.84 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 70.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 63.39 years
male: 62.4 years
female: 64.44 years (2006 est.)

4 children born/woman (2006 est.)

0.1% (2001 est.)

74,000 (2001 est.)

4,900 (2003 est.)

degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and cutaneous leishmaniasis are high risks depending on location
animal contact disease: rabies (2005)

noun: Pakistani(s)
adjective: Pakistani

Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir (immigrants from India at the time of partition and their descendants)

Muslim 97% (Sunni 77%, Shi'a 20%), Christian, Hindu, and other 3%

Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official and lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8%

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 48.7%
male: 61.7%
female: 35.2% (2004 est.)

conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Pakistan
conventional short form: Pakistan
former: West Pakistan

federal republic

Islamabad

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

14 August 1947 (from UK)

Republic Day, 23 March (1956)

12 April 1973; suspended 5 July 1977, restored with amendments 30 December 1985; suspended 15 October 1999, restored in stages in 2002; amended 31 December 2003

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

18 years of age; universal; joint electorates and reserved parliamentary seats for women and non-Muslims

bicameral Parliament or Majlis-e-Shoora consists of the Senate (100 seats - formerly 87; members indirectly elected by provincial assemblies to serve six-year terms and the National Assembly (342 seats - formerly 217; 60 seats represent women; 10 seats represent minorities; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held in March 2006 (next to be held in March 2009); National Assembly - last held 10 October 2002 (next to be held in 2007)
election results: Senate results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PML 47, PPPP 9, MMA 20, MQM/A 6, PML/N 4, PML/F 1, PkMAP 3, ANP 2, PPP 3, JWP 1, BNP-Awami 1, BNP-Mengal 1, BNP/H 1, independents 1; National Assembly results - percent of votes by party - NA; seats by party - PML/Q 126, PPPP 81, MMA 63, PML/N 19, MQM/A 17, NA 16, PML/F 5, PML/J 3, PPP/S 2, BNP 1, JWP 1, PAT 1, PML/Z 1, PTI 1, MQM/H 1, PkMAP 1, independents 3

Supreme Court (justices appointed by the president); Federal Islamic or Shari'a Court

Pakistan, an impoverished and underdeveloped country, has suffered from decades of internal political disputes, low levels of foreign investment, and a costly, ongoing confrontation with neighboring India. However, IMF-approved government policies, bolstered by generous foreign assistance and renewed access to global markets since 2001, have generated solid macroeconomic recovery the last four years. The government has made substantial macroeconomic reforms since 2000, although progress on more politically sensitive reforms has slowed. For example, in the budget for fiscal year 2006, Islamabad did not impose taxes on the agriculture or real estate sectors, despite Pakistan's chronically low tax-to-GDP ratio. While long-term prospects remain uncertain, given Pakistan's low level of development, medium-term prospects for job creation and poverty reduction are the best in more than a decade. Islamabad has raised development spending from about 2% of GDP in the 1990s to 4% in 2003, a necessary step towards reversing the broad underdevelopment of its social sector. GDP growth, spurred by double-digit gains in industrial production over the past year, has become less dependent on agriculture, and remained above 7% in 2004 and 2005. Inflation remains the biggest threat to the economy, jumping to more than 9% in 2005. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank announced that they would provide US $1 billion each in aid to help Pakistan rebuild areas hit by the October 2005 earthquake in Kashmir. Foreign exchange reserves continued to reach new levels in 2005, supported by steady worker remittances. In the near term, growth probably cannot be sustained at the 7% level; however, massive international aid, increased government spending, lower taxes, and pay increases for government workers will help Pakistan maintain strong GDP growth over the longer term.

$393.4 billion (2005 est.)

$89.55 billion (2005 est.)

6.9% (2005 est.)

$2,400 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 21.6%
industry: 25.1%
services: 53.3% (2005 est.)

46.84 million
note: extensive export of labor, mostly to the Middle East, and use of child labor (2005 est.)

agriculture: 42%
industry: 20%
services: 38% (2004 est.)

6.6% plus substantial underemployment (2005 est.)

32% (FY00/01 est.)

lowest 10%: 4.1%
highest 10%: 27.6% (FY96/97)

41 (FY98/99)

9.2% (2005 est.)

