Pakistan

Pakistan is a country in South Asia.

Very tall, snowy mountains stand in the north. A long river called the Indus flows to the sea. The south has a coast, and there are deserts too. The capital city is called Islamabad.

Pakistan is a country in South Asia. Its neighbors are Iran to the west, Afghanistan to the northwest and north, China to the northeast and India to the east and southeast. The Arabian Sea forms its southern edge.

About three-fifths of Pakistan is mountains and high plateaus, and the rest is wide, flat plain along the Indus River. The capital, Islamabad, is in the foothills in the north, and the largest city, Karachi, is on the coast in the south. Pakistan's 2023 census counted 241.49 million people.

Britannica describes Pakistan as a populous multiethnic country associated historically and culturally with Iran, Afghanistan and India. It is bounded by Iran to the west, Afghanistan to the northwest and north, China to the northeast, India to the east and southeast and the Arabian Sea to the south, and lies at the western end of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. About three-fifths of the land is rough mountain and plateau, and two-fifths level plain, in five major regions: the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges, the Hindu Kush and western mountains, the Balochistan plateau, the submontane Potwar Plateau and Salt Range, and the Indus plain.

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics' first digital census, begun on March 1, 2023, counted 241.49 million people, up from 207.68 million in 2017, an average growth rate of 2.55 percent a year; 61.18 percent of people lived in rural areas. The World Bank estimated 255,219,554 for 2025.

Karachi is the biggest city in Pakistan.

It is by the sea. Lahore has a big old fort with palaces inside. Very long ago, people built a city of bricks called Mohenjo-daro. Its ruins are still there.

Karachi, on the Arabian Sea, is Pakistan's largest city. Lahore, in the Punjab, is another big city, and the capital, Islamabad, is next to Rawalpindi in the northern foothills. Other big cities include Faisalabad, Peshawar, Multan and Hyderabad.

Pakistan has several World Heritage Sites. Mohenjo-daro, by the Indus, was a huge city built entirely of unbaked brick about 4,500 years ago, with a lower town laid out to strict rules. In Lahore, the Fort's marble palaces and the Shalimar Gardens, with terraces, waterfalls and ponds, come from the Mughal era. Rohtas Fort, built after 1541, has walls more than 4 kilometers long.

Karachi, on the Arabian Sea coast, is the largest city; Islamabad, the capital, lies in the Himalayan foothills beside Rawalpindi, amid the Shiwalik hills. UNESCO inscribed the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in 1980: a huge city of unbaked brick from the 3rd millennium BCE whose acropolis on high embankments, ramparts and strictly planned lower town show an early system of town planning. Taxila (1980) traces a city from a Neolithic mound through Sirkap (2nd century BCE) and Sirsukh (1st century CE), influenced by Persia, Greece and Central Asia and, from the 5th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, a center of learning.

The Fort and Shalimar Gardens in Lahore (1981) date from the height of Mughal civilization under Shah Jahan, with marble palaces decorated with mosaics and gilt, and gardens on three terraces with lodges, waterfalls and ornamental ponds. Rohtas Fort (1997), built by Sher Shah Suri after his 1541 defeat of the Mughal emperor Humayun, was never taken by storm; its walls extend for more than 4 km, with bastions and monumental gateways.

Pakistan's mountains are some of the tallest in the world.

The highest is called K2. Snow and ice melt and run down into rivers. The Indus River runs from the mountains to the sea. Thorny bushes grow in the dry deserts.

In the far north, the western Himalayas and the Karakoram Range rise to more than 6,000 meters, and four peaks there are over 8,000 meters. K2, in the Karakoram, is 8,611 meters tall, and Nanga Parbat is 8,126 meters. Melting snow and glaciers feed the rivers, including the Indus.

The Indus flows south through a huge, flat plain to the Arabian Sea. In the Punjab, five rivers join it; the name Punjab comes from the Persian for "five waters." The northern mountains stand in the way of rain-bearing monsoon winds from the south, which shapes where rain falls. The Karakoram Highway, finished in 1970, crosses the mountains to China.

