| Population | 238,181,034 (July 2021 est.) note: provisional results of Pakistan's 2017 national census estimate the country's total population to be 207,774,000 |
| Nationality | noun: Pakistani(s) adjective: Pakistani |
| Ethnic groups | Punjabi 44.7%, Pashtun (Pathan) 15.4%, Sindhi 14.1%, Saraiki 8.4%, Muhajirs 7.6%, Balochi 3.6%, other 6.3% |
| Languages | Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Saraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashto (alternate name, Pashtu) 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official; lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8% major-language sample(s): ????? ?? ??? ?????, ????? ??????? ?? ?????? ???? ?? (Punjabi) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. |
| Religions | Muslim (official) 96.5% (Sunni 85-90%, Shia 10-15%), other (includes Christian and Hindu) 3.5% (2020 est.) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 36.01% (male 42,923,925/female 41,149,694) 15-24 years: 19.3% (male 23,119,205/female 21,952,976) 25-54 years: 34.7% (male 41,589,381/female 39,442,046) 55-64 years: 5.55% (male 6,526,656/female 6,423,993) 65 years and over: 4.44% (male 4,802,165/female 5,570,595) (2020 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 64.4 youth dependency ratio: 57.2 elderly dependency ratio: 7.1 potential support ratio: 14 (2020 est.) |
| Median age | total: 22 years male: 21.9 years female: 22.1 years (2020 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.99% (2021 est.) |
| Birth rate | 26.95 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Death rate | 6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Net migration rate | -0.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Population distribution | the Indus River and its tributaries attract most of the settlement, with Punjab province the most densely populated |
| Urbanization | urban population: 37.4% of total population (2021) rate of urbanization: 2.1% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major cities - population | 16.459 million Karachi, 13.095 million Lahore, 3.542 million Faisalabad, 2.281 million Rawalpindi, 2.290 million Gujranwala, 1.164 million ISLAMABAD (capital) (2021) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2020 est.) |
| Mother's mean age at first birth | 22.8 years (2017/18 est.) note: median age at first birth among women 25-49 |
| Maternal mortality rate | 140 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 55.26 deaths/1,000 live births male: 59.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 50.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.37 years male: 67.34 years female: 71.5 years (2021 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 3.53 children born/woman (2021 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 34% (2018/19) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 94.2% of population rural: 89.9% of population total: 91.5% of population unimproved: urban: 5.8% of population rural: 10.1% of population total: 8.5% of population (2017 est.) |
| Health expenditures | 3.2% (2018) |
| Physicians density | 0.98 physicians/1,000 population (2018) |
| Hospital bed density | 0.6 beds/1,000 population (2017) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 82.5% of population rural: 62.9% of population total: 70.1% of population unimproved: urban: 17.5% of population rural: 37.1% of population total: 29.9% of population (2017 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 0.2% (2020 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 200,000 (2020 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 8,200 (2020 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases | degree of risk: high (2020) food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria animal contact diseases: rabies note: widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Pakistan; as of 19 July 2021, Pakistan has reported a total of 991,727 cases of COVID-19 or 448.96 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 10.33 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 19 July 2021, 4.21% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 8.6% (2016) |
| Food insecurity | severe localized food insecurity: due to population displacements, economic constraints, and high prices of the main food staple - the main causes of food insecurity in the country are limited livelihood opportunities, high food prices, and recurrent natural disasters, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic; severe floods in August 2020 in Sindh Province affected the livelihoods of about 2 million people and caused severe damage to housing and infrastructure; in addition, prices of wheat flour, the country’s main staple, were at high levels in most markets in May 2021, constraining access to food of the most vulnerable households; Pakistan hosts large numbers of registered and unregistered Afghan refugees; most of these people are in need of humanitarian assistance and are straining the already limited resources of the host communities; poverty levels have increased due to losses of income-generating opportunities (2021) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 23.1% (2017/18) |
| Education expenditures | 2.9% of GDP (2017) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 59.1% male: 71.1% female: 46.5% (2015) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) | total: 8 years male: 9 years female: 8 years (2018) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
