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PAKISTAN

The majority of Pakistan's population lives along the Indus River valley and along an arc formed by the cities of Faisalabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi/Islamabad, and Peshawar.

Although the official language of Pakistan is Urdu, it is spoken as a first language by only 9% of the population; 65% speak Punjabi, 11% Sindhi, and 24% speak other languages (Pushtu, Saraiki, Baloch, Brahui). Urdu, Punjabi, Pushtu, and Baloch are Indo-European languages; Brahui is believed to have Dravidian (pre-Indo-European) origins. English is widely used within the government, the officer ranks of the military, and in many institutions of higher learning.
POPULATION GRAPH
Population:
147,663,429 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 39.9% (male 30,321,217; female 28,581,334)
15-64 years: 56% (male 42,254,996; female 40,392,092)
65 years and over: 4.1% (male 2,984,391; female 3,129,399) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.06% (2002 est.)
Birth rate:
30.4 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate:
9.02 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate:
-0.79 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
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: 0.95 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
78.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 61.82 years
female: 62.73 years (2002 est.)
male: 60.96 years
Total fertility rate:
4.25 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
74,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
6,500 (1999 est.)
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%, Shi'a 20%), Christian, Hindu, and other 3%
Languages:
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%
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.7%
male: 55.3%
female: 29% (1998)