Terrain: flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and northwest;
Balochistan plateau in west
Natural resources: land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited
petroleum, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone
Land use: arable land: 23% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 6% forest and woodland: 4% other: 67% (1993)
Irrigated land: 170,000 sq km (1992)
Environment:
current issues: water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes,
and agricultural runoff; limited natural fresh water resources; a
majority of the population does not have access to potable water;
deforestation; soil erosion; desertification
natural hazards: frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially
in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July
and August)
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands;
signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine
Life Conservation
Note: controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional invasion routes
between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent
@Pakistan:People
Population: 131,541,920 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (female 28,033,354; male 29,777,818)
15-64 years: 52% (female 33,456,410; male 35,109,482)
65 years and over: 4% (female 2,556,846; male 2,608,010) (July 1995
est.)
Population growth rate: 1.28% (1995 est.)