Pakistan overview:



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Pakistan overview:

Pakistan Overview

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Capital	Islamabad
Largest cities	Karachi, 11,819,000 (metro area), 9,339,023 (city proper); Lahore, 5,756,100; Faisalabad (Lyallpur), 2,247,700; Rawalpindi, 1,598,600; Gujranwala, 1,384,100
Land area	300,664 sq mi (778,720 sq km); total area: 310,401 sq mi (803,940 sq km)
Current President	Pervez Musharraf
Population	169,270,617 (growth rate: 2.0%); birth rate: 29.1/1000; infant mortality rate: 68.5/1000; life expectancy: 63.8; density per sq mi: 563

Monetary unit

Pakistan rupee

Climate

4 Seasons, dry desert, temperate in northwest; arctic in north.

Terrain

Flat Indus plain in east, mountains in north and northwest, Balochistan plateau in west and desert in south.

Administrative Divisions

4 provinces (Punjab, Sindh, NWFP, Balochistan)
Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT)
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)
Disputed Jammu & Kashmir region includes Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas

Religions

Islam 97% (Sunni 77%, Shiite 20%); Christian, Hindu, and other 3%

Geography

Pakistan is situated in the western part of the Indian subcontinent, with Afghanistan and Iran on the west, India on the east, and the Arabian Sea on the south. The name Pakistan is derived from the Urdu words Pak (meaning pure) and stan (meaning country)...

History

Pakistan was one of the two original successor states to British India, which was partitioned along religious lines in 1947. For almost 25 years following independence, it consisted of two separate regions, East and West Pakistan, but now it is made up only of the western sector. Both India and Pakistan have laid claim to the Kashmir region; this territorial dispute led to war in 1949, 1965, 1971, and 1999, and remains unresolved today...

Economy

GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $384.9 billion; per capita $2,400. Real growth rate: 7.8%. Inflation: 9.2%. Unemployment: 6.6% plus substantial underemployment. Arable land: 25%. Agriculture: cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; milk, beef, mutton, eggs. Labor force: 46.84 million; note: extensive export of labor, mostly to the Middle East, and use of child labor; agriculture 42%, industry 20%, services 38% (2004 est.). Industries: textiles and apparel, food processing, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, paper products, fertilizer, shrimp. Natural resources: land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited petroleum, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone. Exports: $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. Imports: $14.01 billion (f.o.b., 2004 est.): petroleum, petroleum products, machinery, plastics, transportation equipment, edible oils, paper and paperboard, iron and steel, tea. Major trading partners: U.S., UAE, UK, Germany, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, Kuwait (2004).