Pakistanis

"Pakistani" redirects here. For a demographical overview, see Demographics of Pakistan. For Pakistani people living outside of Pakistan, see Overseas Pakistanis. For other uses, see Pakistani (disambiguation).

Pakistanis (Urdu: پاكِستانى قوم, romanized: Pākistānī Qaum, lit. 'Pakistani Nation') are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. According to the 2017 Pakistani national census, the population of Pakistan stood at over 213 million people, making it the world's fifth-most populous country.^[24] The majority of Pakistanis natively speak languages belonging to the Indo-Iranic family (Indo-Aryan and Iranic subfamilies).

Pakistanis

پاكِستانى قوم
Flag of Pakistan
Total population
c. 242,341,368^[a]
Regions with significant populations
Pakistan	233,500,636^[1]
Saudi Arabia	2,600,000 (2017 estimate)^[2]
United Arab Emirates	1,700,000 (2017 estimate)^[3]
United Kingdom	1,174,983 (2011 official British census)^[4]^[b]
United States	526,956 (2018 American Community Survey estimate)^[5]
Oman	235,000 (2013 estimate)^[6]
Canada	215,560 (2016 official Canadian census)^[7]
Kuwait	150,000 (2009 estimate)^[8]
Qatar	125,000 (2016 official Qatari estimate)^[9]
Germany	124,000 (2019 official German estimate)
France	120,000 (2017 estimate)^[10]
Italy	118,181 (2017 official Italian estimate)^[11]
Bahrain	112,000 (2013 estimate)^[6]
Spain	82,738 (2018 official Spanish estimate)^[12]
Australia	61,913 (2016 official Australian census)^[13]
Malaysia	59,281 (2017 official Malaysian estimate)^[14]^[15]
China	54,000^[16]
Norway	38,000 (2019 official Norwegian estimate)^[17]
Hong Kong	18,094 (2016 estimate)^[18]
Ireland	12,891 (2016 estimate)^[19]^[20]
Switzerland	3,094 (2016 estimate)
Languages
Urdu (national) English (official, but few),^[21]^[22] Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, Balochi, Bengali, Hindko, Brahui, Kashmiri, Kalasha-mun, Shina, Balti and others
Religion
Majority: Islam (96.28%) (85–90% Sunni, 10–15% Shia) Minority: Hinduism, Christianity, Ahmadiyya, Baháʼí Faith, Kalasha, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism^[23]

Located in South Asia, the country is also the source of a significantly large diaspora, most of whom reside in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, with an estimated population of 4.7 million.^{[citation needed]} The second-largest Pakistani diaspora resides throughout both Northwestern Europe and Western Europe, where there are an estimated 2.4 million; over half of this figure reside in the United Kingdom (see British Pakistanis).^[25][4]

Ethnic subgroups

Main article: Ethnic groups in Pakistan

Having one of the fastest-growing populations in the world, Pakistan's people belong to various ethnic groups, with the overwhelming majority being speakers of the Indo-Iranic languages.^[26] Ethnically, Indo-Aryan peoples comprise the majority of the population in the eastern provinces of Pakistani Punjab and Sindh while Iranic peoples comprise the majority in the western provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In addition to its four provinces, Pakistan also administers two disputed territories known as Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan; both territories also have an Indo-Aryan majority with the exception of the latter's subregion of Baltistan, which is largely inhabited by Tibetan peoples. Pakistan also hosts a significant population of Dravidian peoples, the majority of whom are South Indians who trace their roots to historical princely states such as Hyderabad Deccan and are identified with the multi-ethnic community of Muhajirs (lit. 'migrants'), who arrived in the country after the partition of British India in 1947.^[27][28]

Major ethnolinguistic groups in the country include Punjabis, Pashtuns, Sindhis, Saraikis, and Baloch people;^[29][30] with significant numbers of Kashmiris, Brahuis, Hindkowans, Paharis, Shina people, Burusho people, Wakhis, Baltis, Chitralis, and other minorities.^[31][32]

Culture

 

Men dressed in shalwar kameez in a general store on the road to Kalash, Pakistan

Main article: Culture of Pakistan

The existence of Pakistan as an Islamic state since the 1956 constitution has led to the large-scale injection of Islam into most aspects of Pakistani culture and everyday life, which has accordingly impacted the historical values and traditions of the Muslim-majority population. Marriages and other major events are significantly impacted by regional differences in culture, but generally follow Islamic jurisprudence where required. The national dress of Pakistan is the shalwar kameez, a unisex garment widely-worn,^[33][34] and national dress,^[35] of Pakistan. When women wear the shalwar-kameez in some regions, they usually wear a long scarf or shawl called a dupatta around the head or neck.^[36] The dupatta is also employed as a form of modesty—although it is made of delicate material, it obscures the upper body's contours by passing over the shoulders. For Muslim women, the dupatta is a less stringent alternative to the chador or burqa.

