PAKISTAN                                                                        
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 803,940 km2; land area: 778,720 km2                                 
                                                                                
Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of California               
                                                                                
Land boundaries: 6,774 km total; Afghanistan 2,430 km, China                    
523 km, India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km                                             
                                                                                
Coastline: 1,046 km                                                             
                                                                                
Maritime claims:                                                                
                                                                                
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;                                                         
                                                                                
Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;                        
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;                                                
                                                                                
Territorial sea: 12 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                                          
                                                                                
Climate: mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in              
north                                                                           
                                                                                
Terrain: flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and                       
northwest; Balochistan plateau in west                                          
                                                                                
Natural resources: land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited                
crude oil, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone                 
                                                                                
Land use: arable land 26%; permanent crops NEGL%;                               
meadows and pastures 6%; forest and woodland 4%; other 64%; includes            
irrigated 19%                                                                   
                                                                                
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            
                                                                                
Note: controls Khyber Pass and Malakand Pass, traditional                       
invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent                
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 117,490,278 (July 1991), growth rate 2.5% (1991)                    
                                                                                
Birth rate: 43 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Net migration rate: - 5 migrants/1,000 population (1991)                        
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 109 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                      
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: 56 years male, 57 years female (1991)                 
                                                                                
Total fertility rate: 6.6 children born/woman (1991)                            
                                                                                
Nationality: noun--Pakistani(s); adjective--Pakistani                           
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch,                    
Muhajir (immigrants from India and their descendents)                           
                                                                                
Religion: Muslim 97% (Sunni 77%, Shia 20%), Christian, Hindu, and               
other 3%                                                                        
                                                                                
Language: 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                             
                                                                                
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: 15 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 (Mijlis-e-Shoora)                      
consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or National              
Assembly                                                                        
                                                                                
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 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 Shia 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                       
December 1993); results--Ghulam Ishaq KHAN was elected by Parliament            
and the four provincial assemblies;                                             
                                                                                
Senate--last held March 1991 (next to be held March 1994);                      
results--elected by provincial assemblies;                                      
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;                
                                                                                
National Assembly--last held on 24 October 1990 (next to be held                
by October 1995);                                                               
results--percent of vote by party NA;                                           
seats--(217 total) IJI 107, PDA 45, MQM 15, ANP 6, JUI 6, JWP 2, PNP 2,         
PKMP 1, independent 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 Najmuddin SHAIKH; 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 or APO New York 09614); telephone  92  (51) 826161                    
through 79; 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                          
                                                                                
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, 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. Late in 1990, the IMF                 
suspended assistance to Pakistan because the government failed to               
follow through on deficit reforms. Pakistan almost certainly will make          
little headway on raising living standards for its rapidly expanding            
population; at the current rate of growth, population would double in           
29 years.                                                                       
                                                                                
GNP: $43.3 billion, per capita $380; real growth rate 5.0%                      
(FY90 est.)                                                                     
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.7% (FY90)                                   
                                                                                
Unemployment rate: 10% (FY91 est.)                                              
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $5.6 billion; expenditures $10.2 billion,                      
including capital expenditures of $2.7 billion (FY91 est.)                      
                                                                                
Exports: $4.8 billion (f.o.b., FY90);                                           
                                                                                
commodities--rice, cotton, textiles, clothing;                                  
                                                                                
partners--EC 31%, Japan 11.6%, US 11.5% (FY89)                                  
                                                                                
Imports: $6.5 billion (f.o.b., FY90);                                           
                                                                                
commodities--petroleum, petroleum products, machinery,                          
transportation equipment, vegetable oils, animal fats, chemicals;               
                                                                                
partners--EC 26%, US 16%, Japan 14% (FY89)                                      
                                                                                
External debt: $20.1 billion (1990 est.)                                        
                                                                                
Industrial production: growth rate 7.5% (FY91 est.); accounts for               
almost 20% of GNP                                                               
                                                                                
Electricity: 7,575,000 kW capacity; 29,300 million kWh produced,                
270 kWh per capita (1989)                                                       
                                                                                
Industries: textiles, food processing, beverages, petroleum                     
products, construction materials, clothing, paper products, international       
finance, shrimp                                                                 
                                                                                
Agriculture: 25% of GDP, 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                                     
                                                                                
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for                 
the international drug trade; government eradication efforts on poppy           
cultivation of limited success                                                  
                                                                                
Economic aid: (including Bangladesh before 1972) US commitments,                
including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $4.5 billion authorized (excluding what is now       
Bangladesh); Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral                  
commitments (1980-88), $8.2 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--22.072 (January                
1991), 21.707 (1990), 20.541 (1989), 18.003 (1988), 17.399 (1987), 16.648       
(1986), 15.928 (1985)                                                           
                                                                                
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June                                                     
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
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)                                        
                                                                                
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 (1985)                                                                   
                                                                                
Pipelines: 250 km crude oil; 4,044 km natural gas; 885 km refined               
products (1987)                                                                 
                                                                                
Ports: Gwadar, Karachi, Port Muhammad bin Qasim                                 
                                                                                
Merchant marine: 29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 339,855                  
GRT/500,627 DWT; includes 4 passenger-cargo, 24 cargo, 1 petroleum, oils,       
and lubricants (POL) tanker                                                     
                                                                                
Civil air: 30 major transport aircraft                                          
                                                                                
Airports: 115 total, 105 usable; 75 with permanent-surface runways;             
1 with runways over 3,659 m; 31 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 43 with             
runways 1,220-2,439 m                                                           
                                                                                
Telecommunications: good international radiocommunication service               
over microwave and INTELSAT satellite; domestic radio communications            
poor; broadcast service good; 813,000 telephones (1990); stations--19 AM,       
8 FM, 29 TV; earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 2                    
Indian Ocean INTELSAT                                                           
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Civil Armed Forces,                            
National Guard                                                                  
                                                                                
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 26,840,840; 16,466,334 fit for              
military service; 1,322,883 reach military age (17) annually                    
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $2.9 billion, 6% of GNP (FY91)                            
                                                                                
