About Pakistan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pakistan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Islamic Republic of Pakistan
اسلامی جمہوریہ پاکستانIslāmī Jomhuri-ye Pākistān


Flag
State Emblem
Motto: اتحاد، تنظيم، يقين محکمIttehad, Tanzim, Yaqeen-e-Muhkam (Urdu)"Unity, Discipline and Faith"
Anthem: "Qaumi Tarana"

Capital
Islamabad33°40′N 73°10′E / 33.667°N 73.167°E / 33.667; 73.167
Largest city
Karachi
Official languages
Urdu
Other languages
Pashto, English, Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi
Demonym
Pakistani
Government
Islamic Republic
-
President
Asif Ali Zardari (PPP)
-
Prime Minister
Yousaf Raza Gillani (PPP)
-
Chair of Senate
Muhammadmian Soomro (PML)
-
House Speaker
Fahmida Mirza (PPP)
-
Chief Justice
Abdul Hameed Dogar
Formation
-
Independence
from the British Empire
-
Declared
14 August 1947
-
Islamic republic
23 March 1956
Area
-
Total
803,940 km2 (34th)340,403 sq mi
-
Water (%)
3.1
Population
-
2008 estimate
172,800,000[1] (6th)
-
1998 census
132,352,279[2]
-
Density
206/km2 (53rd)534/sq mi
GDP (PPP)
2007 estimate
-
Total
$410.295 billion[3] (26th)
-
Per capita
$2,594[3] (127th)
GDP (nominal)
2007 estimate
-
Total
$143.766 billion[3] (47th)
-
Per capita
$908[3] (138th)
Gini (2002)
30.6 (medium)
HDI (2008)
▲ 0.562 (medium) (139th [4])
Currency
Pakistani Rupee (Rs.) (PKR)
Time zone
PST (UTC+5)
-
Summer (DST)
PDT (UTC+6)
Drives on the
left
Internet TLD
.pk
Calling code
92
Pakistan (Urdu: پاکستان Pākistān listen (help·info)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia and borders Central Asia and the Middle East.[5][6] It has a 1,046 kilometre (650 mile) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast.[7] Tajikistan also lies adjacent to Pakistan but is separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. In recent times, Pakistan has been called part of the Greater Middle East.
The region forming modern Pakistan was home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and then, successively, recipient of ancient Vedic, Persian, Indo-Greek and Islamic cultures. The area has witnessed invasions and/or settlement by the Aryans, Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Turks, Afghans, Mongols and the British.[8] It was a part of British Raj from 1858 to 1947, when the Pakistan Movement for a state for Muslims, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League resulted in the independence and creation of the state of Pakistan, that comprised the provinces of Sindh, North-West Frontier Province, West Punjab, Balochistan and East Bengal. With the adoption of its constitution in 1956, Pakistan became an Islamic republic. In 1971, a civil war in East Pakistan resulted in the independence of Bangladesh. Pakistan's history has been characterized by periods of economic growth, military rule and political instability.
Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world and has the second largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia. The country is listed among the "Next Eleven" economies. Pakistan is a founding member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, Developing 8 Countries, G20 developing nations and the Economic Cooperation Organisation. It is also a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, World Trade Organisation, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, G33 developing countries, Group of 77 developing nations, major non-NATO ally of the United States and is a nuclear state.