Online Encyclopedia
Demographics of Pakistan
| Contents |
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, and Peshawar.
Population and Growth
- Population: Over 154 million in 2004
- Growth rate: 1.96% (2004 est.)
- Birth rate: 32.11 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
- Death rate: 9.51 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
- Net migration rate: -0.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Structure
Age structure
- 0-14 years: 41%(male 29,880,574; female 28,145,247)
- 15-64 years: 55% (male 39,751,222; female 37,981,378)
- 65 years and over: 4% (male 2,856,305; female 2,939,049) (2000 est.)
Gender Ratios
- Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female
- total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Human Development
Mortality and Life Expectancy
- Infant mortality rate: 82.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
- Life expectancy at birth:
- total population: 61.06 years
- male: 60.27 years
- female: 61.91 years (2000 est.)
Fertility
- Total fertility rate: 4.56 children born/woman (2000 est.)
- Fertility decline rate: 1.8 children per woman per decade (2nd fastest in world, Feeney and Alam, 2003 http://www.gfeeney.com/pubs/2003-pakistan-fertility-2/2003-pakistan-fertility-2.
pdf )
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Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write.
- In total population: 50% (provisional 2004 estimate)
Nationality and Ethnicity
Nationality
- Noun: Pakistani(s)
- Adjective: Pakistani
Ethnic groups
Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir (immigrants from India at the time of partition and their descendants)
Religions
Muslim 97% (Sunni 77%, Shiite 20%), Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, and other 3%
Languages
Prevalence
As a first language, Pakistanis spoke: Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official and lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8%.
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 only 8% of the population. 48% speak Punjabi as a first language, 12% Sindhi, and 32% other languages such as (Pushto, Seraiki , Baloch, 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 48% of Pakistanis, mostly in Punjab, Pakistan.
Sindhi
Spoken as a first language by 12% of Pakistanis, mostly in Sindh.
Siraiki
Related to Punjabi (See Classification, below) Spoken as a first language by 10% of Pakistanis, mostly in southern districts of Punjab, Pakistan.
Pashto
Spoken as a first language by 8% of Pakistanis, mostly in the North-West Frontier Province.
Balochi
Spoken as a first language by 3% 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 [1] http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Pakistan .
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 [2] http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=763 , 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 [3] http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=946 .
Elamo-Dravidian
Brahui is believed to have Elamo-Dravidian origins.
External Links
- Statistics Division http://www.pakistan.gov.pk/statistics-division/index.jsp
References
- See also : Pakistan, Statistics Division