Pakistan People - 2022

Population

242,923,845 (2022 est.)

note: results of Pakistan's 2017 national census estimate the country's total population to be 207,684,626

Nationality

noun: Pakistani(s)

adjective: Pakistani

Ethnic groups

Punjabi 44.7%, Pashtun (Pathan) 15.4%, Sindhi 14.1%, Saraiki 8.4%, Muhajirs 7.6%, Balochi 3.6%, other 6.3%

Languages

Punjabi 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):
ਸੰਸਾਰ ਦੀ ਤੱਥ ਕਿਤਾਬ, ਆਧਾਰੀ ਜਾਣਕਾਰੀ ਲਈ ਜ਼ਰੂਰੀ ਸਰੋਤ ਹੈ (Punjabi)

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Religions

Muslim (official) 96.5% (Sunni 85-90%, Shia 10-15%), other (includes Christian and Hindu) 3.5% (2020 est.)

Age structure

0-14 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 ratios

total dependency ratio: 70

youth dependency ratio: 62.8

elderly dependency ratio: 7.2

potential support ratio: 13.9 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 22 years

male: 21.9 years

female: 22.1 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

1.95% (2022 est.)

Birth rate

26.48 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Death rate

6.02 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Net migration rate

-0.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Population distribution

the Indus River and its tributaries attract most of the settlement, with Punjab province the most densely populated

Urbanization

urban population: 38% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.1% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas - population

16.840 million Karachi, 13.542 million Lahore, 3.625 million Faisalabad, 2.353 million Gujranwala, 2.343 million Peshawar, 1.198 million ISLAMABAD (capital) (2022)

Sex ratio

at 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: 0.79 male(s)/female

total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

22.8 years (2017/18 est.)

note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49

Maternal mortality ratio

140 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 53.98 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 58.34 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 49.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2022 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 69.67 years

male: 67.62 years

female: 71.82 years (2022 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.46 children born/woman (2022 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

34% (2018/19)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 96.5% of population

rural: 92.5% of population

total: 94% of population

unimproved: urban: 3.5% of population

rural: 7.5% of population

total: 6% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

3.4% of GDP (2019)

Physicians density

1.12 physicians/1,000 population (2019)

Hospital bed density

0.6 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 88.6% of population

rural: 73.2% of population

total: 78.9% of population

unimproved: urban: 11.4% of population

rural: 26.8% of population

total: 21.1% of population (2020 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.2% (2021 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree 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 1: widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Pakistan; as of 9 December 2022, Pakistan has reported a total of 1,575,382 cases of COVID-19 or 713.19 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with a total of 30,634 cumulative deaths or a rate of 13.86 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 8 December 2022, 59.22% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine
note 2: Pakistan is one of two countries with endemic wild polio virus (the other is Afghanistan) and considered high risk for international spread of the disease; before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

8.6% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

total: 20.2% (2020 est.)

male: 33% (2020 est.)

female: 7.3% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

23.1% (2017/18)

Child marriage

women married by age 15: 3.6%

women married by age 18: 18.3%

men married by age 18: 4.7% (2018 est.)

Education expenditures

2.4% of GDP (2021 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 58%

male: 69.3%

female: 46.5% (2019)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 9 years

male: 9 years

female: 8 years (2019)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 11.1%

male: 10%

female: 14.4% (2021 est.)