85 Facts About Pakistan

Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the 5th most populous country in the world. 

Pakistan has an area of 796,095 sq km. 

Pakistan is a country in South Asia and has 4 provinces (Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh). 

Islamabad is the country’s capital and Karachi is its largest city. 

Both Urdu and English are its official languages. 

Urdu is national language of Pakistan. 

The Pakistani rupee (PKR) is its official currency.

Every citizen of Pakistan is called a Pakistani (singular) or Pakistanis (plural). 

Pakistan's four bordering countries are India, Afghanistan, Iran, and China.

Sialkot, Pakistan, is the world's largest manufacturer of handsewn footballs. Local factories in the region produce 40-60 million footballs per year, accounting for roughly 50-70% of global production.

Pakistan is the world's first Islamic country to acquire nuclear weapons capability.

The Karakoram Highway is Pakistan's highest paved international road (KKH).

Pakistan has the world's largest canal-based irrigation system.

Pakistan has the largest ambulance network in the world. The network is run by Pakistan's Edhi Foundation, which is also in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Khalid Ibadulla (b. 20 December 1935) and Abdul Kadir (b. 1944, d. 2002) scored 249 runs for Pakistan against Australia in Karachi, Pakistan, on October 24-29, 1964. Wasim Akram, a former Pakistani fast bowler, is the first person to take 400 wickets in both Tests and One-Day Internationals (second being Muttiah Muralitharan).

In August 2017, Pakistan's estimated population was 207,774,520, making it the world's sixth-most populous country, trailing only Brazil and ahead of Nigeria.

Pakistan's name means 'pure land' in Persian and Urdu.

Only two Pakistanis have received the Nobel Prize. Malala Yousafzai in 2014 for Peace and Abdus Salam in 1979 for Physics.

Pakistan has the highest ATM density in the world (automated teller machine). The National Bank of Pakistan operates the ATM, which is located at a height of 16,007 feet above sea level at the Pak-China border, Khunjerab Pass.

Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, is the country's financial centre and home to nearly 17 million people. It also has a significant seaport. Karachi was Pakistan's first post-independence capital city, and it remained so until the capital was moved to Rawalpindi in 1958.

Only two Pakistanis have received the Nobel Prize. Malala Yousafzai in 2014 for Peace and Abdus Salam in 1979 for Physics.

Pakistan has the highest ATM density in the world (automated teller machine). The National Bank of Pakistan operates the ATM, which is located at a height of 16,007 feet above sea level at the Pak-China border, Khunjerab Pass.

Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, is the country's financial centre and home to nearly 17 million people. It also has a significant seaport. Karachi was Pakistan's first post-independence capital city, and it remained so until the capital was moved to Rawalpindi in 1958.

K-2 (Chagori) is Pakistan's highest mountain peak (8616m) and the world's second highest.

Pakistan also has one of history's oldest civilizations, Mehrgarh, which dates back to 6000 B.C. Mehrgarh is now considered a forerunner of the Indus Valley Civilization. It is one of the earliest sites in South Asia with evidence of farming and herding.

They also have a rare species of 'Blind Dolphin' that lives in the Indus River. It is the world's second most endangered freshwater dolphin species, after the 'functionally extinct' Yangtze River dolphin.

Pakistan also made history by having the world's youngest civil judge. Mohammed Ilyas passed the exam at the age of 20 years and 9 months, making him the world's youngest civil judge.

The 'Khewra Salt Mine' in Pakistan is the world's second largest and oldest salt mine.

The Tharparkar desert, located in Sindh province, is the world's only fertile desert.

Pakistan has the world's eleventh-largest armed forces. Its army has 617,000 soldiers. The Pakistani army provides significant support to UN peacekeeping missions.

According to a poll, Pakistan has one of the best national anthem tunes in the world. The Pakistani National Anthem lasts 80 seconds.

According to poll results gathered from 125 countries by the Institute of European Business Administration, Pakistanis are the fourth-most intelligent people in the world.

Pakistan has the world's seventh-largest collection of scientists and engineers.

Pakistan is home to the world's longest glacial system outside of the polar regions, the Biafo Glacier.

The 'Tarbela Dam' on the Indus River in Pakistan is the world's largest earth-filled dam (and the fifth largest by structural volume). The dam was constructed between 1968 and 1976. The dam measures 143.26 metres in height and 2,743.2 metres in length.

25% of Pakistan's total land area is under agricultural cultivation. Pakistan irrigates three times as much land as Russia.

The Changa Manga forest, once the world's largest man-made forest, is located in Pakistan (12,423 acres in area).

Islamabad, Pakistan, was named the world's second most beautiful capital.

Pakistan has some of the world's best-trained air force pilots.

In Pakistan, the Shah Faisal Mosque can hold 100,000 worshippers at once. From 1986 to 1993, it was the world's largest mosque.

MM Alam, a late Pakistani Air Commodore, is credited with shooting down five planes in less than a minute during the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War.

Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, has a population of 2,006,572 people (2017). Islamabad was designated as Pakistan's capital on August 14, 1967, exactly 20 years after the country's independence.

