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
Geographic note: controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional
invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent
People ———
Population: 129,275,660 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 42% (male 28,286,823; female 26,640,019)
15-64 years: 53% (male 35,396,281; female 33,733,798)
65 years and over: 5% (male 2,621,721; female 2,597,018) (July 1996
est.)
Population growth rate: 2.24% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 36.16 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 11.22 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 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: 1.01 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.05 male(s)/female (1996 est.)