Demographics of Pakistan

Pakistan's latest estimated population is 207,774,520 (excluding the autonomous

regions of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan).[1] This makes Pakistan
Demographics of Pakistan
the world's fifth-most-populous country, just behind Indonesia and slightly ahead of
Brazil. Including Azad Kashmir, the population would be 211.819 million. Gilgit
Baltistan region has an additional estimated population of 1.8 million.

During 1950–2011, Pakistan's urban population expanded over sevenfold, while the
total population increased by over fourfold. In the past, the country's population had
a relatively high growth rate that has been changed by moderate birth rates. Between
[1]
Population of Pakistan, 1961–2013
1998-2017, the average population growth rate stood at 2.40%.
Population 207,774,520 (2017 -
Dramatic social changes have led to rapid urbanization and the emergence of excluding AJK, GB)[1]
megacities. During 1990–2003, Pakistan sustained its historical lead as the second- Growth 2.10 (2016)[2]
most urbanized nation in South Asia with city dwellers making up 36% of its rate
population.[4] Furthermore, 50% of Pakistanis now reside in towns of 5,000 people
Birth rate 29.8 births / 1,000
or more.[5]
population (2016)[2]
Pakistan has a multicultural and multi-ethnic society and hosts one of the largest Death rate 7.5 deaths / 1,000
refugee populations in the world as well as a young population. population (2016)[2]

The Demographic history of Pakistan from the ancient Indus Valley Civilization to Life 67.7 years (2016)[3]
modern era includes the arrival and settlement of many cultures and ethnic groups in expectancy
modern region of Pakistan from Central Asia, Middle East and Europe. • male 65.8 years (2016)[3]
• female 69.8 years (2016)[3]
Fertility 2.68 children born /
Contents rate woman (2016)[3]

Population Infant 53.86 deaths / 1,000

Geographic distribution mortality live births (2016)[3]
Population size and growth rate
Yearly population increase
Age structure
UN estimates[8]
Structure of population 0–14 years 35.4% (male
Gender ratios 35,475,647 / female
33,586,757)[2]
Vital statistics[8]
Vital statistics[10] 15–64 60.4% (male
[11]
Fertility Rate (The Demographic Health Survey) years 60,766,105 / female
[12]
Fertility by region 2010–2012 (released in 2012–13) 56,886,961)[2]
[12]
Contraceptives usage (%) 2010–2012 (released in 2012–13) 65 and 4.2% (male 3,890,840
Mortality and life expectancy over / female 4,325,538)
Human development (Jan. 2017)[2]
Human Development Index
Sex ratio
Literacy[21]
Educational institutions by kind[22] At birth 1.05 male(s) / female
(2016)[3]
Nationality, ethnicity, and language
Ethnic groups Under 15 1.056 male(s) / female
 Foreign-born population in Pakistan (2016)[2]
Languages
15–64 1.068 male(s) / female
English
Urdu
years (2016)[2]
Punjabi 65 and 0.9 male(s) / female
Pashto over (2016)[2]
Sindhi
Nationality
Saraiki
Balochi Nationality noun: Pakistani
Brahui Major See Ethnic groups of
Hazaragi
ethnic Pakistan
Hindko
Kashmiri Language
Gujari Official See Languages of
Arabic Pakistan
Other Pakistani languages
Spoken See List of Pakistani
Classification
Indo-European languages by number
Indo-Aryan languages of native speakers
Dardic languages
Iranian
Brahui
Burushaski

Religion
Pakistanis around the world
See also
References
External links

Population

Geographic distribution
The majority of southern Pakistan's population lives along the Indus River.
Karachi is the most populous city in Pakistan. In the northern half, most of the
population lives about an arc formed by the cities of Faisalabad, Lahore,
Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Islamabad, Multan, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Nowshera,
Swabi, Mardan, and Peshawar.

Population size and growth

Population: 207,774,520 (2017)[1]
Growth rate: 2.10% (2016)[2]
According to OECD/World Bank, the population in Pakistan increased by 23
million from 1990 to 2008, with a 54% growth in population compared to 34%
growth in India and 38% growth in Bangladesh.[6] Population density in Pakistan

