Pakistan

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Country summary

Capital

Islamabad

Borders

Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km

Government type

federal republic

Population

174,578,558 (July 2010 est.)[1]

Population growth

1.555% (2010 est.)[1]

Life expectancy

65.26 years[1]

Unemployment

14% (2009 est.)[1]

Index of Economic Freedom

117[2]

Corruption Perceptions Index

139[3]

Doing Business ranking

85[4]


The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world and dating back at least 5,000 years, spread over much of what is presently Pakistan. During the second millennium B.C., remnants of this culture fused with the migrating Indo-Aryan peoples. The area underwent successive invasions in subsequent centuries from the Scythians, Persians, Greeks, Parthians, Sassanids, Arabs (who brought Islam), Afghans, and Turks. The Mughal Empire flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries; the British came to dominate the region in the 18th century. The separation in 1947 of British India into the Muslim state of Pakistan (with West and East sections) and largely Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved, and India and Pakistan fought two wars - in 1947-48 and 1965 - over the disputed Kashmir territory. A third war between these countries in 1971 - in which India capitalized on Islamabad's marginalization of Bengalis in Pakistani politics - resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. In response to Indian nuclear weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in 1998. The dispute over the state of Kashmir is ongoing, but discussions and confidence-building measures have helped the two countries begin to work through their issues. In February 2008, Pakistan held parliamentary elections and in September 2008, after the resignation of former President MUSHARRAF, elected Asif Ali ZARDARI to the presidency. Pakistani government and military leaders are struggling to control domestic insurgents, many of whom are located in the tribal areas adjacent to the border with Afghanistan. India-Pakistan relations have been rocky since the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, but both countries are taking small steps to put relations back on track.[1]

Economical characteristics

  • Currency: Pakistani Rupee (ISO code: PKR)
  • Central bank discount rate: 15% (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Commercial banks lending rate: NA%[1]
  • Stock of money (M1): $NA (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $NA (31 December 2008)[1]


Statistics

Statistic / Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
GDP (million USD)[5] 62 974 73 952 72 310 72 307 83 245 97 978 109 600 127 500 143 203 164 539
Govt. debt (% of GDP)[6]
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[7] 15.804 13.886 12.710 13.903 14.389 13.491 12.999 13.399 14.470 13.373
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[8] 18.994 17.187 16.254 16.925 16.829 14.434 14.624 15.247 16.322 18.559
Debt to revenue (years)

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Pakistan", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  2. ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Pakistan", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  3. ↑ Transparency International. "Pakistan", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  4. ↑ Doing Business. "Pakistan", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  5. ↑ World Bank. "Pakistan: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  6. ↑ World Bank. "Pakistan: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  7. ↑ World Bank. "Pakistan: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  8. ↑ World Bank. "Pakistan: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.

Links

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