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Pakistan Demographics Profile

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Population238,181,034 (July 2021 est.)

note: provisional results of Pakistan's 2017 national census estimate the country's total population to be 207,774,000
Nationalitynoun: Pakistani(s)

adjective: Pakistani
Ethnic groupsPunjabi 44.7%, Pashtun (Pathan) 15.4%, Sindhi 14.1%, Saraiki 8.4%, Muhajirs 7.6%, Balochi 3.6%, other 6.3%
LanguagesPunjabi 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):
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The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
ReligionsMuslim (official) 96.5% (Sunni 85-90%, Shia 10-15%), other (includes Christian and Hindu) 3.5% (2020 est.)
Age structure0-14 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 ratiostotal dependency ratio: 64.4

youth dependency ratio: 57.2

elderly dependency ratio: 7.1

potential support ratio: 14 (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 22 years

male: 21.9 years

female: 22.1 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate1.99% (2021 est.)
Birth rate26.95 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate-0.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Population distributionthe Indus River and its tributaries attract most of the settlement, with Punjab province the most densely populated
Urbanizationurban population: 37.4% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 2.1% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major cities - population16.459 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 ratioat 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 birth22.8 years (2017/18 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-49
Maternal mortality rate140 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 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 birthtotal population: 69.37 years

male: 67.34 years

female: 71.5 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate3.53 children born/woman (2021 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate34% (2018/19)
Drinking water sourceimproved: 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 expenditures3.2% (2018)
Physicians density0.98 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
Hospital bed density0.6 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: 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 rate0.2% (2020 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS200,000 (2020 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths8,200 (2020 est.)
Major infectious diseasesdegree 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 rate8.6% (2016)
Food insecuritysevere 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 underweight23.1% (2017/18)
Education expenditures2.9% of GDP (2017)
Literacydefinition: 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

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