1989 Edition

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Border Security Forces, Coast Guard, Paramilitary Forces Military manpower males 15-49, 227,436,282; 134,169,114 fit for military service; about 9,403,063 reach military age (17) annually

Climate

northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/ June and October/November in the north Indian Ocean and January/ February in the south Indian Ocean

mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north

Coastline

66,526 km

1,046 km

Comparative area

slightly less than eight times the size of the US; third-largest ocean (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean)

slightly less than twice the size of California

Contiguous zone

24 nm

Continental shelf

edge of continental margin or 200 nm

Defense expenditures

2.6% of GNP, or $8.7 billion (FY90 est.)

Disputes

boundary with India; Pashtun question with Afghanistan; Baloch question with Afghanistan and Iran; water sharing problems with upstream riparian India over the Indus

Environment

endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea

frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August); deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water logging

Extended economic zone

200 nm

Land boundaries

6,774 km total; Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km

Land use

26% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 6% meadows and pastures; 4% forest and woodland; 64% other; includes 19% irrigated

Natural resources

oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules

land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited crude oil, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone

Note

major choke points include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the I.ombok Strait; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme south near Antarctica from May to October

controls Khyber Pass and Malakand Pass, traditional invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent

Terrain

surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the south Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the north Indian Ocean — low pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-tc-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninety East Ridge; maximum depth is 7,258 meters in the Java Trench

flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and northwest; Balochistan plateau in west

Territorial sea

1 2 nm

Total area

73,600,000 km2; Arabian Sea, Bass Strait, Bay of Bengal, Java Sea, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Strait of Malacca, Timor Sea, and other tributary water bodies

803,940 km2; land area: 778,720 km2

Birth rate

43 births/ 1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

1 4 deaths/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir (immigrants from India and their descendents)

Infant mortality rate

1 10 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

28,900,000; 54% agriculture, 13% mining and manufacturing, 33% services; extensive export of labor (1987 est.)

Language

Urdu and English (official); total spoken languages — 64% Punjabi, 12% Sindhi, 8% Pashtu, 7% Urdu, 9% Balochi and other; English is lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries, but official policies are promoting its gradual replacement by Urdu

Life expectancy at birth

56 years male, 57 years female (1 990)

Literacy

26%

Nationality

noun — Pakistani(s); adjective— Pakistani

Net migration rate

—6 migrants/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

about 10% of industrial work force

Population

1 14,649,406 (July 1990), growth rate 2.2% (1990)

Religion

97% Muslim (77% Sunni, 20% Shi'a), 3% Christian, Hindu, and other

Total fertility rate

6.7 children born/ woman (1990)

Administrative divisions

4 provinces, I tribal area*, and 1 territory**; Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas*, Islamabad Capital Territory**, NorthWest Frontier, Punjab, Sindh; note — the Pakistani-administered portion of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region includes Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas

Capital

Islamabad

Communists

the Communist party is no longer outlawed and operates openly

Constitution

10 April 1973, suspended 5 July 1977, restored 30 December 1985

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Zulfikar ALI KHAN; Chancery at 2315 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-6200; there is a Pakistani Consulate General in New York; US— Ambassador Robert B. OAKLEY; Embassy at Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad (mailing address is P. O. Box 1048, Islamabad); telephone [92] (51) 8261-61 through 79; there are US Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore, and a Consulate in Peshawar

Executive branch

president, prime minister, Cabinet

Flag

green with a vertical white band on the hoist side; a large white crescent and star are centered in the green field; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam

Flections

President — last held on 12 December 1988 (next to be held December 1993); results — Ghulam Ishaq Khan was elected by the Federal Legislature; Senate — last held March 1988 (next to be held March 1990); results — elected by provincial assemblies; seats — (87 total) PML 84, PPP 2, independent 1; National Assembly — last held on 1 6 November 1988 (next to be held November 1993); results — percent of vote by party NA; seats— (237 total) PPP 109, IJI 65, MQM 14, JUI 8, PAI 3, ANP 3, BNA 3, others 3, independents 29

Independence

15 August 1947 (from UK; formerly West Pakistan)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, Federal Islamic (Shari'at) Court

Leaders

Chief of State— President GHULAM ISHAQ Khan (since 13 December 1988); Head of Government — Prime Minister Benazir BHUTTO (since 2 December 1988) Political parties and leaders: Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto; Pakistan Muslim League (PML), former Prime Minister Mohammed Khan Junejo; PML is the main party in the anti-PPP Islamic Democratic Alliance (IDA); Muhajir Quami Movement, Altaf Hussain; Jamiat-ul-Ulema-i-Islam (JUI), Fazlur Rahman; Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Qazi Hussain Ahmed; Awami National Party (ANP), Khan Abdul Waii Khan

