Pakistan: A Quick 10-Number Portrait

If you live in the United States, Pakistan is one of those places you never hear about unless a death-involving event occurs. It turns out there’s an actual country with people (a lot of them) trying to carve out a decent life. Here’s a numerical look.

 

240 million

An estimate of Pakistan’s population, making it the fifth-most populated country in the world (behind India, China, the United States, and Indonesia). Karachi is the largest city (and one of the largest cities in the world), serving as the nation’s financial capital. Lahore—home to the film industry affectionately known as Lollywood—is number two. The actual capital is Islamabad.

 

340,509 square miles

The total area of Pakistan, making it the 33rd-largest country in the world in that regard. For reference, that’s about 1.25 times the size of Texas.

 

4

The number of countries with which Pakistan shares a land border, namely India, China, Afghanistan, and Iran. Located on the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman, Pakistan also shares a maritime border with Oman. Here’s a map.

 

1947

The year Pakistan came into existence upon the divvying up of British India. (Obviously, the history of the region dates back thousands of years.) The event is celebrated on August 14, while India opts to throw its independence party on August 15.

 

1971

The year of an armed conflict that resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, thereafter known as Bangladesh.

 

96.5%

The proportion of the country that adheres to Islam, which is the state religion (explaining why the nation’s official name is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan). Hinduism (2.1%) and Christianity (1.3%) are the most sizable minority religions.

 

4 (Again)

The number of provinces in Pakistan, those being Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Also in the mix are the federal territory of Islamabad and two other territories—Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan—that are disputed with India but administered by Pakistan. Here’s that map again.

Regarding the provinces, borders have a loose correlation with some of the country’s major ethnic groups including Punjabis (Punjab), Pashtuns (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which abuts Afghanistan, also home to a large Pashtun population), Sindhis (Sindh), Saraikis (Punjab), and Balochs (Balochistan).

 

2

The number of official languages in Pakistan—English and Urdu. These serve as lingua francas, as the country is home to over 70 languages. Among the so-called regional languages, five—Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, and Balochi—are spoken in large numbers and correlate with the provinces/ethnicities above.

 

42

Pakistan’s position on a list of countries by nominal GDP. Of course, when expressed on a per-capita basis, the ranking plummets to 157.

 

1,864 miles

The approximate length of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a Chinese infrastructure project in Pakistan. Starting at Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea (in the province of Balochistan), the combined sea-and-land corridor gives China easy access to energy imports from the Middle East while helping to modernize Pakistan’s infrastructure and economy.

 

As a final point, one projection suggests that Pakistan will have the world’s sixth-largest economy by 2075. In other words, now is a reasonable time to start paying attention.