Languages

Main article: Languages of Pakistan

Urdu, or Lashkari (لشکری ),^[37] an Indo-Aryan language, is the lingua franca of Pakistan, and while it shares official status with English, it is the preferred and dominant language used for inter-communication between different ethnic groups. Although Indo-Aryan in classification, it's exact origins as a language are disputed by scholars.^[38] However, despite serving as the country's national language, Urdu is spoken as a second language by most Pakistanis, with nearly 93 percent of the population speaking a first language other than Urdu. Numerous regional and provincial languages are spoken as native languages by Pakistan's various ethnolinguistic groups, with the Punjabi language having a national plurality as the first language of approximately 45 percent of the total population. Languages with more than a million speakers each include Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, Balochi, Brahui, and Hindko. The Pakistani dialect of English is also widely spoken throughout the country, albeit mostly in urban centres such as Islamabad and Karachi.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Pakistan

Pakistan officially endorses Islam as a state religion and utilizes Sharia in governance across the entire country to a large degree. The overwhelming majority of Pakistanis identify as Muslims, and the country has the second-largest population of Muslims in the world after Indonesia.^[39][40] Other minority religious faiths include Hinduism, Christianity, Ahmadiyya, Sikhism, the Baháʼí Faith, Zoroastrianism, and Kalasha. Pakistan's Hindu and Christian minorities comprise the second- and third-largest religious groups in the country, respectively.

Irreligion

Irreligion, agnosticism, and atheism are present amongst a minority of Pakistanis, the majority of whom belong to the newer generations.^[41][42][43] According to a 2005 Gallup World Poll, 1 percent of Pakistani respondents identified themselves as atheists. By 2012, the figure had risen to 2 percent. The same poll also surveyed 2,700 other people in Pakistan, of whom 54 were self-declared irreligious.^[23]

Diaspora

Main article: Overseas Pakistanis

 

Distribution of Pakistani diaspora

  Pakistan

  + 1,000,000

  + 100,000

  + 10,000

  + 1,000

The Pakistani diaspora maintains a significant presence in the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Australia. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Pakistan has the seventh-largest diaspora in the world.^[44] According to the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development of the Government of Pakistan, approximately 8.8 million Pakistanis live abroad, with the vast majority (over 4.7 million) residing in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.^[45]

See also

•  Pakistan portal

• List of Pakistanis
• Demographics of Pakistan
• Ethnic groups in Pakistan
• Overseas Pakistanis

Notes

1. 238,181,034 total population of Pakistan according to the United States Census^[1] including estimated population of Overseas Pakistani.
2. This census figure may not include recent immigrants or people of partial Pakistani ancestry.

