1990 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1990 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north
Coastline
1,046 km
Comparative area
slightly less than twice the size of California
Contiguous zone
24 nm;
Continental shelf
edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
Disputes
boundary with India; Pashtun question with Afghanistan; Baloch question with Afghanistan and Iran; water sharing problems with upstream riparian India over the Indus
Environment
frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August); deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water logging
Extended economic zone
200 nm;
Land boundaries
6,774 km total; Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km
Land use
26% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 6% meadows and pastures; 4% forest and woodland; 64% other; includes 19% irrigated
Natural resources
land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited crude oil, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone
Note
controls Khyber Pass and Malakand Pass, traditional invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent
Terrain
flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and northwest; Balochistan plateau in west
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
803,940 km2; land area: 778,720 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
43 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate
14 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic divisions
Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir (immigrants from India and their descendents)
Infant mortality rate
110 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Labor force
28,900,000; 54% agriculture, 13% mining and manufacturing, 33% services; extensive export of labor (1987 est.)
Language
Urdu and English (official); total spoken languages--64% Punjabi, 12% Sindhi, 8% Pashtu, 7% Urdu, 9% Balochi and other; English is lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries, but official policies are promoting its gradual replacement by Urdu
Life expectancy at birth
56 years male, 57 years female (1990)
Literacy
26%
Nationality
noun--Pakistani(s); adjective--Pakistani
Net migration rate
- 6 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
about 10% of industrial work force
Population
114,649,406 (July 1990), growth rate 2.2% (1990)
Religion
97% Muslim (77% Sunni, 20% Shia), 3% Christian, Hindu, and other
Total fertility rate
6.7 children born/woman (1990)
Government
Administrative divisions
4 provinces, 1 tribal area*, and 1 territory**; Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas*, Islamabad Capital Territory**, North-West Frontier, Punjab, Sindh; note--the Pakistani-administered portion of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region includes Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas
Capital
Islamabad
Communists
the Communist party is no longer outlawed and operates openly
Constitution
10 April 1973, suspended 5 July 1977, restored 30 December 1985
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Zulfikar ALI KHAN; Chancery at 2315 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-6200; there is a Pakistani Consulate General in New York; US--Ambassador Robert B. OAKLEY; Embassy at Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad (mailing address is P. O. Box 1048, Islamabad); telephone [92] (51) 8261-61 through 79; there are US Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore, and a Consulate in Peshawar
Elections
President--last held on 12 December 1988 (next to be held December 1993); results--Ghulam Ishaq Khan was elected by the Federal Legislature; Senate--last held March 1988 (next to be held March 1990); results--elected by provincial assemblies; seats--(87 total) PML 84, PPP 2, independent 1; National Assembly--last held on 16 November 1988 (next to be held November 1993); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(237 total) PPP 109, IJI 65, MQM 14, JUI 8, PAI 3, ANP 3, BNA 3, others 3, independents 29
Executive branch
president, prime minister, Cabinet
Flag
green with a vertical white band on the hoist side; a large white crescent and star are centered in the green field; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam
Independence
15 August 1947 (from UK; formerly West Pakistan)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court, Federal Islamic (Shariat) Court
Leaders
Chief of State--President GHULAM ISHAQ Khan (since 13 December 1988); Head of Government--Prime Minister Benazir BHUTTO (since 2 December 1988)
Legal system
based on English common law with provisions to accommodate Pakistan's stature as an Islamic state; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch
bicameral Federal Legislature (Mijlis-e-Shoora) consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or National Assembly
Long-form name
Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Member of
ADB, CCC, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, NAM, OIC, SAARC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WFTU, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO
National holiday
Pakistan Day (proclamation of the republic), 23 March (1956)
Other political or pressure groups
military remains dominant political force; ulema (clergy), industrialists, and small merchants also influential
Political parties and leaders
Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto; Pakistan Muslim League (PML), former Prime Minister Mohammed Khan Junejo; PML is the main party in the anti-PPP Islamic Democratic Alliance (IDA); Muhajir Quami Movement, Altaf Hussain; Jamiat-ul-Ulema-i-Islam (JUI), Fazlur Rahman; Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Qazi Hussain Ahmed; Awami National Party (ANP), Khan Abdul Wali Khan
Suffrage
universal at age 21
Type
parliamentary with strong executive, federal republic
Economy
Agriculture
24% of GNP, over 50% of labor force; world's largest contiguous irrigation system; major crops--cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, and vegetables; livestock products--milk, beef, mutton, eggs; self-sufficient in food grain
Aid
(including Bangladesh before 1972) US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $4.2 billion authorized (excluding what is now Bangladesh); Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-87), $7.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.3 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $2.9 billion
Budget
revenues $7.5 billion; expenditures $10.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.3 billion (FY89 est.)