Yearly population increase

[7]
Pakistan's yearly population from 1950 to 2014, with estimation since last census (1998).
Year Population Absolute increase Percentage increase
1950 40,381,000
1951 41,347,000 965,000 2.39
1952 42,342,000 995,000 2.41
1953 43,372,000 1,030,000 2.43
1954 44,434,000 1,062,000 2.45
1955 45,536,000 1,102,000 2.48
1956 46,680,000 1,144,000 2.51
1957 47,869,000 1,189,000 2.55
1958 49,104,000 1,235,000 2.58
1959 50,387,000 1,283,000 2.61
1960 51,719,000 1,332,000 2.64
1961 53,101,000 1,382,000 2.67
1962 54,524,000 1,423,000 2.68
1963 55,988,000 1,464,000 2.69
1964 57,495,000 1,507,000 2.69
1965 59,046,000 1,551,000 2.70
1966 60,642,000 1,596,000 2.70
1967 62,282,000 1,640,000 2.70
1968 63,970,000 1,688,000 2.71
1969 65,706,000 1,736,000 2.71
1970 67,491,000 1,785,000 2.72
1971 69,326,000 1,835,000 2.72
1972 71,121,000 1,795,000 2.59
1973 72,912,000 1,791,000 2.52
1974 74,712,000 1,800,000 2.47
1975 76,456,000 1,744,000 2.33
1976 78,153,000 1,697,000 2.22
1977 80,051,000 1,898,000 2.43
1978 82,374,000 2,323,000 2.90
1979 85,219,000 2,845,000 3.45
1980 88,097,000 2,878,000 3.38
1981 90,975,000 2,878,000 3.27
1982 94,096,000 3,121,000 3.43
1983 96,881,000 2,785,000 2.96
1984 99,354,000 2,473,000 2.55
1985 102,079,000 2,725,000 2.74
1986 105,240,000 3,161,000 3.10
1987 108,584,000 3,344,000 3.18
1988 112,021,000 3,437,000 3.17
 1989 115,419,000 3,398,000 3.03
1990 118,816,000 3,397,000 2.94
1991 122,248,000 3,432,000 2.89
1992 124,962,000 2,714,000 2.22
1993 127,563,000 2,601,000 2.08
1994 130,746,000 3,183,000 2.50
1995 134,185,000 3,439,000 2.63
1996 137,911,000 3,726,000 2.78
1997 141,445,000 3,534,000 2.56
1998 144,885,000 3,440,000 2.43
1999 148,379,000 3,494,000 2.41
2000 152,429,000 4,050,000 2.73
2001 156,795,000 4,366,000 2.86
2002 160,269,000 3,474,000 2.22
2003 163,166,000 2,897,000 1.81
2004 166,224,000 3,058,000 1.87
2005 169,279,000 3,055,000 1.84
2006 172,382,000 3,103,000 1.83
2007 175,495,000 3,113,000 1.81
2008 178,479,000 2,984,000 1.70
2009 181,457,000 2,978,000 1.67
2010 184,405,000 2,948,000 1.62
2011 187,343,000 2,938,000 1.59
2012 190,284,285 2,941,285 1.57
2013 193,271,748 2,987,463 1.55
2014 196,228,805 2,957,057 1.53

UN estimates[8]
 Total population Population aged Population aged Population aged
(in thousands) 0–14 (%) 15–64 (%) 65+ (%)
1950 37,547 40.3 54.1 5.6
1955 41,109 40.3 54.8 4.9
1960 45,920 40.4 55.3 4.3
1965 51,993 41.6 54.5 3.9
1970 59,383 42.6 53.6 3.8
1975 68,483 43.2 53.1 3.7
1980 80,493 43.4 52.9 3.7
1985 95,470 43.4 52.9 3.8
1990 111,845 43.7 52.5 3.8
1995 127,347 43.3 52.9 3.8
2000 144,522 41.4 54.7 3.9
2005 158,645 38.1 57.8 4.1
2011 173,593 35.4 60.3 4.3

Structure of population
The following statistics[9] are for 1 July 2007. They exclude data for Azad Kashmir, the final status of which has not yet been
determined. They are based on the results of the Pakistan Demographic Survey (PDS 2007).

The structure of the population by five-year age groups and gender is:
 Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 76 857 737 73 002 651 149 860 388 100
0–4 9 783 859 9 756 608 19 540 467 13,04
5–9 11 710 324 10 844 307 22 554 631 15,05
10–14 10 636 015 9 619 874 20 255 889 13,52
15–19 9 063 876 8 211 804 17 275 679 11,53
20–24 6 824 723 6 733 861 13 558 584 9,05
25–29 5 268 436 5 564 656 10 833 092 7,23
30–34 3 957 414 4 474 911 8 432 325 5,63
35–39 4 132 910 4 219 507 8 352 417 5,57
40–44 3 496 263 3 281 389 6 777 652 4,52
45–49 3 277 150 2 999 342 6 276 492 4,19
50–54 2 429 295 2 156 822 4 586 117 3,06
55–59 1 864 568 1 679 608 3 544 175 2,36
60–64 1 637 251 1 296 418 2 933 669 1,96
65–69 1 106 476 932 030 2 038 506 1,36
70–74 857 310 606 846 1 464 156 0,98
75–79 358 255 295 833 654 088 0,44
80–84 250 734 177 547 428 280 0,29
85+ 202 880 151 288 354 168 0,24

The structure of the population by coarse age groups and gender is:

