Country Facts - Pakistan

The People

Nationality

Pakistani(s)

Ethnic Composition

Punjabi, Sindhi, Pathan, Baloch, Muhajir (i.e., Urdu-speaking immigrants from India and their descendants).

Religious Composition

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

Languages Spoken

Punjabi	48%
Sindhi	12%
Siraiki*	10%
Pashtu	8%
Urdu**	8%
English***	8%
Balochi	3%
Hindko	2%
Brahui	1%

*(Punjabi variant)
**(official)
***(official of Pakistani elite and most government ministries, Burushaski, and other))

Education and Literacy

Relatively little funding is devoted to education programs. Overall adult literacy is at around 42.7 percent. For males it is 55.3 percent and for females 29 percent.

Labor Force

Total: 40.4 million (2000)

By occupation:

Agriculture	44%
Industry	17%
Services	39%

Note: extensive export of labor, mostly to the Middle East, and use of child labor (2000)

Geography

Land Mass Total

310,402 sq mi (803,940 sq km)

Land

300,665 sq mi (778,720 sq km)

Water

9,737 sq mi (25,220 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 4,209 mi (6,774 km)
Border countries: Afghanistan 1,509 mi (2,430 km), China 324 mi (523 km), India 1,809 mi (2,912 km), Iran 564 mi (909 km)

Coastline

5,350 mi (1,046 km)

Maritime claim

Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate/Weather

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.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Indian Ocean 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen) 28,251 ft (8,611 m)

Natural Resources

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

Land use

Arable land	28%
Permanent crops	1%
Other	71%

(1998)

Natural hazards

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

Environment - current issues

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

Geography Note

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

Demographics

Population

147,663,429 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	39.9%	Male: 30,321,217	Female: 28,581,334
15-64 years:	56%	Male: 42,254,996	Female: 40,392,092
65 years and over:	4.1%	Male: 2,984,391	Female: 3,129,399

(2002)

Growth Rate

2.06% (2002)

Life Expectancy

61.82 years (2002)
female: 62.73 years
male: 60.96 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$2,100 (2001)

Infant Mortality

78.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

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:	0.95 male(s)/female
Total population:	1.05 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

-0.79 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Pakistan, an impoverished and underdeveloped country, suffers from internal political disputes, lack of foreign investment, and a costly confrontation with neighboring India. Pakistan's economic prospects, marred by poor human development indicators, low levels of foreign investment, and reliance on international creditors for hard currency inflows, were nonetheless on an upswing through most of 2001. The Musharraf government made significant inroads in macroeconomic reform - it completed an IMF short-term loan program for the first time and improved its standing with international creditors by increasing revenue collection and restraining the fiscal deficit in the 2001/02 budget. While Pakistan has capitalized on its international standing after the September 11th terrorist attacks on the U.S. by garnering substantial assistance from abroad - including $1.3 billion in IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility aid and $12.5 billion in Paris Club debt rescheduling - long-term prospects remain uncertain. GDP growth will continue to hinge on crop performance; dependence on foreign oil leaves the import bill vulnerable to fluctuating oil prices; and foreign and domestic investors remain wary of committing to projects in Pakistan. Pakistani trade levels - already in decline due to the global economic downturn - worsened in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. It is widely accepted that Pakistan will receive substantial economic aid for its assistance to the U.S. in counter-terrorism and the pursuit of Al Qaeda militants. This aid, however, will not put an immediate dent into Pakistan's high unemployment figures (10%+) or quickly repair the gravely decayed infrastructure.

Unemployment

6.3% (2001)

Inflation Rate

4% (2001)

Industries

Textiles, food processing, beverages, construction materials, clothing, paper products, shrimp.

Exports

US$8.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$9.2 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$299 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

US 24.8%, UK 6.5%, UAE 6.2%, Hong Kong 5.9%, Germany 5.6%, (2000)

Top Import Partners

Kuwait 11.7%, UAE 10.7%, Saudi Arabia 10.5%, US 6%, Japan 5.6% (2000)

Top Exports

Textiles (garments, cotton cloth, and yarn), rice, other agricultural products

Top Imports

Machinery, petroleum, petroleum products, chemicals, transportation equipment, edible oils, grains, pulses, flour

Debt - external

US$31.5 billion (2001)

Economic aid

US$2 billion (FY99/00)

Fiscal Year:

July 1 to June 30

Business Workweek

	Saturday - Thursday (Islamic workweek)	Friday
Offices	Sunday to Thursday 9a.m. to 4p.m.	Closed
Retail	9a.m. to 7p.m.	Closed
Banks	Monday to Saturday 9a.m. to 1:30p.m.	9a.m. to noon.
Government	Sunday to Thursday 8:30a.m. to 2p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Festival of Sacrifice (Eid Al Adha)¹	February 12	February 2	January 21
Islamic New Year²	March 5	February 22	February 10
Ashoora³	March 14	March 2	February 19
Good Friday	April 18	April 9	March 25
Easter*¹	April 20	April 11	March 27
Easter Monday	April 21	April 12	March 28
Labor Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad (Mawlid an Nabi)*²	May 14	May 2	April 21
Independence Day	August 14	August 14	August 14
Defence of Pakistan Day	September 6	September 6	September 6
Anniversary of the Death of Quaid-i-Azam	September 11	September 11	September 11
Ascent of the Prophet (Lailat al Miraj, Islamic Observance)*³	September 24	September 12	September 1
Start of Ramadan**¹	October 27	October 15	October 4
End of Ramadan (Eid Al Fatr)**²	November 26	November 14	November 3
Birthday of Quaid-i-Azam	December 25	December 25	December 25
Christmas Day**³	December 25	December 25	December 25

¹	Culmination of the Haj or Holy Pilgrimage.
²	The lunar Islamic Hijra calendar is made up of 12 months, each month alternating between 29 and 30 days per month, culminating in a total of 354 days per year. The Hijra calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and annually moves 11 days backward through the seasons.
³	Shi'a holiday celebrating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.
*¹	Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
*²	The Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the twelfth day in the month of Rabi'l of the Islamic calendar.
*³	The Ascent of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the twenty-seventh day in the month of Rajab of the Islamic calendar.
**¹	Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days. Dates for the start of Ramadan will vary from country to country, depending on the first appearance of the moon.
**²	Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for 3 days.
**³	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press