:Pakistan People
Population:
121,664,539 (July 1992), growth rate 2.9% (1992)
Birth rate:
43 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
13 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
-1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
105 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
56 years male, 57 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
6.6 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Pakistani(s); adjective - Pakistani
Ethnic divisions:
Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir (immigrants from India
and their descendents)
Religions:
Muslim 97% (Sunni 77%, Shi`a 20%), Christian, Hindu, and other 3%
Languages:
Urdu and English (both official); total spoken languages - Punjabi 64%,
Sindhi 12%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu 7%, Balochi and other 9%; English is lingua
franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries, but official
policies are promoting its gradual replacement by Urdu
Literacy:
35% (male 47%, female 21%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
28,900,000; agriculture 54%, mining and manufacturing 13%, services 33%;
extensive export of labor (1987 est.)
Organized labor:
about 10% of industrial work force
:Pakistan Government
Long-form name:
Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Type:
parliamentary with strong executive, federal republic
Capital:
Islamabad
Administrative divisions:
4 provinces, 1 territory*, and 1 capital 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
Independence:
14 August 1947 (from UK; formerly West Pakistan)
Constitution:
10 April 1973, suspended 5 July 1977, restored with amendments, 30 December
1985
Legal system:
based on English common law with provisions to accommodate Pakistan's
stature as an Islamic state; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations
National holiday:
Pakistan Day (proclamation of the republic), 23 March (1956)
Executive branch:
president, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament (Majlis-e-Shoora) consists of an upper house or Senate
and a lower house or National Assembly
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court, Federal Islamic (Shari`at) Court
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President GHULAM ISHAQ Khan (since 13 December 1988)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Mian Nawaz SHARIF (since 6 November 1990)
Political parties and leaders:
Islamic Democratic Alliance (Islami Jamuri Ittehad or IJI) - the Pakistan
Muslim League (PML) led by Mohammed Khan JUNEJO is the main party in the
IJI; Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Benazir BHUTTO; note - in September 1990
the PPP announced the formation of the People's Democratic Alliance (PDA),
an electoral alliance including the following four parties - PPP, Solidarity
Movement (Tehrik Istiqlal), Movement for the Implementation of Shi`a
Jurisprudence (Tehrik-i-Nifaz Fiqh Jafariya or TNFJ), and the PML (Malik
faction); Muhajir Qaumi Movement (MQM), Altaf HUSSAIN; Awami National Party
(ANP), Khan Abdul Wali KHAN; Jamiat-ul-Ulema-i-Islam (JUI), Fazlur RAHMAN;
Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), Mohammad Akbar Khan BUGTI; Pakistan National
Party (PNP), Mir Ghaus Bakhsh BIZENJO; Pakistan Khawa Milli Party (PKMP),
leader NA; Assembly of Pakistani Clergy (Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan or JUP),
Maulana Shah Ahmed NOORANI; Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Qazi Hussain AHMED
Suffrage:
universal at age 21
Elections:
President:
last held on 12 December 1988 (next to be held NA December 1993); results -
Ghulam Ishaq KHAN was elected by Parliament and the four provincial
assemblies
:Pakistan Government
Senate:
last held March 1991 (next to be held NA March 1994); seats - (87 total) IJI
57, Tribal Area Representatives (nonparty) 8, PPP 5, ANP 5, JWP 4, MQM 3,
PNP 2, PKMP 1, JUI 1, independent 1
Elections:
National Assembly:
last held on 24 October 1990 (next to be held by NA October 1995); results -
percent of vote by party NA; seats - (217 total) IJI 107, PDA 45, MQM 15,
ANP 6, JUI 2, JWP 2, PNP 2, PKMP 1, independents 14, religious minorities
10, Tribal Area Representatives (nonparty) 8, vacant 1
Communists:
the Communist party is officially banned but is allowed to operate openly
Other political or pressure groups:
military remains dominant political force; ulema (clergy), industrialists,
and small merchants also influential
Member of:
AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Abida HUSSAIN; Chancery at 2315 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-6200; there is a Pakistani
Consulate General in New York
US:
Ambassador Nicholas PLATT; Embassy at Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad
(mailing address is P. O. Box 1048, PSC 1212, Box 2000, Islamabad or APO AE
09812-2000); telephone [92] (51) 826161 through 79; FAX [92] (51) 822004;
there are US Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore and a Consulate in
Peshawar
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
:Pakistan Economy
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. In 1990, Pakistan embarked on a
sweeping economic liberalization program to boost foreign and domestic
private investment and lower foreign aid dependence. The SHARIF government
has denationalized several state-owned firms and has attracted some foreign
investment. Pakistan likely will have difficulty raising living standards
because of its rapidly expanding population. At the current rate of growth,
population would double in 25 years.
GNP:
exchange rate conversion - $45.4 billion, per capita $380; real growth rate
4.8% (FY91 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
12.3% (FY91)
Unemployment rate:
10% (FY91 est.)
Budget:
revenues $6.4 billion; expenditures $10 billion, including capital
expenditures of $2.6 billion (FY92 est.)
Exports:
$6.0 billion (f.o.b., FY91)
commodities:
cotton, textiles, clothing, rice
partners:
EC 31%, Japan 9%, US 13% (FY90)
Imports:
$7.9 billion (f.o.b., FY91)
commodities:
petroleum, petroleum products, machinery, transportation, equipment,
vegetable oils, animal fats, chemicals
partners:
EC 21%, US 14%, Japan 13% (FY90)
External debt:
$20.1 billion (1990 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 5.7% (FY91); accounts for almost 20% of GNP
Electricity:
8,500,000 kW capacity; 35,000 million kWh produced, 300 kWh per capita
(1991)
Industries:
textiles, food processing, beverages, construction materials, clothing,
paper products, shrimp
Agriculture:
25% of GNP, over 50% of labor force; world's largest contiguous irrigation
system; major crops - cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, and
vegetables; live-stock products - milk, beef, mutton, eggs; self-sufficient
in food grain
Illicit drugs:
illicit producer of opium and hashish for the international drug trade;
government eradication efforts on poppy cultivation of limited success
:Pakistan Economy
Economic aid:
(including Bangladesh only before 1972) US commitments, including Ex-Im
(FY70-89), $4.5 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1980-89), $9.1 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.3
billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $3.2 billion
Currency:
Pakistani rupee (plural - rupees); 1 Pakistani rupee (PRe) = 100 paisa
Exchange rates:
Pakistani rupees (PRs) per US$1 - 24.980 (March 1992), 23.801 (1991), 21.707
(1990), 20.541 (1989), 18.003 (1988), 17.399 (1987)
Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June