References

1. "U.S. and World Population Clock". United States Census Bureau.
2. "Economic Survey 2014–15: Ishaq Dar touts economic growth amidst missed targets". The Express Tribune. 4 June 2015.
3. "Statement showing number of Overseas Pakistanis living, working and studying in different regions/countries of the world, as on 31st December, 2017 - Region-Wise distribution" (PDF). Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
4. "2011 Census: Ethnic group, local authorities in the United Kingdom". Office for National Statistics. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
5. "Asian alone or in any combination by selected groups". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
6. . Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
7. Canada, Government of Canada, Statistics (25 October 2017). "Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity Highlight Tables - Ethnic Origin, both sexes, age (total), Canada, 2016 Census – 25% Sample data". www12.statcan.gc.ca.
8. Al-Qarari, Hussein (29 March 2009). . Kuwait Times. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
9. (2017)"Population of Qatar by nationality - 2017 report". priyadsouza.com. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
10. (PDF). Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development. 31 December 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
11. "Data" (PDF). www.istat.it. 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
12. "TablaPx". Ine.es. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
13. "2016 Census of Population and Housing: General Community Profile: Catalogue No. 2001.0" (ZIP). censusdata.abs.gov.au. 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
14. "Govt keen to cut Malaysia's dependence on foreign labor". 10 October 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
15. Thursday, 27 July 2017 08:15 PM MYT (27 July 2017). "Home Ministry says there are 1.7 million legal foreign workers in Malaysia as of June 30 | Malay Mail". www.malaymail.com.
16. 출입국·외국인정책본부. "통계연보(글내용) < 통계자료실 < 출입국·외국인정책본부". Immigration.go.kr. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
17. "Innvandrerbefolkningen". kommunefakta.no.
18. "Main Tables | 2016 Population By-census". www.bycensus2016.gov.hk.
19. "Census summary" (PDF). www.cso.ie. 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
20. . irelandindiacouncil.ie. Ireland India Council. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018.
21. Mariam, Durrani (2012). "Banishing Colonial Specters: Language Ideology and Education Policy in Pakistan". University of Pennsylvania.
22. "Pakistan - People | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 13 April 2023. With the exception of this educated elite, English is spoken fluently by only a small percentage of the population.
23. Husain, Irfan (27 August 2012). . Dawn. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2012. Interestingly, and somewhat intriguingly, 2 per cent of the Pakistanis surveyed see themselves as atheists, up from 1pc in 2005.
24. Dawn.com (28 August 2017). "Census results show 59.7pc growth in Karachi's population, 116pc in Lahore's since 1998". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
25. "2.43 million Pakistanis working in Europe". The Express Tribune. 23 April 2017.
26. Pakistan Population. (28 August 2019). Retrieved 2019-09-14, from http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/pakistan-population/
27. "Muhajir | people". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
28. "Pakistan - People". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
29. "Ethnic Groups In Pakistan". WorldAtlas. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
30. "Pakistan - Linguistic and Ethnic Groups". countrystudies.us. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
31. Hurst, Christopher O. (1 January 1996). "Pakistan's ethnic divide". Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. 19 (2): 179–198. doi:10.1080/10576109608436002. ISSN 1057-610X.
32. Ahmed, Feroz (1996). "Ethnicity, Class and State in Pakistan". Economic and Political Weekly. 31 (47): 3050–3053. ISSN 0012-9976. JSTOR 4404794.
33. Marsden, Magnus (2005). Living Islam: Muslim Religious Experience in Pakistan's North-West Frontier. Cambridge University Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-139-44837-6. The village's men and boys largely dress in sombre colours in the loose trousers and long shirt (shalwar kameez) worn across Pakistan. Older men often wear woollen Chitrali caps (pakol), waistcoats and long coats (chugha), made by Chitrali tailors (darzi) who skills are renowned across Pakistan.
34. Haines, Chad (2013), Nation, Territory, and Globalization in Pakistan: Traversing the Margins, Routledge, p. 162, ISBN 978-1-136-44997-0, the shalwar kameez happens to be worn by just about everyone in Pakistan, including in all of Gilgit-Baltistan.
35. Ozyegin, Gul (2016). Gender and Sexuality in Muslim Cultures. Routledge. p. 222. ISBN 978-1-317-13051-2. What is common in all the cases is the wearing of shalwar, kameez, and dupatta, the national dress of Pakistan.
36. Rait, Satwant Kaur (14 April 2005). Sikh Women In England: Religious, Social and Cultural Beliefs. Trent and Sterling: Trentham Book. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-85856-353-4.
37. Singh, Shashank, and Shailendra Singh. "Systematic review of spell-checkers for highly inflectional languages." Artificial Intelligence Review 53 (2020): 4051-4092.
38. Qureshi, Omar. "Twentieth-century Urdu literature." Handbook of Twentieth Century Literatures of India (1996): 329-362.
39. Singh, Dr. Y P (2016). Islam in India and Pakistan – A Religious History. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 9789385505638.
40. see: Islam by country
41. . IBN Live. Archived from the original on 11 September 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
42. "Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism" (PDF). Gallup. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
43. "The hardest part about being faithless". Pakistan Today. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
44. Service, Tribune News. "India has largest diaspora population in world: UN". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
45. "Year Book 2017-18" (PDF). Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development. Retrieved 18 March 2020.

Further reading

• Abbasi, Nadia Mushtaq. "The Pakistani diaspora in Europe and its impact on democracy building in Pakistan." International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (2010).
• Awan, Shehzadi Zamurrad. "Relevance of Education for Women's Empowerment in Punjab, Pakistan." Journal of International Women's Studies 18.1 (2016): 208+ online
• Bolognani, Marta, and Stephen Lyon, eds. Pakistan and its diaspora: multidisciplinary approaches (Springer, 2011).
• Eglar, Zekiya. A Punjabi Village in Pakistan: Perspectives on Community, Land, and Economy (Oxford UP, 2010).
• Kalra, Virinder S., ed. Pakistani Diasporas: Culture, conflict, and change (Oxford UP, 2009).
• Bano, Sha. "Role of museums in Depicting history of cultural heritage of Pakistan." (2019).
• Marsden, Magnus. "Muslim village intellectuals: the life of the mind in northern Pakistan." Anthropology today 21.1 (2005): 10-15.
• Mughal, M. A. Z. "An anthropological perspective on the mosque in Pakistan." Asian Anthropology 14.2 (2015): 166-181.
• Rauf, Abdur. "Rural women and the family: A study of a Punjabi village in Pakistan." Journal of Comparative Family Studies (1987): 403-415.

Origins of Pakistanis

• Vasil'ev, I. B., P. F. Kuznetsov, and A. P. Semenova. "Potapovo Burial Ground of the Indo-Iranic Tribes on the Volga" (1994).
• Ahsan, Aitzaz. The Indus Saga. Roli Books Private Limited, 2005.
• Mehdi, S. Q., et al. "The origins of Pakistani populations." Genomic Diversity. Springer, Boston, MA, 1999. 83-90.
• Balanovsky, Oleg, et al. "Deep phylogenetic analysis of haplogroup G1 provides estimates of SNP and STR mutation rates on the human Y-chromosome and reveals migrations of Iranic speakers." PLoS One 10.4 (2015): e0122968.
• Allchin, F. R. "Archeological and Language-Historical Evidence for the Movement of Indo-Aryan Speaking Peoples into South Asia." NARTAMONGÆ (1981): 65.
• Khan, F. A. "Archaeology in Pakistan." Expedition 6.3 (1964): 2.