Pakistan is situated in the western part of the Indian subcontinent, with Afghanistan and Iran on the west, India on the east, and the Arabian Sea on the south. The name Pakistan is derived from the Urdu words Pak (meaning pure) and stan (meaning country). It is nearly twice the size of California.
The northern and western highlands of Pakistan contain the towering Karakoram and Pamir mountain ranges, which include some of the world's highest peaks: K2 (28,250 ft; 8,611 m) and Nanga Parbat (26,660 ft; 8,126 m). The Baluchistan Plateau lies to the west, and the Thar Desert and an expanse of alluvial plains, the Punjab and Sind, lie to the east. The 1,000-mile-long (1,609-km) Indus River and its tributaries flow through the country from the Kashmir region to the Arabian Sea.
Country lead by President: Gen. Pervez Musharraf (2001)
Prime minister (caretaker): Shaukat Aziz (2004)
Population
165,803,560 (growth rate: 2.1%); birth rate: 29.7/1000; infant mortality rate: 70.5/1000; life expectancy: 63.4; density per sq mi: 551
Land Area
300,664 sq mi (778,720 sq km); total area: 310,403 sq mi (803,940 sq km)
Monetary unit
Pakistan rupee Language
Urdu 8%, English (both official); Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashtu 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, Burushaski, and others 8%
Ethnicity Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir (immigrants from India and their descendants)
Religion Islam 97% (Sunni 77%, Shiite 20%); Christian, Hindu, and other 3%
Transportation Railways: total: 8,163 km (2002). Highways: total: 254,410 km; paved: 109,396 km (including 339 km of expressways); unpaved: 145,014 km (1999). Ports and harbors: Karachi, Port Muhammad bin Qasim. Airports: 124 (2002).
