Pakistan
Official Country Name
Pakistan
Pakistan Overview
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.
Pakistan Economy
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 five years. The government has made substantial macroeconomic reforms since 2000, most notably privatizing the banking sector. Poverty levels have decreased by 10 percent since 2001, and Islamabad has steadily raised development spending in recent years, including a 52-percent real increase in the budget allocation for development in fiscal year 2007, a necessary step toward reversing the broad underdevelopment of its social sector. The fiscal deficit - the result of chronically low tax collection and increased spending, including reconstruction costs from the October 2005 earthquake - appears manageable for now. GDP growth, spurred by gains in the industrial and service sectors, remained in the 6-8% range in 2004-06. Inflation remains the biggest threat to the economy, jumping to more than 9% in 2005 before easing to 7.9% in 2006. The central bank is pursuing tighter monetary policy - raising interest rates in 2006 - while trying to preserve growth. Foreign exchange reserves are bolstered by steady worker remittances, but a growing current account deficit - driven by a widening trade gap as import growth outstrips export expansion - could draw down reserves and dampen GDP growth in the medium term.
Pakistan Location
Pakistan is located in Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north
Region
Pakistan is located in Asia
Pakistan Population
Pakistan has population of 165,803,560 (July 2006 est.)
Pakistan Climate
Pakistan has mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north
Pakistan Terrain
flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and northwest; Balochistan plateau in west
Pakistan Natural Resources
land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited petroleum, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone
Ethnic Groups in Pakistan
Pakistan has the following ethnic groups - Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir (immigrants from India at the time of partition and their descendants)
Pakistan Religions
Muslim 97% (Sunni 77%, Shi'a 20%), other (includes Christian and Hindu) 3%
Pakistan Languages
Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official; lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski and other 8%
Pakistan Capital
Pakistan capital is Islamabad
Pakistan Currency
Pakistan currency is Pakistani rupee
Map of Pakistan
