Demographics of Pakistan

Pakistan has an estimated population of over 162.4 million inhabitants in 2005 and a relatively high growth rate that has, however, been showing signs of slowing down. Dramatic social changes have led to rapid urbanization and the emergence of mega cities that correlates with a global trend sometimes referred to as social globalization. Pakistan has a multicultural society and hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world as well as a very young population.

The Pakistan's population is estimated to be over 166 million in 2006.

Population data

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, Gujranwala, Sialkot and Peshawar.

Population and growth

• Population: 162,400,000 (July 2005 est.)
• Growth rate: 2.03% (2005 est.)
• Birth rate: 30.42 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
• Death rate: 8.45 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
• Net migration rate: -1.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Structure

Age structure

• 0-14 years: 39.6%(male 33,104,311; female 31,244,297)
• 15-64 years: 56.3% (male 46,759,333; female 44,685,828)
• 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 3,189,122; female 3,437,055) (2005 est.)

Gender ratios

• Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
• under 15 years: 1.060 male(s)/female
• 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
• total population: 1.056 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Human development

Mortality and life expectancy

• Infant mortality rate: 72.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
• Life expectancy at birth:
  • total population: 63 years
  • male: 62.04 years
  • female: 64.01 years (2005 est.)

Fertility

• Total fertility rate: 4.14 children born/woman (2005 est.)
• Fertility decline rate: 1.8 children per woman per decade (2nd fastest in world, Feeney and Alam, 2003)

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write.

• total population: 45.7% (2003 est.)
• male: 59.8%
• female: 30.6%

Nationality and ethnicity

Nationality

• Noun: Pakistani(s)
• Adjective: Pakistani

Ethnic groups

Pakistan's ethnic diversity is obvious and yet accurate numbers have been elusive. Pakistan's census and rough estimates vary, but the consensus is that the Punjabis are by far the largest group, and that Pukhtuns (also known as Pashtuns) and Sindhis are the next two largest groups. [1] [2] The Punjabi population is estimated to comprise 44.15% of the national total. The Pashtuns are the 2nd largest group at roughly 15.42% followed by Sindhis at 14.1%. Seraikis, a group seen as transitional between Punjabis and Sindhis, make up 10.53% of the population. The remaining groups that comprise large percentages include the Muhajirs at 7.57% and the Balochis at 3.57%. The other main ethnic groups include the following: Brahui, Kashmiri, Hindko Pathans, and the various peoples of the Northern Areas who together total roughly 4.66% of the total population.

In addition, over 5 million [Afghanistan|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 permanently in Pakistan. If added to the census, Afghan refugees would boost the percentage of the Pashtun and 'others' categories.

Religions

Census data indicates that over 98% of the population are Muslims. The Muslims are divided into different sects which are called schools of jurisprudence i.e. 'Maktab-e-Fikr' (School of Thought) in Urdu. Nearly 80% of Pakistani Muslims are Sunni Muslims and 20% are Shi'a Muslims. The nearly all Pakistani Sunni Muslims belong to Hanafi school with a small Hanbali school represented by Wahabis and Ahle Hadith. The Hanafi school is divided into Barelvis and Deobandis schools. While majority of Pakistani Shia Muslims belong to Ithna 'ashariyah school with significant minority of Nizari Khoja Ismailis (Aga Khanis) and a small Mustaali Dawoodi Bohra schools. By one estimate, in Pakistan, Muslims are divided into following schools: the Barelvis 48%, Deobandis 25%, Ithna Ashari 19%, Ahle Hadith 4%, Ismailis 1%, Bohras 0.25%, and other smaller sects. The Ahle-e-Hadith are part of Hanbali school. Nearly 65% of the total seminaries (Madrassah) are run by Deobandis, 25 per cent by the Barelvis, six percent by the Ahle Hadith and three percent by various Shia organizations. Zikris are considered to be a heretical sect by mainstream Muslims.

There are small non-Muslim religious groups: Christians 1%, Hindus, Sikhs, Ahmadis, Buddhists, Parsis, Bahais and others 1%.

See Also: Islam in Pakistan, Christianity in Pakistan, Hinduism in Pakistan, Sikhism in Pakistan

Languages

Prevalence

According to the census, Pakistanis identified the following languages as their mother tongues [figures rounded to nearest percent]: Punjabi 44%, Pashto 15%, Sindhi 14%, Siraiki 11%, Urdu 8%, Balochi 4%, others 4%

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 approximately 8% of the population. ~44% speak Punjabi as a first language, 15% Pashto, and 31% other languages such as ( Sindhi, Siraiki, Balochi, 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 ~44% of Pakistanis, mostly in Punjab, Pakistan as well as by a large number of people in Karachi. It is an important language since Punjabi is spoken by about half of Pakistanis. However, Punjabi does not have any official status in Pakistan. The exact numbers of Punjabi speakers in Pakistan is hard to find since there are many dialects/languages, such as Seraiki, which some regard as part of Punjabi and others regard as separate language.

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 14% of Pakistanis, mostly in Sindh.

Seraiki

Related to Punjabi (See Classification, below) Spoken as a first language by 11% of Pakistanis, mostly in the Southern districts of Punjab, Pakistan (see Seraikis).

Balochi

Spoken as a first language by 4% 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 [3].

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 [4], 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. [5] If combined, Iranian peoples who speak Pashto, Balochi, Dari (Afghan refugees speak both Pashto and Afghan Persian dialect of Dari), Farsi, and Wakhi comprise over 1/5 of the population of Pakistan.

Dravidian

Brahui belongs to the Dravidian language family.