Legal system

based on English common law with provisions to accommodate Pakistan's stature as an Islamic state; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Legislative branch

bicameral Federal Legislature (Mijlis-e-Shoora) consists of Pakistan (continued) an upper house or Senate and a lower house or National Assembly

Long-form name

Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Member of

ADB, CCC, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB— Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, NAM, OIC, SAARC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WFTU, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO

National holiday

Pakistan Day (proclamation of the republic), 23 March (1956)

Other political or pressure groups

military remains dominant political force; ulema (clergy), industrialists, and small merchants also influential

Suffrage

universal at age 21

Type

parliamentary with strong executive, federal republic

Agriculture

24% of GNP, over 50% of labor force; world's largest contiguous irrigation system; major crops — cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, and vegetables; livestock products — milk, beef, mutton, eggs; self-sufficient in food grain

Aid

(including Bangladesh before 1972) US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $4.2 billion authorized (excluding what is now Bangladesh); Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-87), $7.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $2.3 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $2.9 billion

Budget

revenues $7.5 billion; expenditures $10.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.3 billion (FY89 est.)

Currency

Pakistani rupee (plural — rupees); 1 Pakistani rupee (PRe) = 100 paisa

Electricity

7,575,000 kW capacity; 29,300 million kWh produced, 270 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

Pakistani rupees (PRs) per US$1— 21.420 (January 1990), 20.541 (1989), 18.003(1988), 17.399(1987), 16.648(1986), 15.928(1985) Fiscal yean 1 July-30 June

Exports

$4.5 billion (f.o.b., FY89); commodities— rice, cotton, textiles, clothing; partners— EC 31%, US 11%, Japan 11% (FY88)

External debt

$17.4 billion (1989)

GNP

$43.2 billion, per capita $409; real growth rate 5. 1% (FY89)

Illicit drugs

illicit producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade; government eradication efforts on poppy cultivation of limited success; 1988 output of opium and hashish each estimated at about 200 metric tons

Imports

$7.2 billion (f.o.b., FY89); commodities— petroleum, petroleum products, machinery, transportation, equipment, vegetable oils, animal fats, chemicals; partners— EC 26%, Japan 15%, US 1 1% (FY88)

Industrial production

growth rate 3% (FY89)

Industries

textiles, food processing, beverages, petroleum products, construction materials, clothing, paper products, international finance, shrimp

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1 1 % (FY89)

Overview

The Indian Ocean provides a major transportation highway for the movement of petroleum products from the Middle East to Europe and North and South American countries. Fish from the ocean are of growing economic importance to many of the bordering countries as a source of both food and exports. Fishing fleets from the USSR, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean for mostly shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and Western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and

Pakistan is a poor Third World country faced with the usual problems of rapidly increasing population, sizable government deficits, and heavy dependence on foreign aid. In addition, the economy must support a large military establishment and provide for the needs of 4 million Afghan refugees. A real economic growth rate averaging 5-6% in recent years has enabled the country to cope with these problems. Almost all agriculture and smallscale industry is in private hands, and the government seeks to privatize a portion of the large-scale industrial enterprises now publicly owned. In December 1988, Pakistan signed a three-year economic reform agreement with the IMF, which provides for a reduction in the government deficit and a liberalization of trade in return for further IMF financial support. The socalled Islamization of the economy has affected mainly the financial sector; for example, a prohibition on certain types of interest payments. Pakistan almost certainly will make little headway against its population problem; at the current rate of growth, population would double in 32 years.

Unemployment rate

4% (FY89 est.)

Airports

115 total, 102 usable; 70 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 30 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 42 with runways 1,2202,439 m

Civil air

30 major transport aircraft

Highways

101,315 km total (1987); 40,155 km paved, 23,000 km gravel, 29,000 km improved earth, and 9,160 km unimproved earth or sand tracks (1985)

Merchant marine

29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 338,173 GRT/508,107 DWT; includes 4 passenger-cargo, 24 cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker

Pipelines

250 km crude oil; 4,044 km natural gas; 885 km refined products (1987)

Ports

Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong, Los Angeles (US), Manila (Philippines), Pusan (South Korea), San Francisco (US), Seattle (US), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Vladivostok (USSR), Wellington (NZ), Yokohama (Japan)

Gwadar, Karachi, Port Muhammad bin Qasim

Railroads

8,773 km total; 7,718 km broad gauge, 445 km meter gauge, and 610 km narrow gauge; 1 ,037 km broad-gauge double track; 286 km electrified; all government owned (1985)

Telecommunications

several submarine cables with network focused on Guam and Hawaii

good international radiocommunication service over microwave and INTELSAT satellite; domestic radio communications poor; broadcast service good; 564,500 telephones (1987); stations—16 AM, 8 FM, 16; satellite eath station— 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT