Demographics of Pakistan
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Population Data
Pakistan-demography.png
Geographic Distribution
The majority of southern Pakistan's population lives along the Indus River. In the northern half, most of the population lives about an arc formed by the cities of Faisalabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi/Islamabad, and Peshawar.
Population and Growth
- Population: Over 154 million in 2004
- Growth rate: 1.96% (2004 est.)
- Birth rate: 33.11 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
- Death rate: 9.51 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
- Net migration rate: -0.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Structure
Age structure
- 0-14 years: 41%(male 29,880,574; female 28,145,247)
- 15-64 years: 55% (male 39,751,222; female 37,981,378)
- 65 years and over: 4% (male 2,856,305; female 2,939,049) (2000 est.)
Gender Ratios
- 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: 0.98 male(s)/female
- total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Human Development
Mortality and Life Expectancy
- Infant mortality rate: 82.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
- Life expectancy at birth:
- total population: 61.06 years
- male: 60.27 years
- female: 61.91 years (2000 est.)
Fertility
- Total fertility rate: 4.56 children born/woman (2000 est.)
- Fertility decline rate: 1.8 children per woman per decade (2nd fastest in world, Feeney and Alam, 2003 (http://www.gfeeney.com/pubs/2003-pakistan-fertility-2/2003-pakistan-fertility-2.pdf))
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Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write.
- In total population: 50% (provisional 2004 estimate)
Nationality and Ethnicity
Nationality
- Noun: Pakistani(s)
- Adjective: Pakistani
Ethnic groups
Pakistan's ethnic diversity is obvious and yet accurate numbers have been elusive. Rough estimates vary, but the consensus is that the Punjabis are by far the largest group, and that Pukhtuns (also known as Pashtuns, especially in Balochistan, and commonly called Pathans in non-Pakhtun areas) and Sindhis are the next two largest groups. The Punjabi population in Pakistan is estimated to be somewhere between 48% to about 65% of Pakistan's population. Punjabis dominate the Pakistani military and police as well as the government. The other main ethnic groups include the following: Baloch, Muhajir (immigrants from India at the time of partition and their descendants), Brahui, Kashmiri, and the various peoples of the Northern Areas. Muhajirs are estimated to be about 10% of population. In addition, a large number of Afghan refugees came to Pakistan during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and it is estimated that over three million remain, with a large proportion settling in the country.
Religions
Muslim 97% (Sunni 77%, Shiite 20%), Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and other 3%
Languages
Prevalence
As a first language, Pakistanis speak: Punjabi 48%, Pashtu 15%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official and lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and others 1%.
The majority of Pakistanis can speak or understand two or more languages.
Major Languages
The official language of Pakistan is English. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca, although it is spoken as a first language by only 8% of the population. 48% speak Punjabi as a first language, 15% Pushto, and 29% other languages such as (Sindhi, Seraiki, Baloch, Hindko and Brahui.)
English
English is the official language, being widely used within the government, by the civil service and the officer ranks of the military. Pakistan's Constitution and laws are written in English. Many schools, and nearly all colleges and universities, use English as the medium of instruction.
Urdu
Urdu is the national language, the lingua franca of the people. It is widely used, both formally and informally, for personal letters as well as public literature, in the literary sphere and in the popular media. It is a required subject of study in all primary and secondary schools. It is the first language of most Muhajirs.
Punjabi
Spoken as a first language by 48% of Pakistanis, mostly in Punjab, Pakistan. It is an important language since Punjabi is spoken by majority of Pakistanis as first language. However, Punjabi does not have any official status in Pakistan and is believed by many people to be in state of decline.
Pashto
Spoken as a first language by 15% of Pakistanis, mostly in the North-West Frontier Province and in Baluchistan as well as by immigrants to the eastern provinces who are often not counted due to census irregularities. Additionally, Afghan refugees are often outside the census count, but appear to be largely Pashto speakers from Afghanistan.
Sindhi
Spoken as a first language by 12% of Pakistanis, mostly in Sindh.
Siraiki
Related to Punjabi (See Classification, below) Spoken as a first language by 10% of Pakistanis, mostly in southern districts of Punjab, Pakistan (see Seraikis).
Balochi
Spoken as a first language by 3% of Pakistanis, mostly in Balochistan.
Other Languages
Numerous other languages are spoken by relatively small numbers of people, especially in some of the more remote and isolated places in, for example, the Northern Areas of Pakistan [1] (http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Pakistan).
Classification
Indo-European
Nearly all of Pakistan's languages are Indo-European languages.
Lahnda Dialects
Punjabi, Hindko and Seraiki, all mutually intelligible, are classified by linguists as dialects of Lahnda [2] (http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=763), also spelled as Lehnda. These are also, to a lesser extent, mutually intelligible with Urdu. Added together, speakers of these mutually-intelligible languages make up nearly two-thirds of Pakistan's population.
Iranian Family of Languages
Pashto and Balochi are classified as members of the Iranian family of languages [3] (http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=946).
Elamo-Dravidian
Brahui is believed to have Elamo-Dravidian origins.
External Links
- Statistics Division (http://www.pakistan.gov.pk/statistics-division/index.jsp)
References
- See also : Pakistan, Statistics Division