PAKISTAN BY JOE K

LOCATION

• The location of Pakistan is not only unique in the world but of special importance in South Asia. Pakistan links the east with the west.
• Iran makes up its southwest border. On the east, India borders it while on the south, the Arabian Sea borders it.

SIZE

• Pakistan is a country located in South Asia that covers an area of 796,095 square kilometers (310,410 square miles), almost twice the size of California.
• The total land boundary length is 6,774 km (4,209 mi). The coastline is 1,046 km (650 mi).

RELIGIONS

• Almost all of the people of Pakistan are Muslims or at least follow Islamic traditions, and Islamic ideals and practices suffuse virtually all parts of Pakistani life.
• The state religion in Pakistan is Islam, which is practiced by about 95-98% of the 195,343,000 people of the nation The remaining 2-5% practice Christianity, Hinduism and other religions.

GOVERNMENT

• Pakistan is governed under the constitution of 1973 as amended, which provides for a federal parliamentary form of government
• The government is headed by the prime minister, who is selected by the National Assembly. There is a bicameral legislature. The National Assembly has 342 members, 272 of them elected by popular vote, with 60 seats reserved for women and 10 for non-Muslims; all serve five-year terms.

CULTURAL NORMS

• Pakistan was formed as an Islamic nation, and Islam continues to be the religion of approximately 95 percent of the population. There are also small groups of Buddhists, Christians, Parsis, and Hindus.
• Islam has played a pivotal role in shaping cultural life and has provided a pattern for molding lives according to the prescribed ways.

DEMOGRPHICS

• Pakistan is one of the most populous countries in the world, though the population is distributed rather unevenly.
• The overwhelming demographic fact of Pakistani history is the enormous shift of population during the country’s partition from India.