Pakistan is currently the only country in the world that was founded on religious grounds.

After Turkey, Pakistan is the only Muslim country that has Combat Jobs for women.

At 3,700 metres, Shandur Pass in Chitral District and Ghizer (Gherz) District, Balawaristan, North Pakistan is home to the world's highest Polo ground. Shandur Top has hosted a traditional polo festival since 1936.

Pakistan also has the world's second-largest Muslim population, trailing only Indonesia. India has the third-largest Muslim population in the world.

On October 8, 2005, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the Kashmir region of Pakistan. Approximately 3 million people were displaced as a result of the earthquake.

The majority of Pakistan's population, 96.4%, is Muslim, with the rest being Hindus and Christians.

In 2017, Pakistan generated a whopping $1 billion in freelancing. Freelancing is a method of delivering technical expertise over the internet. Pakistan is ranked fourth, after India, Bangladesh, and the United States.

Gwadar port is the world's largest deep sea port, located on the southwestern Arabian Sea coast of Balochistan, Pakistan. The port is 64,000 square metres in size and more than 14 metres deep.

Pakistan's borders were drawn two days later, on August 17, 1947, following the separation of India and Pakistan.

Pakistan fought a second war with India over Kashmir in 1965. The seventeen-day conflict resulted in thousands of casualties on both sides, as well as the largest tank battle since World War II.

Pakistan and India both claimed victory in the 1965 war, which ended with the Soviet Union and the United States intervening to declare a cease-fire.

Benazir Bhutto became Pakistan's and the Muslim world's first female Prime Minister.

Pakistan also has a one-of-a-kind lake called Ansoo Lake (Tear Lake). The lake has the appearance of a tear. The lake also resembles a human eye with a brow, which becomes more visible during the summer months as the ice melts. The lake has a central island that is shaped like an iris.

Pakistan also has the world's largest single dome mosque, Masjid e Tooba. The mosque is known locally as the Gol Masjid and is located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The mosque's dome measures 212 feet in diameter and 51.48 feet in height. It is supported by a low surrounding wall and lacks central pillars. It was constructed in 1969.

Lake Saiful Muluk, located at the northern end of the Kaghan Valley, is one of Pakistan's highest lakes, rising 3,224 metres (10,578 feet) above sea level.

Pakistan's literacy rate has increased by 250% in the last five years, the largest increase in any country to date.

Mohenjo-Daro is an archaeological site in Pakistan's Sindh province. It was one of the world's largest and most advanced cities at the time (built around 2500 BCE).

Makli Hill in Thatta, Pakistan, is home to over 500,000 tombs and graves. It is one of the world's largest necropolis (a large, planned cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments). The tombs were constructed over a 400-year period between the 14th and 18th centuries.

In addition, Gaddani, Pakistan is home to the world's third-largest shipbreaking yard.

One of the world's largest mosques is the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb commissioned it in 1671, and it was finished in 1673.

Darra Adam Khel is a city in Khyber Regency, located south of Peshawar. Almost three-quarters of the city's population is involved in the gun business, which is widely regarded as the world's largest illegal gun market. The region manufactures replicas of nearly every gun on the market. The local Afridi tribe runs the business, which was founded in 1897.

Sohail Abbas, a Pakistani field hockey defender, currently holds the record for most goals scored in field hockey history, with 348.

Pakistan is also well-known for its truck art (decorating trucks with complex floral patterns and poetic calligraphy). Trucks are painted in bright colours, and the artists' work is very appealing.

Rambo III, starring Sylvester Stallone, was shot in Pakistan.

Pakistan received between 10 and 12 million refugees from various parts of India when it gained independence.

On May 2, 2011, US special forces killed Osama bin Laden during a raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan. He was Al Qaeda's leader.

Pakistan was named 'The Next Big Thing' by Lonely Planet, the world's largest travel guide book publisher, in 2013.

The traditional Pakistani dress, shalwar kameez, is worn by 80% to 90% of Pakistanis.

Pakistani intelligence is regarded as the best in the world, even better than the CIA.

Pakistan is also known for having some of the best missile technology in the world.

Pakistan is the world's fourth largest milk producer, with India at the top of the list.

Pakistan is also a major producer and exporter of surgical instruments worldwide.

Pakistan is the world's fourth largest producer of cotton.

Pakistan's national animal is the markhor. The chukar partridge is its national bird.

Pakistan adopted a constitution for the parliamentary system of government in 1973.

After legislation was passed in 1991, Islamic law became the law of the land in Pakistan.

Pakistan's National Poet is Allama Muhammad Iqbal.

Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948) is known as the Father of Pakistan.

Pakistan's national fruit is mango, and its national flower is jasmine.

Cotton, wheat, rice, and sugarcane are among Pakistan's major crops.

Pakistan's major industries include textiles, cement, fertiliser, steel, sugar, electric goods, and shipbuilding.

In Pakistan, there are 151 airports (2013).

Pakistan has 51 universities and 155,000 primary schools.