Age
Male Female Total Percent
group
0–14 32 130 198 30 220 789 62 350 987 41,61
15–64 41 951 884 40 618 318 82 570 202 55,10
65+ 2 775 655 2 163 544 4 939 199 3,30

Gender ratios
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female
total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2011)

Vital statistics[8]
 Live Natural
Deaths
Year births per
per year
change CBR1 CDR1 NC1 TFR1 IMR1
year per year
1950–
1 652 000 937 000 715 000 42.0 23.8 18.2 6.60 176.6
1955
1955–
1 873 000 907 000 966 000 43.0 20.9 22.1 6.60 156.3
1960
1960–
2 128 000 894 000 1 233 000 43.5 18.3 25.2 6.60 139.5
1965
1965–
2 407 000 887 000 1 520 000 43.2 15.9 27.3 6.60 125.7
1970
1970–
2 738 000 890 000 1 848 000 42.8 13.9 28.9 6.60 114.8
1975
1975–
3 197 000 935 000 2 262 000 42.9 12.6 30.3 6.60 106.6
1980
1980–
3 746 000 1 019 000 2 726 000 42.6 11.6 31.0 6.44 101.5
1985
1985–
4 367 000 1 120 000 3 247 000 42.1 10.8 31.3 6.30 96.7
1990
1990–
4 566 000 1 166 000 3 400 000 38.2 9.7 28.5 5.67 90.1
1995
1995–
4 674 000 1 201 000 3 473 000 34.4 8.8 25.6 5.00 83.2
2000
2000–
4 387 000 1 213 000 3 175 000 28.9 8.0 20.9 4.00 76.8
2005
2005–
4 666 000 1 277 000 3 390 000 28.1 7.7 20.4 3.65 70.9
2010
1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number
of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Vital statistics[10]

Crude Crude
Natural
Year Population Live births Natural birth death
Deaths (in change Fertility
(1st (in (in change (in rate rate
thousands) (per rates
July). thousands) thousands) thousands) (per (per
1.000)
1.000) 1.000)
2009 173 500 4 820 1 290 3 530 27.5 7.3 20.2 3.5
2010 177 100 4 820 1 290 3 530 27.5 7.3 20.2 3.5
2011 180 710 4 915 1 301 3 614 27.2 7.2 20.0 3.4
2012 184 350 4 941 1 291 3 650 26.8 7.0 19.8 3.3
2013 188 020 4 964 1 297 3 667 26.4 6.9 19.5 3.2
2014 191 710 5 003 1 303 3 700 26.1 6.8 19.3 3.2
2015 195 400 5 002 1 309 3 693 25.6 6.7 18.9 3.1
2016 199 710 5 033 1 318 3 715 25.2 6.6 18.6 3.0

Fertility Rate (The Demographic Health Survey)[11]

Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and CBR (Crude Birth Rate):
 CBR TFR CBR TFR CBR TFR
Year
(Total) (Total) (Urban) (Urban) (Rural) (Rural)
1990–1991 5,4 (4,7) 4,9 (3,8) 5,6 (5,1)
2006–2007 30,7 4,1 (3,1) 27,6 3,3 (2,5) 32,3 4,5 (3,4)
2010–2012 3,8 (2,9) 3,2 (2,4) 4,2 (3,1)

Fertility by region 2010–2012 (released in 2012–13)[12]

Region Fertility rate

Urban 3.2
Rural 4.2
Overall 3.8
ICT Islamabad 3.0
Punjab 3.8
Gilgit-Baltistan 3.8
Sindh 3.9
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 3.9
Balochistan 4.2

[12]
Contraceptives usage (%) 2010–2012 (released in 2012–13)

Region Contraceptives usage (%)

Urban 44.8%
Rural 30.7%
Overall 35.4%
ICT Islamabad 59.4%
Punjab 40.7%
Gilgit-Baltistan 33.6%
Sindh 29.5%
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 28.1%
Balochistan 19.5%

Mortality and life expectancy

Maternal mortality ratio: 320 (2009 est.)[13]
Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 65.5 years (2007 est.)[14]

male: 66.5 years (2009 est.)[13]
female: 67.2 years (2009 est.)[13]

As adultery is a crime punishable by death in Pakistan, just in the main cities 1,210 infants were killed or abandoned to die (2010),
90% of them girls and most less than a week old according to conservative estimates by the Edhi Foundation, a charity working to
reverse this increasing trend.[15]
Human development

Human Development Index

According to the 2009 Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 60.3% of Pakistanis
live on less than $2 a day.[16]

Province Human Development Index Comparable country

Medium human development
Punjab 0.670 Tajikistan

Sindh 0.628 India

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 0.607 Solomon Islands

Balochistan 0.556 Ghana

Sources: Information on Pakistani regions:[17] Information on other countries:[18] All Estimated at three decimal places.

