Pakistan

federal parliamentary republic

name: Islamabad geographic coordinates: 33 41 N, 73 03 E time difference: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name means "city of Islam" and derives from the Arabic islam , referring to the Islamic faith, and the Persian suffix -abad , meaning "inhabited place" or "city"

chief of state: President Asif Ali ZARDARI (since 10 March 2024) head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz SHARIF (since 3 March 2024) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister election/appointment process: president indirectly elected for a 5-year term (limited to 2 consecutive terms) by the Electoral College, which consists of members of the Senate, National Assembly, and provincial assemblies; prime minister elected for a 5-year term by the National Assembly most recent election date: 9 March 2024 election results: 2024: Asif Ali ZARDARI elected president; National Assembly vote - Asif Ali ZARDARI (PPP) 411 votes, Mehmood Khan ACHAKZALI (PMAP) 181 votes; Shehbaz SHARIF elected prime minister; National Assembly vote - Shehbaz SHARIF (PML-N) 201, Omar AYUB (PTI) 92 expected date of next election: 2029

legislature name: Parliament (Majlis-E-Shoora) legislative structure: bicameral

highest court(s): Supreme Court of Pakistan (consists of the chief justice and 16 judges) judge selection and term of office: justices nominated by an 8-member parliamentary committee on the recommendation of the Judicial Commission, a 9-member body of judges and other judicial professionals, and appointed by the president; justices can serve until age 65 subordinate courts: High Courts; Federal Shariat Court; provincial and district civil and criminal courts; specialized courts for issues, such as taxation, banking, and customs

history: several previous; latest endorsed 12 April 1973, passed 19 April 1973, entered into force 14 August 1973 (suspended and restored several times) amendment process: proposed by the Senate or by the National Assembly; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of both houses

ADB, AIIB, ARF, ASEAN (sectoral dialogue partner), C, CERN (associate member), CICA, CP, D-8, ECO, FAO, G-11, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURCAT, MINURSO, MINUSCA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, SCO, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNISFA, UNMISS, UNOOSA, UNSOS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

2.5% of GDP (2024 est.) 3% of GDP (2023 est.) 4% of GDP (2022 est.) 4% of GDP (2021 est.) 4% of GDP (2020 est.)

Pakistan Armed Forces: Pakistan Army (includes National Guard), Pakistan Navy (includes Pakistan Marines, Pakistan Maritime Security Agency), Pakistan Air Force Ministry of Interior: Frontier Constabulary, Frontier Corps, National Police, Pakistan Coast Guard, Punjab (Pakistan) Rangers, Sindh (Pakistan) Rangers (2025) note: the National Guard is a paramilitary force and one of the Army's reserve forces; other Army reserves include the Pakistan Army Reserve, the Frontier Corps, and the Pakistan Rangers

16-28 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; lower and upper age limits vary by military branch, position, and role; personnel cannot be deployed for combat until age 18 (2025)

the Pakistan military is responsible for external defense but also has a domestic security role; its chief external focus is India; the military is the lead security agency in many areas of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and has for decades conducted operations against various internal militant groups; it is also one of the longest serving and largest contributors to UN peacekeeping missions; China is its closest security partner the military operates largely independently and without effective civilian oversight; it has ruled the country for more than 30 years since independence in 1947 and continues to play a significant role in Pakistan's political arena; it also has a large stake in the country s economic sector and is involved in a diverse array of commercial activities, including banking, construction of public projects, employment services, energy and power generation, fertilizer, food, housing, real estate, and security services Pakistan has fought four wars and several skirmishes with India; three of the wars have been over the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir, the status of which has been unsettled since the UK's 1947 withdrawal and the partition and independence of India and Pakistan; a fragile cease-fire was reached in 2003, revised in 2018, and reaffirmed in 2021, although the militarized Line of Control which serves as the border remains contested, and India has accused Pakistan of backing armed separatists and terrorist organizations in the territory New Delhi controls; in the Spring of 2025, Indian held Pakistan responsible for a terrorist attack in India-controlled Kashmir and retaliated, sparking a brief cross-border conflict involving aircraft, artillery, drone, and missile strikes the Kashmir dispute also includes the Siachen Glacier, located in the Karakoram Mountain Range, which was seized by India in 1984 with Pakistan attempting to retake the area several times between 1985 and 1995; despite the 2003 cease-fire, both sides continue to maintain a permanent military presence there with outposts at altitudes above 20,000 feet (over 6,000 meters) where most casualties are due to extreme weather and the hazards of operating in the high mountain terrain of the world s highest conflict, including avalanches, exposure, and altitude sickness (2025)