15.3% of GDP (2005 est.)

revenues: $15.45 billion
expenditures: $20.07 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)

54.3% of GDP (2005 est.)

cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; milk, beef, mutton, eggs

textiles and apparel, food processing, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, paper products, fertilizer, shrimp

10.7% (2005 est.)

76.92 billion kWh (2003)

71.54 billion kWh (2003)

63,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

365,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

341.8 million bbl (2005 est.)

23.8 billion cu m (2003 est.)

23.8 billion cu m (2003 est.)

759.7 billion cu m (2005)

$-1.43 billion (2005 est.)

$14.85 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

textiles (garments, bed linen, cotton cloth, yarn), rice, leather goods, sports goods, chemicals, manufactures, carpets and rugs

US 23.5%, UAE 7.4%, UK 7.3%, Germany 5%, Hong Kong 4.4% (2004)

$21.26 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

petroleum, petroleum products, machinery, plastics, transportation equipment, edible oils, paper and paperboard, iron and steel, tea

Saudi Arabia 11.6%, UAE 10%, US 9.7%, China 8.4%, Japan 6.5%, Kuwait 5.6% (2004)

$11.71 billion (2005 est.)

$39.94 billion (2005 est.)

$2.4 billion (FY01/02)

Pakistani rupee (PKR)

1 July - 30 June

4,502,200 (2004)

5,022,900 (2004)

general assessment: the domestic system is mediocre, but improving; service is adequate for government and business use, in part because major businesses have established their own private systems; since 1988, the government has promoted investment in the national telecommunications system on a priority basis, significantly increasing network capacity; despite major improvements in trunk and urban systems, telecommunication services are still not readily available to the majority of the rural population
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, cellular, and satellite networks
international: country code - 92; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean); 3 operational international gateway exchanges (1 at Karachi and 2 at Islamabad); microwave radio relay to neighboring countries (1999)

AM 27, FM 1, shortwave 21 (1998)

22 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997)

.pk

38,309 (2005)

7.5 million (2005)

134 (2005)

total: 91
over 3,047 m: 13
2,438 to 3,047 m: 22
1,524 to 2,437 m: 32
914 to 1,523 m: 16
under 914 m: 8 (2005)

total: 43
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 12
under 914 m: 21 (2005)

18 (2005)

gas 9,945 km; oil 1,821 km (2004)

total: 8,163 km
broad gauge: 7,718 km 1.676-m gauge (293 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 445 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)

total: 254,410 km
paved: 152,646 km (including 367 km of expressways)
unpaved: 101,764 km (2003)

total: 14 ships (1000 GRT or over) 343,630 GRT/570,518 DWT
by type: cargo 10, petroleum tanker 4
registered in other countries: 12 (Belize 1, Comoros 2, North Korea 3, Malta 1, Nigeria 1, Panama 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2) (2005)

Karachi, Port Muhammad Bin Qasim

Army (includes National Guard), Navy (includes Marines), Air Force (2006)

various talks and confidence-building measures cautiously have begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, particularly since the October 2005 earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless remains the site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; in 2004, India and Pakistan instituted a cease-fire in the Kashmir, and in 2005 restored bus service across the highly militarized Line of Control; Pakistan has taken its dispute on the impact of India's building the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir to the World Bank for arbitration and in general the two states still dispute Indus River water sharing; to defuse tensions and prepare discussions on a maritime boundary, in 2004, India and Pakistan resurveyed a portion of the disputed the Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch; Pakistani maps continue to show the Junagadh claim in India's Gujarat State; by 2005, Pakistan, with UN assistance, had repatriated 2.3 million Afghan refugees and had undertaken a census to count the remaining million or more, many of whom remain at their own choosing; Pakistan has sent troops into remote tribal areas to control the border with Afghanistan and stem organized terrorist or other illegal cross-border activities; regular meetings with Afghan and Coalition allies aim to resolve periodic claims of boundary encroachments

refugees (country of origin): 960,041 (Afghanistan)
IDPs: undetermined (government strikes on Islamic militants in South Waziristan); 3 million (October 2005 earthquake) (2005)

opium poppy cultivation declined 58% to 3,147 hectares in 2005; federal and provincial authorities continue to conduct anti-poppy campaigns that force eradication - fines and arrests will take place if the ban on poppy cultivation is not observed; key transit point for Afghan drugs, including heroin, opium, morphine, and hashish, bound for Western markets, the Gulf States, and Africa; financial crimes related to drug trafficking, terrorism, corruption, and smuggling remain problems