Region Human Development Index Comparable country

Medium human development

Urban Sindh 0.659 Equatorial Guinea/ South Africa

Urban Punjab 0.657 Equatorial Guinea/ South Africa

Urban Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 0.627 India

Urban Balochistan 0.591 Solomon Islands

Rural Punjab 0.517 Sudan

Low human development

Rural Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 0.489 Zimbabwe/ Kenya

Rural Balochistan 0.486 Mauritania

Rural Sindh 0.456 Eritrea

Region Human Development Index Comparable country

Medium human development

Urban Pakistan 0.656 Equatorial Guinea/ South Africa

Low human development

Rural Pakistan 0.496 Togo

Note: Regarding the above two tables, information on Pakistan has been taken from the PAKISTAN NATIONAL HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2003 and for the countries of the world, information has been taken from the Human Development
Report 2006 as it best reflects the time when data was taken for Pakistan. Pakistan National Human Development Report gave
Pakistan an HDI score of 0.541 whereas the Human Development Report 2006 gave it a score of 0.539.

Sources:[19][20]

Literacy[21]
definition: aged 10 and over and can read and write as of 2008–09
 Total population: 60%
Male: 69%
Female: 45%

Educational institutions by kind[22]

Primary schools: 156,592
Middle schools: 320,611
High schools: 23,964
College of Arts and Sciences: 3,213
Degree colleges: 1,202
Technical and vocational institutions: 3,125
Universities: 197[23]

Nationality, ethnicity, and language

Ethnic groups
Pakistan's diversity is more visible along cultural differences and less along
linguistic, religious or genetic lines. Almost all Pakistanis belong to theIndo-
Iranian linguistic group of the Indo-European branch. Pakistan's rough
estimates vary, but the consensus is that the Punjabis are the largest ethnic
group. Pashtuns (Pakhtuns) make up the second largest group and Sindhi are
the third-largest ethnic group.[25][26] Saraikis (a transitional group between
Punjabis and Sindhis) make up 10.53% of the total population. The
remaining large groups include the Muhajirs and the Baloch people, which
make up 7.57% and 3.57% of the total population, respectively. Hindkowans
and the Brahui, and the various peoples of the Gilgit–Baltistan, constitute
roughly 4.66% of the total population. The Pakhtun and Baloch represent
two of the major populations that are linguistically Iranian, while the
majority Punjabis, Hindkowans, Sindhis and Saraikis are the major Ethnic groups in Pakistan.
linguistically Indo-Aryan groups.

Descendents of Black Africans that were brought as slaves in the 15th Ethnic groups in Pakistan[24]
to the 19th century are known asSheedis. The Sheedis are Muslims and Punjabi 44.68%
speak Balochi, Sindhi and Urdu. Pashtun (Pathan) 15.42%
Sindhi 14.10%
In 1850, the British started developing Karachi as a major port for trade Saraiki 8.38%
and commerce, resulting in the arrival of a large number immigrants Muhajir 7.57%
from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Goa. The Goan Catholics constitute the Balochi 3.57%
majority of the Christians in the city.[27] Other 6.28%

After the Pakistan–India war in 1971, thousands of Biharis and

Bengalis from Bangladesh arrived in the Karachi, followed by MuslimRohingya refugees[28] from Burma, and Asians from Uganda.

Approximately 1.4 million[29] Afghan citizens reside in Pakistan on a temporary bases.[30][31] Many of them were born and raised in
Pakistan in the last 30 years.[32] The majority of this group are ethnic Pakhtuns from southeastern Afghanistan.
[33]

All major ethnic groups in Pakistan, while categorized as separate entities, have thousands of years of shared history and inter-
mingling. In addition, inter-marriages between ethnic groups within the country are not uncommon.
Foreign-born population in Pakistan
After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, many Muslims from India migrated to Pakistan and they are the largest group of foreign-
born residents. This group is dwindling because of its age. The second-largest group of foreign-born residents consists of Muslim
refugees from Afghanistan who are expected to leave Pakistan by the end of 2018.[30] There are also smaller groups of Muslim
immigrants from countries such asBurma, Bangladesh, Iraq, Somalia, Iran, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, among others.

Foreign Percentage
Year Population
born foreign born
1960 46,259,000 6,350,296 13.73%
1970 59,565,000 5,105,556 8.57%
1980 79,297,000 5,012,524 6.32%
1990 111,698,000 6,555,782 5.87%
2000 142,648,000 4,242,689 2.97%
2005 157,935,000 3,254,112 2.06%

[34]
Source: Mostly those born before 1947

Languages

Census history of major languages

Rank Language 1998 census 1981 census 1961 census 1951 census
1 Punjabi* 44.15% 48.17% 56.39% 57.08%
2 Pashto 15.42% 13.35% 8.47% 8.16%
3 Sindhi 14.1% 12.7% 12.59% 12.85%
4 Saraiki* 10.53% 9.54%
5 Urdu 7.57% 7.60% 7.57% 7.05%
6 Balochi 3.57% 3.02% 2.49% 3.04%

{* Saraiki was included with Punjabi in the 1951 and 1961 censuses.}

Following are the major languages spoken in Pakistan. The percentage of Pakistanis who are native speakers of that language is also
given.