The western Himalayas occupy the whole northern end of the country, splitting into the Pir Panjal, Zanskar and Ladakh ranges, with the separate Karakoram system farther north; elevations run from about 4,000 m to more than 6,000 m, and four peaks exceed 8,000 m, including Nanga Parbat (8,126 m) and K2 (8,611 m). The Hindu Kush branches southwest from the Pamir Knot, with Tirich Mir at 7,690 m. The northern barrier intercepts monsoon winds, and snowmelt and glacier meltwater feed the rivers; Britannica notes that Karakoram glaciers are among the few in the world to have grown since the late 20th century. The north and west are seismically active, as a geologically young mountain system.

The Indus plain covers about 518,000 km² and slopes no more than about 1 m per 5 km from the Himalayan piedmont to the Arabian Sea. In the upper plain the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej form the doabs of Punjab ("five waters"); in the lower plain the Indus becomes a single river with no significant tributaries. Drought-resistant acacia scrub covers the deserts, while fir, deodar, blue pine and spruce grow in the wetter northern mountains.

Snow leopards live high in the mountains.

Wild goats called markhor live in the mountains too. A special dolphin swims in the Indus River. Sea turtles lay their eggs on the beaches.

The northern mountains are home to brown bears, Himalayan black bears, leopards, rare snow leopards, ibex and wild sheep and goats such as the markhor and the Marco Polo sheep. Chinkara gazelles are found widely, and jackals, foxes, lynx, caracals and jungle cats live across the country.

The Indus River has its own freshwater dolphin, the Indus river dolphin, which is endangered. Crocodiles, gharials and pythons live in the Indus delta, and Manchhar Lake in Sindh has many water birds, such as ducks, geese and spoonbills. Green and olive ridley sea turtles nest on the Makran coast. National parks and game reserves have been set up since the 1970s.

Britannica notes that habitat destruction and excessive hunting have reduced the range of animal life, though wildlife is still abundant in some areas. Large mammals of the northern mountains include brown bears, Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus), leopards, rare snow leopards, Siberian ibex and wild sheep and goats such as markhors, Marco Polo sheep (Ovis ammon polii) and Chiltan wild goats. Nilgais, chinkaras (Gazella gazella bennetti) and muntjacs occur, and jackals, foxes, Eurasian lynxes, caracals, fishing cats and jungle cats range widely; the Asiatic cheetah is probably extinct in Pakistan.

The Indus river dolphin's habitat has been severely stressed by hunting, pollution, dams and barrages. Crocodiles, gavials, pythons and wild boars inhabit the Indus delta, Manchhar Lake holds mallards, teals, shovelers, spoonbills, geese and pochards, and at least two sea turtles, the green and olive ridley, nest on the Makran coast. National parks and game preserves date from the 1970s, and the Indus river dolphin, snow leopard and gavial have been declared endangered.

Pakistan's census counted 241.49 million people.

People speak many languages, such as Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu. Wheat bread, such as chapati, is the main food. Many people drink hot tea, called chai.

The 2023 census counted 241.49 million people. Pakistan has many peoples: Punjabis are the largest group, more than a third of the population, followed by Pashtuns, Sindhis, Saraikis, Balochs and others. Urdu is the only official language and is taught in schools along with regional languages, and English is still used in government.

Pakistani food has much in common with Indian food. Curries, lentils and vegetables such as potatoes, eggplant and okra are common, flavored with a mix of spices called masala. Wheat bread is the national staple, chapati and naan are the most common kinds, and many people drink a lot of hot tea. Most people are Muslims and celebrate Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

The 2023 census counted 241.49 million people. Britannica describes five major ethnic groups: Punjabis (more than a third), Pashtuns (nearly a fifth), Sindhis and Saraikis, and the muhajirs (Muslims who came after partition in 1947) and Balochs, plus many smaller groups such as the Brahuis. No single language is common to the whole population; mother tongues include Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, Urdu, Balochi and Brahui. Urdu, which originated in the Mughal period and is the mother tongue of only a small share, is the official national language taught in schools, while English remains the lingua franca of government, the intelligentsia and the military. The population is overwhelmingly Muslim.

Cuisine has affinities with India's: curries, vegetables, regional masalas, yogurt, chicken, mutton and lamb, lentils and wheat bread (chapati and naan) as the national staple, with chai and lassi. The shalwar-kamiz is the most common traditional dress. Holidays include Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, Independence Day (August 14) and Pakistan Day (March 23), marking the Lahore Resolution of 1940.