The population of Pakistan. Population of Pakistan

The state of Pakistan borders on Iran, India, Afghanistan and is washed by the waters of the Indian Ocean. The climate in this area is continental tropical (with a transition to the subtropical in the north-west). In fact, in Pakistan there are three seasons that abruptly replace each other: cold winter (October-March), hot arid summer (April-June) and rainy autumn (July-September). But, despite the sometimes unpredictable weather, many tourists like to travel to Pakistan.

general information

This land was once the cradle of the oldest civilizations, and its culture remained a mystery to the Europeans for seven seals.

Today, ancient, full of the eastern color of the city, like Sind, Tatta, Rohri, Karachi and, of course, Hyderabad, are open to tourists, but are no less attractive and mysterious. Architecture strikes an amazing mix of styles and eras, historical monuments and legendary Islamic shrines are met at every step. In Lahore - a densely populated city of the state (in general, the population of Pakistan is quite high) - tourists are expected to have real oriental bazaars, where one must certainly bargain, firstly, not to offend the seller, because this is a tradition, and secondly, because prices are deliberately overstated in repeatedly.

Pakistan has much to offer tourists, but in this article we would like to focus on the soul of any country - its inhabitants.

Population of the country

Before you go to another country, you need to get acquainted with the customs and norms of behavior of the local population, otherwise you can not avoid embarrassing, if not very unpleasant situations. This is especially true of states where Islam is recognized as the official religion: the Muslim mentality is so strikingly different from the Christian that without prior preparation, immersion in the culture of Pakistan can be dangerous.

In addition, the local people - this is the very essence of any country, do not understand them or try not to pay attention - it's like that and do not go beyond the threshold of your own home.

Main demographic indicators

The counter of the population of Pakistan for November 2011 showed 177 million 781 thousand people, the state is among the ten largest countries in the world in terms of population . With an area of 796096 km ² (plus the occupied Indian territories of Kashmir and the Northern Lands - 13000 km² and 72500 km ²), this number of inhabitants makes Pakistan one of the most densely populated countries in the world.

For today, the demography of Pakistan has an average population growth rate (according to these indicators, Pakistan is on the 75th place among the countries of the world - 1.573%). On average, one adult woman accounts for 3.17 newborns (55th in the world ranking). There are 24.81 newborns (63rd place) and 6.92 deaths (138th place) per 1000 inhabitants of Pakistan. So the prospect of extinction coming to European countries due to low birth rate in the Middle East in the coming decades is completely irrelevant.

Sex and age structure of society

The population of Pakistan is very high, besides this, it is mostly young. The group of residents aged 15 to 64 accounted for 60.4%, the second largest number of children under 15 years old (35.4%), the third smallest category - over 65 years (4.2%).

There are 1070 men per 1,000 women in Pakistan. Moreover, according to statistics, among 1,099 newborns, 1,050 boys are born, up to 15 years old - 1060, in the 15-64 year category - 1090, but after 65 years for 1000 women there are only 920 men. Thus, the mortality among young women is higher than that of men, but the average life expectancy of men is 3 years lower than that of women, so the figures for the elderly group are changing.

The average life expectancy for Pakistanis is quite low - 64.18 and 67.9 years for men and women, respectively, which puts Pakistan on the 167th place in the world ranking.

Ethnic structure

Ethnic (and at the same time religious and linguistic) map of Pakistan is very variegated.

The ratio of national groups looks like this:

• Punjabi 44.7%;
• Pashtuns 15.4%;
• Sindhi 14.1%;
• Saryaki 8.4%;
• Muhajirs 7.6%;
• Baloch people 3.6%;
• Others (Rajputs, Brahui, Hindustans) 6.3%.

Urdu is the official language, but to this day English (coexistence of the colonial past) coexists with it, which is used at the official level: in education and the administrative sphere.

In the ethnic regions in the course of Punjabi (this is a spoken language for 48% of the population), Pashto (8%), Sindhi (12%), baluchi and braugui. The religious picture is no less diverse: Punjabis in Pakistan profess Islam, although the same ethnic group in India is mainly composed of Hindus and Sikhs.

The population of Pakistan is low in literacy. This level among the population over the age of 15 almost reaches half the mark (49.9%), but, which is typical for predominantly Islamic countries, many more men (63%) can read and write than women (36%). Although these indicators, in comparison with similar data of 50 years ago, testify to progressive trends in the field of public education. But the situation remains very deplorable, and in terms of state spending on education (2.9% of GDP), Pakistan ranks 153rd.