1998 Main areas

Language 2008 estimate
census spoken
1 Punjabi 76,369,930 44.17% 58,433,431 44.15% Punjab
Khyber
2 Pashto 26,695,760 15.44% 20,408,621 15.42%
Pakhtunkhwa
3 Sindhi 26,540,150 15.35% 18,661,571 14.10% Sindh
4 Saraiki 18,016,180 10.42% 13,936,594 10.53% South Punjab
5 Urdu 13,123,110 7.59% 10,019,576 7.57% Karachi, Sindh
6 Balochi 6,207,110 3.59% 4,724,871 3.57% Balochistan
7 Others 5,947,760 3.44% 6,167,515 4.66%
Total 172,900,000 100% 132,352,279 100% Pakistan

Languages of Pakistan[24]
There are around 75 to 80 knownPakistani languages although, in practice, Languages of Pakistan[24]
there are primarily six major languages in Pakistan spoken by 95% of the Punjabi 48%
population: Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, Urdu, and Balochi. The Sindhi 12%
official language is English and the national language is Urdu, the census Saraiki 10%
Pashto (Pathan) 8%
indicates that around 8% of the population speak Urdu as their first
Urdu 8%
language. However, due to rapid urbanization and modernization, the use Balochi 3%
of Urdu as a primary language is increasing, especially amongst the Hindko 2%
growing urbanized middle class of Pakistan. Most Pakistanis speak or Brahui 1%
understand at least two to three languages and almost all Pakistanis speak Other 8%
or understand the national language, Urdu.

The most prevalent native languages appear in bold below

, with the percentage of the population speaking them as their first language
rounded to the nearest percentage point:

Aer Dameli Hindko Koli-Kachi Pakistan

Badeshi Dari[35] Jadgali Koli-Parkari Sign
Language
Bagri Dehawri Jandavra Koli-Wadiyara
Punjabi
Balochi (4%) Dhatki Jogi Kundal Shahi
(44%)
Balti Dogri Kabutra Ladakhi
Purik
Bateri Domaaki Kachchi Lasi
Sansi
Bhaya Gawar-Bati Kalami Loarki
Savi
Brahui Ghera Kalasha Mankiyali
Saraiki
Brokskat Goaria Kalkoti Marwari (10%)
Burig Gojri (Gujari) Kamviri Memoni Shina
Burushaski Gowro Kashmiri Od Sindhi (14%)
Chambeali Gujarati Kati Ormuri Torwali
Changthang Gurgula Khetrani Pahari-Pothohari Urdu (8%)
Chilisso Hazaragi Khowar Palula Ushojo
Kohistani Pashto (15%) Uyghur
Indus
Wakhi
Waneci
Yidgha
Zangskari

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. Nearly all schools, colleges and universities use English as the medium of
instruction. Amongst the more educated social circles of Pakistan, English is seen as the language of upward mobility and its use is
becoming more prevalent in upper social circles, often spoken alongside native Pakistani languages. Among countries that use
English as an official language, Pakistan is the third-most populous in the world.

Urdu
Urdu is the national language of Pakistan, the lingua franca chosen to facilitate communication between the country's diverse
linguistic populations. Although only about 7.5% of Pakistanis speak it as their first language, it is spoken as a second and often third
language by nearly all Pakistanis.
On the annexation of Sindh (1843) and Punjab (1849), the British Raj encouraged its use as the lingua franca and subsequently
banned the use of Persian, which had been the lingua franca of the region for many centuries before. Persian had been introduced by
Central Asian Turkic invaders who migrated into South Asia,[36] and had been patronised by the Turko-Afghan Delhi Sultanate. This
language change was designed to institute a universal language throughout the then British Raj in South Asia as well as minimize the
influence that Persia, the Ottoman Empire and Afghanistan had on this transitional region.

Urdu is a relatively new language but has undergone considerable modification and development, with many borrowings from older
languages such as Persian, Arabic, Turkish and local South Asian languages. It is a standardized register of Hindustani and in its
spoken form. 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 –
Muslim refugees that arrived from different parts of India after the independence of Pakistan in 1947, and that form nearly 8% of
Pakistan's population – and is an acquired language by nearly all of Pakistan's native ethnic groups. It is spoken by almost 92% of the
population, making Pakistan a unique country in its choice of national language. Urdu has been promoted as a token of national unity.