1,400 Central African Republic (MINUSCA); 300 MONUSCO; 300 South Sudan (UNMISS); 575 Sudan (UNISFA) (2025)

$1.39 trillion (2024 est.) $1.346 trillion (2023 est.) $1.347 trillion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$5,500 (2024 est.) $5,400 (2023 est.) $5,500 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

3.2% (2024 est.) 0% (2023 est.) 4.8% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

12.6% (2024 est.) 30.8% (2023 est.) 19.9% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

67.6% of GDP (2016 est.)

$40.219 billion (2024 est.) $36.215 billion (2023 est.) $38.967 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$66.844 billion (2024 est.) $58.069 billion (2023 est.) $76.594 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

5.5% (2024 est.) 5.5% (2023 est.) 5.5% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $40.774 billion (2015 est.) expenditures: $49.558 billion (2015 est.) note: central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

textiles and apparel, food processing, pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments, construction materials, paper products, fertilizer, shrimp

sugarcane, bison milk, wheat, milk, rice, maize, potatoes, cotton, mangoes/guavas, chicken (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 257,047,044 (2025 est.) male: 130,727,015 female: 126,320,029

1.82% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 34.4% (male 44,330,669/female 42,529,007) 15-64 years: 60.7% (male 78,321,834/female 74,833,003) 65 years and over: 4.9% (2024 est.) (male 5,735,294/female 6,613,764)

25.05 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

5.79 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 70.3 years (2024 est.) male: 68.2 years female: 72.5 years

urban population: 38% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 2.1% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Punjabi 44.7%, Pashtun (Pathan) 15.4%, Sindhi 14.1%, Saraiki 8.4%, Muhajirs 7.6%, Baloch 3.6%, other 6.3%

Punjabi 38.8%, Pashto (alternate name, Pashtu) 18.2%, Sindhi 14.6%, Saraiki (a Punjabi variant) 12.2%, Urdu 7.1%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2.4%, Brahui 1.2%, other 2.4% major-language sample(s): دنیا کا قاموس، ایک لازمی زریہ بنیادی معلومات کا (Urdu) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. note: data represent population by mother tongue; English (official; lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries)

Muslim 96.4%, Hindu 1.6%, Christian 1.4%; less than 1%: scheduled castes, Qadiani/Ahmadi, other, Sikh. (2020 est.)

total population: 58.9% (2021 est.) male: 69.1% (2021 est.) female: 48.5% (2021 est.)

arable land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited petroleum, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone

al-Qa ida; al-Qa ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS); Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA); Haqqani Network (HQN); Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami (HUJI); Harakat ul-Mujahidin; Hizbul Mujahideen; Indian Mujahedeen; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan (ISIS-K); Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham India (ISI); Islamic State of ash-Sham Pakistan (ISP); Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU); Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM); Jaysh al Adl (Jundallah); Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ); Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LeT); The Resistance Front (TRF); Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) note 1: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide note 2: the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), an armed separatist group that targets security forces and civilians, has been active in Pakistan since the 2000s, mainly in ethnic Baloch areas of the country; in 2019, the US designated BLA as Specially Designated Global Terrorists

USG identification: major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit country major precursor-chemical producer (2025)

refugees: 1,759,332 (2024 est.) IDPs: 224,813 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 60 (2024 est.)

117 (2025)

total: 11,881 km (2021) narrow gauge: 389 km (2021) 1.000-m gauge broad gauge: 11,492 km (2021) 1.676-m gauge (286 km electrified)

total: 60 (2023) by type: bulk carrier 5, oil tanker 9, other 46

total subscriptions: 193 million (2024 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 77 (2024 est.)

percent of population: 27% (2023 est.)