Pakistan

Formal Name:

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Location and Area:

Covering an area of 796,095 Sq. Kms.(not included Kashmir), Pakistan is located in Southern Asia Subcontinent. It borders the Arabian Sea to the south, and is positioned between India to the east and Iran and Afghanistan to the West. Its Northern border is shared with China, The cross length about 1600 km from North to South.

Climate:

The most areas are subtropical weather, mostly hot, dry desert. Averging rainfall below 250 mm, and a quarter area less than 120mm. June and July is the most hot season, the most areas are above 40°C in lunch time, the lower temperature is between Dec. and Feb. 14°C; temperate in northwest; arctic in north.

Independence Day:

14th August

Popular & Religion:

149 million (2003). Pakistan is a multi-tribal country, Punjabi 63%, Sindhi 18%, both are Aryan. Pashtun(pathan) 11%, Baloch 4%, are mixed blood of Iranian and Turk. Muslim is the state religion, about 95%, others are Christianity, Hinduism and Sikh.

Language:

Urdu and English are the official language of Pakistan. Many other languages are spoken in Pakistan, including Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtu, Balochi and other languages with smaller numbers of speakers.

Administrative Divisions:

4 provinces, 10 Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Islamabad is Capital Territory.

Brief History:

Pakistan is an Urdu term meaning "land of the pure". The suffix - stan, common to many countries in the region, means "land of" in Persian. Pakistan, as like as India, has been initiated by The Indus Valley civilization for 4,000 years. The history of modern Pakistan begins during the times of British colonial India in 1858. On March 23, 1940, leader of the All India Muslim League formally endorsed the "Lahore Resolution" calling for the creation of an independent state in regions where Muslims constituted a majority. In June 1947, the British Government declared that it would bestow full dominion status upon two successor states -- India and Pakistan. Consequently, a bifurcated Muslim nation separated by more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 mi.) of Indian territory emerged when Pakistan became a self-governing dominion within the Commonwealth on August 14, 1947. Pakistan then became the first Islamic republic on March 23, 1956 with the signing of a new constitution.

Economy Overviews:

Pakistan is a developing country, agro-base economy; agriculture is about 30% of annual GDP. In 2002, the reformed policy of economy has been processed by the government, controlling financial budget, reducing state expenditure, the economy has been improved. In 2002-03, GDP has account for US $63 billion, with economic growth averaging 5.1% per annum, about US $492 per capita. The industrial growth is about 6.5%, the major sector is cotton weave, and other industries are textile, sugar, paper products, tobacco, leather etc. At the end of 2003, The Foreign Exchange Reserve is up to US $11.5 billion; The External Debt is reduced to US $35 billion.