Displacement of population

The geographical location of Pakistan is such that from ancient times to this day, individual ethnic groups, nationalities and tribes are constantly moving through its territory. Thus, about 4 thousand years ago, from the north-west to Hindustan came hordes of Aryans, carriers of a more highly developed social system and culture, religion and language, which subjugated the local population. And after a millennium, the Muslims moved in the same direction, asserting the rule of Islam in all the conquered lands.

For the twentieth century, a different picture is typical: the population of Pakistan seeks to leave the country in search of a better life. The level of 2.7 external migrants per 1000 settled population is quite an alarming indicator (167th place among all countries of the world).

The urbanization characteristic of the whole world does not bypass the population of Pakistan: in 2010, the urban population was 36% of the total, and the rate of internal migration reached 3.1% and continues to grow. For the urban population, the opportunity to find work, get education and use health services is much higher than for rural, it attracts not only residents of nearby agricultural areas to large cities, but also Muhajir refugees from the Indian borderland. In 1951, refugees were already 40% of the urban population, but the authorities of Pakistan are not yet able to effectively solve this problem.

Administrative device

The official name of the state is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The form of government is mixed, the power is shared by the president and the prime minister.

Territorial division is quite complicated: 4 provinces, 2 (capital and tribal) federal territories, besides 2 more territories of Kashmir, which in administrative terms belong to the Pakistani republic. The provinces are divided into 131 districts. The federal territory of the tribes - for 7 offices and 6 border regions.

Pakistan's largest cities by population

In the first place - Karachi (population 13125000 people), until 1959 it was the capital of the republic, and now is the center of the province of Sindh. The predominant part of the townspeople are Indians, Urdu is the most popular language, but the Gujarati refugees are also a large percentage. The Sindhi, the Punjabis, the Pashtuns, the Baluchis live in large communities in Karachi.

Second place after Karachi is Lahore, the central city of Punjab (population 7132000 people). The city is famous for the oldest Punjabi University, which was founded in 1882, and rightfully has the status of an intellectual capital.

In third place is Faisalabad (the old name is Laialpur) with a population of 2849000 people. From colonial times to the present day, it remains the most important center of agricultural trade in the country.

The fourth place is Rawalpindi, also a densely populated city that belongs to the state of Pakistan, with a population of 2,026,000.

The large and old cities of Pakistan are also Hyderabad, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Gujranwala. The capital of Islamabad is currently a relatively small city with a population of 832,000 people (10th place after all listed above).

Religious question

Among the inhabitants of Pakistan, 95% profess Islam, mainly Sunni, the share of Shiites is about one-fifth. The Pashtun population of Pakistan, as well as many other ethnic groups in the country, preaches Islam. In addition, there is also the current Ahmadiye, whose representatives call themselves orthodox adherents of Islam, although at the official level other Muslims refuse to recognize them as equal and refer to the rank of the religious sect.

The remaining 5% are divided between Christians and Hindus.

Transport routes, transport

In Pakistan, for public use, the most popular transport is the bus. There are still rickshaws in the course of the day, but most of them have already switched to more progressive vehicles, there are also regular taxis with counters. By the way, the rickshaw of the counter, as a rule, does not exist, and it is necessary to negotiate the price of the trip before the trip. City buses are old and constantly crowded, tickets are sold even to places located on the roof (their price is reduced by 2 times in fairness). The metro operates in Karachi. There is also a car rental service, but only in the big cities mentioned above, but renting a car in Pakistan is not very safe, since traffic on the roads is almost spontaneous in nature.

Pakistani Bazaars

In addition to the traditional oriental bazaar in Pakistan, shops that are more familiar to the European eye are open, they all work on schedule with a big break during the day, and close all day on Friday and Saturday. No one works during the days of religious festivities, the entire population of Pakistan is busy at this time with rest and prayers.

Each tourist, to the best of his financial ability, must bring from Pakistan a real local work carpet, jewelry, silk or cashmere scarf or salt lamp, which cleans the air in the room.

Traditional cuisine

Pakistani cuisine is very diverse, and for one who does not limit himself by virtue of religious belief, provides many original dishes that are not found in other parts of the world. The main products of Middle Eastern cuisine are rice, vegetables, fish, from meat - lamb and chicken. The visiting card of the national cuisine in Pakistan is spices: they put a lot, and carefully choose a bouquet of spices for each dish. The most popular drink is strong tea with a lot of spicy additives, because alcohol is strictly forbidden for orthodox Muslims.