In recent years, the Urdu spoken in Pakistan has undergone further evolution and acquired a particularly "Pakistani flavour", often
absorbing local native terminology and adopting a strong Punjabi, Sindhi and Pashto leaning in terms of intonations and vocabulary.
It is a modern language which is constantly evolving from its original form. It is written in a modified form of the Perso-Arabic
script, Nastaliq, and its basic Hindi-based vocabulary has been enriched by words from Persian, Arabic, Turkic languages and
English. Urdu has drawn inspiration fromPersian literature and has now an enormous stock of words from that language.

The first poetry in Urdu was by the poet Amir Khusro (1253–1325) and the first Urdu book Woh Majlis was written in 1728; the first
time the word "Urdu" was used was by Sirajuddin Ali Khan Arzoo in 1741.[37] The Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir (1658–
1707) spoke Urdu (or Hindustani) fluently as did his descendents while his ancestors mostly spokePersian and Turkish.[38]

Punjabi
Punjabi is a provincial language spoken mostly in Punjab, as well as by a large number of people in Karachi. Punjabi does not have
any official status in Pakistan. The exact number of Punjabi speakers in Pakistan is hard to determine since the boundaries with the
closely related Hindko and Saraiki are not always clear-cut. The standard Punjabi variety is from Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala and
Sheikhupura districts of Pakistani Punjab, and is also nowadays the language of Punjabi literature, film and music, such as
Lollywood.

Pashto
Pashto is a provincial language spoken as a first language by about 15% of Pakistanis, mostly in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in
Balochistan as well as by immigrants to the eastern provinces. There are two major dialect patterns within which the various
individual dialects may be classified; these are Pakhto, which is the Northern (Peshawar) variety, and the softer Pashto spoken in the
southern areas. There are also many Pakistanis from the adjacent regions of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan who are conversant in
Pashto and count it as their second language. They are not included in the overall percentage.

The Pashtuns (Pakhtuns or Pathans), originally fromKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA and northern Balochistan, are now the city's second
largest ethnic group in Karachi afterMuhajirs.[39][40] With as high as 7 million by some estimates, the city of Karachi in Pakistan has
the largest concentration of urban Pakhtun population in the world, including 50,000 registered Afghan refugees in the city.[41]
Karachi is the biggest Pashto speaking city in the world although the Pashto speakers constitute only about 25% of Karachi's
population.[42]

Sindhi
Sindhi is a provincial language spoken as a first language by 15% of Pakistanis, mostly in Sindh. It has a rich literature and is used in
schools. It is an Indo-Aryan (Indo-European) language, derived from Sanskrit. The Arabs ruled Sindh for more than 150 years after
Muhammad bin Qasim conquered it in 712 AD, remaining there for three years to set up Arab rule. Consequently, the social fabric of
Sindh contains elements of Arabic society. Sindhi is spoken by over 36 million people in Pakistan, and is the official language of
Sindh province. It is widely spoken in the Lasbela District of Balochistan (where the Lasi tribe speaks a dialect of Sindhi), many
areas of the Naseerabad and Jafarabad districts of Balochistan, and by the Sindhi diaspora abroad. Sindhi language has six major
dialects: Sireli, Vicholi, Lari, Thari, Lasi and Kachhi. It is written in the Arabic script with several additional letters to accommodate
special sounds. The largest Sindhi-speaking cities are Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Shikarpur, Dadu, Jacobabad, Larkana, Mirpur
Khas, Thatta, Badin and Nawabshah. Sindhi literature is also spiritual in nature. Shah Abdul Latif Bhita'i (1689–1752) is one of its
greatest poets, and wroteSassi Punnun and Umar Marvi, folk stories, in his famous bookShah Jo Risalo.

Sindhi dialects:

Sindhi Saraiki – spoken mainly in UpperSindh

Vicholi – in Vicholo, i.e. Central Sindh
Lari – in Laru, i.e. Lower Sindh
Lasi – in Lasa B’elo, a part of Kohistan inBaluchistan on the western side ofSindh
Thari or Thareli – in Tharu, the desert region on the southeast border ofSindh and a part of the Jaisalmer district in
Rajasthan
Kachhi – in the Kutch region and in a part of Kathiawar inGujarat, on the southern side ofSindh
Vicholi is considered as the standard dialect by all Sindhi speakers.

Saraiki
Saraiki, sometimes spelled Seraiki and Siraiki, is spoken as a first language by about 20 million people, mostly in the southern
districts of Punjab: Multan, Lodhran, Bahawalpur, Layyah, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh and Rahim Yar Khan. It is also spoken
by the majority of the population of Dera Ismail Khan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Kachi plain of Balochistan,
northern parts of Sindh, and cities of Hyderabad and Karachi.

