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Communications

Airports [time series]

115 total, 105 usable; 75 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 31 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 43 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

30 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

101,315 km total (1987); 40,155 km paved, 23,000 km gravel, 29,000 km improved earth, and 9,160 km unimproved earth or sand tracks (1985)

Merchant marine [time series]

29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 339,855 GRT/500,627 DWT; includes 4 passenger-cargo, 24 cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker

Pipelines [time series]

250 km crude oil; 4,044 km natural gas; 885 km refined products (1987)

Ports [time series]

Gwadar, Karachi, Port Muhammad bin Qasim

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

8,773 km total; 7,718 km broad gauge, 445 km meter gauge, and 610 km narrow gauge; 1,037 km broad-gauge double track; 286 km electrified; all government owned (1985)

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

good international radiocommunication service over microwave and INTELSAT satellite; domestic radio communications poor; broadcast service good; 813,000 telephones (1990); stations--19 AM, 8 FM, 29 TV; earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Navy, Air Force, Civil Armed Forces, National Guard

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

$2.9 billion, 6% of GNP (FY91)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 26,840,840; 16,466,334 fit for military service; 1,322,883 reach military age (17) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

25% of GDP, over 50% of labor force; world's largest contiguous irrigation system; major crops--cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, and vegetables; livestock products--milk, beef, mutton, eggs; self-sufficient in food grain

Budget [time series]

revenues $5.6 billion; expenditures $10.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.7 billion (FY91 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Pakistani rupee (plural--rupees); 1 Pakistani rupee (PRe) = 100 paisa

Economic aid [time series]

(including Bangladesh before 1972) US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $4.5 billion authorized (excluding what is now Bangladesh); Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-88), $8.2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.3 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $3.2 billion

Electricity [time series]

7,575,000 kW capacity; 29,300 million kWh produced, 270 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

Pakistani rupees (PRs) per US$1--22.072 (January 1991), 21.707 (1990), 20.541 (1989), 18.003 (1988), 17.399 (1987), 16.648 (1986), 15.928 (1985)

Exports [time series]

$4.8 billion (f.o.b., FY90); commodities--rice, cotton, textiles, clothing; partners--EC 31%, Japan 11.6%, US 11.5% (FY89)

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$20.1 billion (1990 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

1 July-30 June

GNP [time series]

$43.3 billion, per capita $380; real growth rate 5.0% (FY90 est.)

Illicit drugs [time series]

illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; government eradication efforts on poppy cultivation of limited success

Imports [time series]

$6.5 billion (f.o.b., FY90); commodities--petroleum, petroleum products, machinery, transportation equipment, vegetable oils, animal fats, chemicals; partners--EC 26%, US 16%, Japan 14% (FY89)

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 7.5% (FY91 est.); accounts for almost 20% of GNP

Industries [time series]

textiles, food processing, beverages, petroleum products, construction materials, clothing, paper products, international finance, shrimp

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

5.7% (FY90)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

Pakistan is a poor Third World country faced with the usual problems of rapidly increasing population, sizable government deficits, and heavy dependence on foreign aid. In addition, the economy must support a large military establishment and provide for the needs of 4 million Afghan refugees. A real economic growth rate averaging 5-6% in recent years has enabled the country to cope with these problems. Almost all agriculture and small-scale industry is in private hands, and the government seeks to privatize a portion of the large-scale industrial enterprises now publicly owned. In December 1988, Pakistan signed a three-year economic reform agreement with the IMF, which provides for a reduction in the government deficit and a liberalization of trade in return for further IMF financial support. Late in 1990, the IMF suspended assistance to Pakistan because the government failed to follow through on deficit reforms. Pakistan almost certainly will make little headway on raising living standards for its rapidly expanding population; at the current rate of growth, population would double in 29 years.

Unemployment rate [time series]

10% (FY91 est.)

Geography

Climate [time series]

mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north

Coastline [time series]

1,046 km Contiguous zone: 24 nm; Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm; Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly less than twice the size of California

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

boundary with India; Pashtun question with Afghanistan; Baloch question with Afghanistan and Iran; water sharing problems with upstream riparian India over the Indus

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August); deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water logging

Land boundaries [time series]

6,774 km total; Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km

Land use [time series]

arable land 26%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 6%; forest and woodland 4%; other 64%; includes irrigated 19%

Natural resources [time series]

land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited crude oil, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone

Note [time series]

controls Khyber Pass and Malakand Pass, traditional invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent

Terrain [time series]

flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and northwest; Balochistan plateau in west

Area (Total area) [time series]

