General
Information
|
Total Land Area: |
796,096 km2 |
|
Land boundaries: |
6,774 km |
|
Coastline: |
1,046 km |
|
Capital: |
Islamabad |
|
Other Large
Cities: |
Karachi, Lahore,
Faisalabad |
|
Official
Language: |
English, Urdu |
|
National
Currency Unit: |
Pakistan Rupee (PKR) |
|
National Day: |
March 23 |
Location and
Geography
Pakistan is situated
at the crossroads of
the Middle East and
South Asia. It is
bordered by Iran and
Afghanistan in the
West, China in the
North-east, India in
the East, and the
Indian Ocean in the
South. There are six
major regions: the
North High
Mountainous Region,
the West Low
Mountainous Region,
the Balochistan
Plateau, the Potohar
Uplands, the Punjab
and the Sindh
Plains. As the
country is located
on a great landmass
in the North of the
Tropic of Cancer, it
has a continental
type of climate
characterised by
extreme variations
of temperature, both
seasonally and
daily. Very high
altitudes moderate
the climate in the
snow-covered
Northern mountains.
Demography
|
Population:
|
144.90 million
(2002) |
|
Crude Birth
Rate:
|
33 per thousand
people (2002) |
|
Crude Death
Rate:
|
8 per thousand
people (2002) |
|
Infant Mortality
Rate:
|
76 per thousand
(2002) |
|
Life Expectancy:
|
Male: 63 years,
Female: 65 years
(2002) |
|
Urban
Population:
|
34.0 percent
(2002) |
|
Adult Literacy:
|
51.60 percent
(2002) |
Economy
Pakistan’s economy
relies heavily on
agriculture which
employs half of the
workforce and
generates, directly
or indirectly, more
than half of the
export revenues. The
main agricultural
products are cotton,
wheat, rice,
sugarcane, fruits,
vegetables, milk,
beef, and eggs.
Husbandry provides
both domestically
consumed and
exported goods such
as meat and dairy
products, wool for
the carpet industry,
and hides and skins
for the leather
industry. Pakistan
is one of the major
cotton exporters in
Asia. Natural
resources include
land, extensive
natural gas
reserves, limited
crude oil, coal,
iron ore, copper,
salt and limestone.
Coal mining is one
of the country’s
oldest industries.
Major manufacturing
industries include
textiles, food
processing, cement,
sugar, electrical
appliances,
fertilisers, sports
equipment and
tobacco.
|
GDP at Current
Market Prices:
|
60864 million
US$ (2002) |
|
Per Capita GDP:
|
420 US$ (2002) |
|
Share of Sectors
in GDP:
|
23.0%
Agriculture,
23.0% Industry,
54.0% Services,
(2002) |
|
Total Exports:
|
9886 million US$
(2002) |
|
Total Imports:
|
11238 million
US$ (2002) |
|
Major Exports
Items: |
Cotton, cotton
textiles, rice,
leather and
carpets |
|
Major Imports
Items: |
Beverages,
manufactured
goods, machinery
and
transportation
equipment |
|
Major Trading
Partners: |
US, UAE, Saudi
Arabia, UK,
China and Kuwait |
|