Balochi
Balochi is a provincial language spoken as first language by about 3.5% of Pakistanis, mostly in Balochistan. Sindh and southern
Punjab. The name Balochi or Baluchi is not found before the 10th century. It is believed that the language was brought to its present
location in a series of migrationsAleppo, Syria. Rakshani is the major dialect group in terms of numbers. Sarhaddi, is a sub dialect of
Rakshani. Other sub – dialects are Qalati, Chagai Kharani, and Makrani. The Eastern Hill Balochi or Northern Balochi are distinct
dialects.The Kethran language in North East Balochistan is also a variant of Balochi. It is one of the 9 distinguished languages of
Pakistan. Since Balochi is a poetic and rich language and have a certain degree of af
finity to Urdu, Balochi poets tend to be very good
poets in Urdu as well as Ata Shaad,Gul Khan Nasir and Noon Meem Danish are excellent examples of this.

Brahui
Brahui (Urdu: ' ‫ ) ا ی‬is a regional language of uncertain origin despite the fact that the bulk of the language shares lexical similarities
to Balochi as well as Sindhi. In colonial times, many British linguists tried to make the claim of a possible Dravidian language origin
but this has not been conclusively proven despite ongoing research in the language for a century now.[43] spoken in southern
Pakistan, may have evolved from the original languages of Indus valley civilizations at Mehrgarh. However it is heavily influenced
by Balochi and Pashto. It is spoken in central and east central Balochistan. The Mengals are a famous Brahvi tribe. Around 1–1.5%
of Pakistani population has Brahui as their first language. It is one of the nine distinguished languages of
Pakistan.

The Brahui population of Balochistan has been taken by some as the linguistic equivalent of a relict population, perhaps indicating
that Dravidian languages were formerly much more widespread and were supplanted by the incoming Indo-Aryan languages.[44]
However it has now been demonstrated that the Brahui could only have migrated to Balochistan from central India after 1000 CE.
The absence of any Avestan, an older Iranian language, loanwords in Brahui supports this hypothesis. The main Iranian contributor to
Brahui vocabulary, Balochi, is a western Iranian language like Kurdish, and moved to the area from the west only around 1000
CE.[45]

Hazaragi
Hazaragi, spoken by the Hazaras in Pakistan, is similar to Dari. It is spoken in parts of the Quetta district of Karachi, Islamabad, and
[46]
in parts of Ziarat. There are estimated to be 900,000 to 1,000,000 Hazaragi-speakers.

Hindko
Hindko, spoken by the Hindkowans in Pakistan, is similar to the northern dialects of Punjabi. It is spoken in areas of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa (including Hazara), Peshawar city, Punjab and Azad Kashmir, by an estimated 2 million people[47] . It shows close
affinity to Punjabi and the Lahnda sub-group of Indo-Aryan tongues and can be sub-divided into a northern and southern dialects.

Kashmiri
Kashmiri (‫ )ﮐﺸﻤﯿﺮی‬is a Dardic language spoken in Azad Kashmir, Gilgit–Baltistan and Punjab provinces of Pakistan. There are
over 100,000[48] Kashmiri speakers in Pakistan.

Gujari
Gujari or Gojri (‫ )ﮔﻮﺟﺮی زﺑﺎن‬is a language closely related to Rajasthani languages, and is spoken in Azad Kashmir, Gilgit–Baltistan
and Punjab KPK provinces of Pakistan. There are over 500,000[49] Gujari speakers in Pakistan.

Arabic
Arabic is considered to be the religious language of Pakistan. The Quran, Sunnah, Hadith and Muslim theology is taught in Arabic
with Urdu translation. The large numbers of Pakistanis living in the Persian Gulf region and in other Middle Eastern countries has
further increased the number of people who can speak Arabic in Pakistan. Arabic is taught as a religious language in Mosques,
Schools, Colleges, Universities and Madrassahs. Nearly all of Pakistan's Muslim population has had some form of education in the
reading, writing and pronunciation of theArabic language.

Many Arabs who took part in Afghanistan war have now settled in Pakistan permanently with their families. Millions of Pakistanis
that have worked in Middle East also speakArabic as a second language.

Other Pakistani 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.[50] Other Indo-European languages spoken in Pakistan include Pothohari,
Shina, Balti, Gujjari, Kutchi, Wakhi, Kashmiri, Marwari, Memoni, Khowar, and Dari Persian. Non-Indo-European languages include
Brahui and Burushaski, a language isolate.

There are some languages that are spoken by less than a thousand people, such as
Aer.

Classification

Indo-European
Most of Pakistan's languages areIndo-European languagesand within the smallerIndo-Iranian sub-branch.

Indo-Aryan languages
Around 80% of Pakistan's population speak one or more of the various Indo-Aryan languages. Usually concentrated in the heavily
populated areas east of the Indus river, the Indo-Aryan languages and their cultures form the predominant cultural group in the
country. They derive their roots from theSanskrit language of Aryan invadors and are later heavily influenced by the languages of the
later Muslim arrivals (i.e., Turkish, Persian, and Arabic), and are all written in a variant of either the Arabic or Nastaliq script. Urdu,
the country's national language, is an Indo-Aryan tongue. Punjabi, Hindko and Seraiki, all mutually intelligible, are classified by
linguists as dialects of an Indo-Aryan speech called Lahnda,[51] 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. Sindhi is the common language of the people of Sindh in southern Pakistan and has a rich literary history of its own,
traced back to the era of the early Arab arrivals. The Dardic languages of Gilgit–Baltistan, Azad Kashmir and the northwestern
mountains are sometimes classified by many linguists as belonging to the Indo-Aryan family. Other Indo-Aryan languages include
Gujarati, Kutchi, Memoni and others.