803,940 km2; land area: 778,720 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

4 provinces, 1 territory*, and 1 capital territory**; Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas*, Islamabad Capital Territory**, North-West Frontier, Punjab, Sindh; note--the Pakistani-administered portion of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region includes Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas

Capital [time series]

Islamabad

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

the Communist party is officially banned but is allowed to operate openly

Constitution [time series]

10 April 1973, suspended 5 July 1977, restored with amendments, 30 December 1985

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Najmuddin SHAIKH; Chancery at 2315 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-6200; there is a Pakistani Consulate General in New York; US--Ambassador Robert B. OAKLEY; Embassy at Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad (mailing address is P. O. Box 1048, Islamabad or APO New York 09614); telephone [92] (51) 826161 through 79; there are US Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore, and a Consulate in Peshawar

Executive branch [time series]

president, prime minister, Cabinet

Flag [time series]

green with a vertical white band on the hoist side; a large white crescent and star are centered in the green field; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam

Independence [time series]

15 August 1947 (from UK; formerly West Pakistan)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court, Federal Islamic (Shariat) Court Chief of State--President GHULAM ISHAQ Khan (since 13 December 1988); Head of Government--Prime Minister Mian Nawaz SHARIF (since 6 November 1990);

Legal system [time series]

based on English common law with provisions to accommodate Pakistan's stature as an Islamic state; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Legislative branch [time series]

bicameral Parliament (Mijlis-e-Shoora) consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or National Assembly

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Islamic Republic of Pakistan

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday [time series]

Pakistan Day (proclamation of the republic), 23 March (1956)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

military remains dominant political force; ulema (clergy), industrialists, and small merchants also influential

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

Islamic Democratic Alliance (Islami Jamuri Ittehad or IJI)--the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) led by Mohammed Khan JUNEJO is the main party in the IJI; Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Benazir BHUTTO; note--in September 1990 the PPP announced the formation of the People's Democratic Alliance (PDA), an electoral alliance including the following four parties--PPP, Solidarity Movement (Tehrik Istiqlal), Movement for the Implementation of Shia Jurisprudence (Tehrik-i-Nifaz Fiqh Jafariya or TNFJ), and the PML (Malik faction); Muhajir Qaumi Movement (MQM), Altaf HUSSAIN; Awami National Party (ANP), Khan Abdul Wali KHAN; Jamiat-ul-Ulema-i-Islam (JUI), Fazlur RAHMAN; Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), Mohammad Akbar Khan BUGTI; Pakistan National Party (PNP), Mir Ghaus Bakhsh BIZENJO; Pakistan Khawa Milli Party (PKMP), leader NA; Assembly of Pakistani Clergy (Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan or JUP), Maulana Shah Ahmed NOORANI; Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Qazi Hussain AHMED

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 21 President--last held on 12 December 1988 (next to be held December 1993); results--Ghulam Ishaq KHAN was elected by Parliament and the four provincial assemblies; Senate--last held March 1991 (next to be held March 1994); results--elected by provincial assemblies; seats--(87 total) IJI 57, Tribal Area Representatives (nonparty) 8, PPP 5, ANP 5, JWP 4, MQM 3, PNP 2, PKMP 1, JUI 1, independent 1; National Assembly--last held on 24 October 1990 (next to be held by October 1995); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(217 total) IJI 107, PDA 45, MQM 15, ANP 6, JUI 6, JWP 2, PNP 2, PKMP 1, independent 14, religious minorities 10, Tribal Area Representatives (nonparty) 8, vacant 1

Government type (Type) [time series]

parliamentary with strong executive, federal republic

People

Birth rate [time series]

43 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate [time series]

13 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir (immigrants from India and their descendents)

Infant mortality rate [time series]

109 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force [time series]

28,900,000; agriculture 54%, mining and manufacturing 13%, services 33%; extensive export of labor (1987 est.)

Languages (Language) [time series]

Urdu and English (both official); total spoken languages--Punjabi 64%, Sindhi 12%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu 7%, Balochi and other 9%; English is lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries, but official policies are promoting its gradual replacement by Urdu

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

56 years male, 57 years female (1991)

Literacy [time series]

35% (male 47%, female 21%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality [time series]

noun--Pakistani(s); adjective--Pakistani

Net migration rate [time series]

- 5 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor [time series]

about 10% of industrial work force

Population [time series]

117,490,278 (July 1991), growth rate 2.5% (1991)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

Muslim 97% (Sunni 77%, Shia 20%), Christian, Hindu, and other 3%

Total fertility rate [time series]

6.6 children born/woman (1991)