Full name: Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Population: 161.1 million (UN, 2005)
Capital: Islamabad
Largest city: Karachi
Area: 796,095 sq km (307,374 sq miles), excluding Pakistani-administered Kashmir (83,716 sq km/32,323 sq miles)
Major languages: English, Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi
Major religion: Islam
Life expectancy: 63 years (men), 63 years (women) (UN)
Monetary unit: 1 Pakistani Rupee = 100 paisa
Main exports: Textile products, rice, cotton, leather goods
GNI per capita: US $690 (World Bank, 2006)
Internet domain: .pk
International dialing code: +92


Pakistan is found in South Asia and shares a border on the east with India and a border with China on the northeast side. On it's western and northern side is Afghanistan with Iran found on the southwest border of the country. Pakistan's southern boundary is the Arabian Sea with the sea covering 1,064 km of coastline.
Home to ancient civilizations, comparable to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, Pakistan arguably has some of the most stunning landscapes in Asia.  Covering an area almost four times the size of the United Kingdom and two times the size of California), Pakistan has a total area of 796,095 sq km.

Culture of Pakistan
Pakistani society is ethically diverse yet overwhelmingly Muslim. It is largely rural yet beset by the problems of hyper urbanization. Since its freedom in 1947, Pakistan has enjoyed a robust and expanding economy--the average per capita income in the mid-1990s approached the transition line separating low-income from middle-income countries--but wealth is poorly distributed. A middle-class is emerging, but a narrow stratum of elite families maintains extremely disproportionate control over the nation's wealth, and almost one-third of all Pakistanis live in poverty. It is a male-controlled society in which social development has lagged considerably behind economic change, as revealed by such critical indicators as sanitation, access to health care, and literacy, particularly among females. Increasing population pressure on limited resources, together with this pattern of social and economic inequity, was causing increased disquietude within the society in the early 1990s.

People of Pakistan
Pakistan has one of the world's most rapidly growing populations. Its people are a mixture of many ethnic groups, a result of the occupation of the region by groups passing through on their way to India. The Pathans (Pashtuns) of the northwest are a large, indigenous group that has long resisted advances by invaders and that has at times sought to establish an autonomous state within Pakistan. Baluchis, who live mainly in the southwest, have also pressed for the creation of a state that would incorporate parts of Afghanistan and Iran. Punjabis reside mainly in the northeast and Sindhis in the southeast. Pakistan is an overwhelmingly (about 97%) Muslim country. Urdu is the official language, but Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Baluchi, and Brahui are also spoken; English is common among the upper classes and in the government.