Dardic languages
The Dardic languages are spoken in the northern Pakistan. They include Shina (spoken in Gilgit, Chilas and Diamar), Khowar
(spoken in Chitral, Ghizer, Swat and the balti language (spoken in [baltistan] including [skardu] district and [Ghanche] district.
Majority of population living in the valley of Hunza, Nagar and Yasin speak Mishaski. Kalam Valley of upper Swat), Kalash (spoken
by Kalash tribe), Kohistani (spoken in upper Swat and Kohistan) and Kashmiri mostly by Immigrants from Kashmir valley and by a
few in the Neelum District.

Kashmiri spoken in north eastAzad Kashmir and the adjacent Kashmir valley, (not to be confused withPahari language spoken in the
lower Azad Kashmir) is one of the Dardic languages that has a literary tradition that goes well back into the history whereas other
Dardic languages spoken in northern Pakistan, do not have written literature. It is believed to be the result of the northern areas of
Pakistan having remained isolated in the mountain valleys from the others for centuries.

Iranian
Pashto, Yidgha and Wakhi are Eastern Iranian languagesspoken in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and the Gilgit–Baltistan region
of Pakistan. Balochi spoken in Balochistan is classified as a members of the Northwestern Iranian languages.[52] If combined, Iranian
peoples who speak Pashto, Balochi, Yidgha and Wakhi comprise about 18% of the population of Pakistan, and are concentrated in the
northwest and west of Pakistan.

Brahui
Brahui may or may not be a language isolate and many origins have been hypothesized for it including Iranian and Dravidian.[43]
spoken in southern Pakistan, primarily in Kalat in Balochistan. The Brahui population of Balochistan has been taken by some as the
linguistic equivalent of a relict population, perhaps indicating that Dravidian languages were formerly much more widespread and
were supplanted by the incoming Indo-Aryan languages.[44] However it has now been demonstrated that the Brahui could only have
migrated to Balochistan from central India after 1000 CE. The absence of any Avestan, an older Iranian language, loanwords in
Brahui supports this hypothesis. The main Iranian contributor to Brahui vocabulary, Balochi, is a western Iranian language like
[45]
Kurdish, and moved to the area from the west only around 1000 CE.

Burushaski
Burushaski is a language isolate, spoken by Burusho people in Hunza, Nagar, Yasin, and parts of the Gilgit valleys in the Gilgit–
Baltistan region of Pakistan.

Religion
According to the CIA World Factbook, Library of Congress, Oxford University, over 97% of the population of Pakistan is Muslim
and the remaining 3% is Christian,Hindu and others.[53][54][55] Majority of the Muslims practiceSunni with a significant minority of
Shi'as.

Nearly all Pakistani Sunni Muslims belong to the Hanafi school, although there are some Hanbalis and Ahlul Hadeeth. The majority
of Shia Muslims belong to the Ithnā‘Ashariyyah branch,[53] while a smaller number practice Ismailism. The Ahmadis make up
approximately 2.2% of the Muslim population. There are small non-Muslim religious groups, including Christians, Jews, Hindus,
Buddhists, Sikhs, Bahá'ís and Zoroastrians (Parsis).
The religious breakdown of the Pakistani population is as follows:

Muslims: 181,723,000
Christians: 2,700,000 (approx. 1.8%)
Hindus: 1,800,000 (approx. 1.6%[55] )
Ahmadiyya in Pakistan: 4,000,000 (approx 2.2%)
Buddhists: 106,989[56]
Sikhs: 30,000
Zoroastrian/Parsis:
Jews:
Animists, Baha'i, Atheists: n/a

Religion in Pakistan (2010)[24]

Pakistanis around the world
Islam (96.4%)
Saudi Arabia 1,500,000 Other (includes Christian and

United Arab Emirates 1,200,000 Hindu) (3.6%)

United Kingdom 1,200,000

United States 600,410[57]

Canada 350,000

Kuwait 100,000

Oman 85,000

Australia 61,913[58]
Germany 52,668

Qatar 52,500
France 50,000

Norway 35,000

Denmark 21,000

Ireland 9,501

See also
Minorities in Pakistan
Ethnic groups of Pakistan
Languages of Pakistan
Indo-Iranians

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External links
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
infopak.gov.pk – Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Population Reference Bureau
statpak.gov.pk – Population by mother tongue
US Census: International Data Base (IDB)

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