Currency
Pakistani rupee (plural--rupees); 1 Pakistani rupee (PRe) = 100 paisa
Electricity
7,575,000 kW capacity; 29,300 million kWh produced, 270 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
Pakistani rupees (PRs) per US$1--21.420 (January 1990), 20.541 (1989), 18.003 (1988), 17.399 (1987), 16.648 (1986), 15.928 (1985)
Exports
$4.5 billion (f.o.b., FY89); commodities--rice, cotton, textiles, clothing; partners--EC 31%, US 11%, Japan 11% (FY88)
External debt
$17.4 billion (1989)
Fiscal year
1 July-30 June
GNP
$43.2 billion, per capita $409; real growth rate 5.1% (FY89)
Illicit drugs
illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; government eradication efforts on poppy cultivation of limited success; 1988 output of opium and hashish each estimated at about 200 metric tons
Imports
$7.2 billion (f.o.b., FY89); commodities--petroleum, petroleum products, machinery, transportation, equipment, vegetable oils, animal fats, chemicals; partners--EC 26%, Japan 15%, US 11% (FY88)
Industrial production
growth rate 3% (FY89)
Industries
textiles, food processing, beverages, petroleum products, construction materials, clothing, paper products, international finance, shrimp
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
11% (FY89)
Overview
Pakistan is a poor Third World country faced with the usual problems of rapidly increasing population, sizable government deficits, and heavy dependence on foreign aid. In addition, the economy must support a large military establishment and provide for the needs of 4 million Afghan refugees. A real economic growth rate averaging 5-6% in recent years has enabled the country to cope with these problems. Almost all agriculture and small-scale industry is in private hands, and the government seeks to privatize a portion of the large-scale industrial enterprises now publicly owned. In December 1988, Pakistan signed a three-year economic reform agreement with the IMF, which provides for a reduction in the government deficit and a liberalization of trade in return for further IMF financial support. The so-called Islamization of the economy has affected mainly the financial sector; for example, a prohibition on certain types of interest payments. Pakistan almost certainly will make little headway against its population problem; at the current rate of growth, population would double in 32 years.
Unemployment rate
4% (FY89 est.)
Communications
Airports
115 total, 102 usable; 70 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 30 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 42 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
30 major transport aircraft
Highways
101,315 km total (1987); 40,155 km paved, 23,000 km gravel, 29,000 km improved earth, and 9,160 km unimproved earth or sand tracks
Merchant marine
29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 338,173 GRT/508,107 DWT; includes 4 passenger-cargo, 24 cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker
Pipelines
250 km crude oil; 4,044 km natural gas; 885 km refined products
Ports
Gwadar, Karachi, Port Muhammad bin Qasim
Railroads
8,773 km total; 7,718 km broad gauge, 445 km meter gauge, and 610 km narrow gauge; 1,037 km broad-gauge double track; 286 km electrified; all government owned (1985)
Telecommunications
good international radiocommunication service over microwave and INTELSAT satellite; domestic radio communications poor; broadcast service good; 564,500 telephones (1987); stations--16 AM, 8 FM, 16; satellite eath station--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Air Force, Navy, Civil Armed Forces, National Guard
Defense expenditures
5.6% of GNP, or $2.4 billion (1989 est.)
Military manpower
males 15-49, 26,215,898; 16,080,545 fit for military service; 1,282,294 reach military age (17) annually