43 Fascinating Pakistan Facts

By Madeline Thatcher, Associate Writer

Published November 14, 2018Updated February 21, 2025

Pakistan is home to one of the oldest civilizations in the world, dating back to 4000 BC._[7]
The famous "Silk Route," the road by which silk, spices, and new ideas traveled between Europe and Asia, passed directly through Pakistan._[6]
In the 1600s, British traders came to Asia and began to rule the area. Under the reign of the United Kingdom, the All India Muslim League was founded, which sought to create a Muslim state free from British imperialism._[7]
Pakistan was the first official Muslim nation in the world._[2]

Pakistan's geography and its heavy Muslim influences make it a place with a unique blend of nature and culture

Pakistan was originally made of two parts: West Pakistan and East Pakistan, the latter of which became Bangladesh._[7]
The name "Pakistan" is a mash-up of the names of cultural groups that lived within Pakistan's borders—Punjab, Afghani, Kashmir, Sindh, and Baluchistan._[2]
The “stan” suffix in the names of many Middle Eastern countries, including Pakistan, comes from an old Persian word meaning “place of.”_[6]
Urdu is the national language, although only 7% of Pakistanis speak it._[2][6]
Pakistan is bordered by Iran, Afghanistan, China, and India, making it a bridge between what the West considers the "Middle East" and Asia._[6]
Pakistan is the sixth most populated country in the world and is located in southwest Asia._[6]

You can get anywhere in Pakistan if you know people, even into jail.

- Salman Rushdie, Shame

The city of Karachi, Pakistan, is the fifth most populous city in the world._[6]
Pakistan is about one-tenth the size of the continental United States, a bit smaller than twice the size of California._[6]
Pakistan, like Canada, is separated into provinces. There are four: Baluchistan, North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), Punjab, and Sindh._[6]
Pakistan’s geography includes a wide variety of landscapes and terrains, with elevation ranging from sea level to the second highest mountaintop in the world._[2]
The Indus River that runs through Pakistan has provided water to communities for over 4,000 years. It is three times more powerful than the Nile River in Egypt._[6]
The Karakoram Mountains form part of Pakistan's northern border. This mountain range is often called the "Roof of the World."_[6]
The three biggest glaciers outside of polar regions are in Pakistan._[6]

The Hunza Valley in Pakistan

The Hunza Valley, found in the Pakistan-controlled region of Kashmir, contains a type of glacier water known as the "fountain of youth." People who live in the valley have an average life span of 90 years._[6]
Forty of the world's fifty tallest mountain peaks are in Pakistan._[2]
The Balochistan Plateau takes up nearly half of Pakistan's total land area, but only about 5% of the population lives there._[6]
Green turtles, which are an endangered species in most parts of the world, travel to Pakistan's shores most laying seasons to place their eggs on the beaches along the Karachi coast._[7]
The city of Sialkot, in northeast Pakistan, produces over half of the world’s soccer balls._[3]
Malala Yousafzai is the youngest Nobel Prize winner in history. She received the award for her work to help young Pakistani women receive an education._[8]

Agriculture is important to Pakistan's economy

Pakistan's economy is supported mostly by agriculture. Cotton, fisheries, and forestry provide one-fifth of its GDP._[7]
The first prime minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, was assassinated in 1951._[7]
Several years after the death of Prime Minister Kahn, martial law was imposed and political parties were abolished. It was not until 1970 that Pakistan held its first national elections._[7]
Rigged elections, nepotism, and civil unrest have plagued Pakistan in the years after their first election, including a civil war in 1971, a prime minister publicly hanged for conspiring to kill a political opponent in 1979, and a series of new elections in order to replace corrupt government officials in 1993 and 1993._[7]
Pakistan was the first Muslim nation to elect a female prime minister. Benazir Bhutto began serving only three months after giving birth to her first child in 1988. She was killed by a suicide bomber in 2007._[1]
Pakistan is a republic. Serious reforms to the constitution were made in 2010, which prohibited the president from removing the prime minister or the parliament from office._[7]
According to the constitution, Pakistani presidential elections are held every five years._[7]
The Pakistani parliament is made up of two branches. Parliament reserves 60 seats for women and ten for minorities (those who practice a religion other than Islam) during the election._[7]
Pakistan is the only Muslim nation to control nuclear weapons._[4]
A barricade often called the “Berlin Wall of Asia” runs along the border between India and Pakistan. The city of Wagah acts as the crossover point between the two nations._[5]
Every evening at the wall, Pakistani soldiers perform a dance called “goosestepping” as they lower the flag at the end of the day._[5]
In 2007, Pakistan welcomed 18% of the world's total number of refugees, the most of any nation on earth._[6]
Pakistan has historically been an ally for the Western world, even acting as a frontline state during the Cold War, which helped prevent the spread of the USSR._[6]

Despite ties to the Taliban, Pakistan became a strong ally to the United States during the War on Terror

After the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, Pakistan became an ally to the United States, despite Pakistani ties to al-Qa'ida, the organization responsible for the plane crashes._[6][4]
Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world where women have a lower life expectancy than men._[6]
Average life expectancy in Pakistan in 67 years._[7]
Pakistan uses the Pakistani rupee as its currency, which is equal to .0081 American dollars._[7]
As in other nations that were colonized by the British Empire, Pakistani drivers use the left side of the road._[7]
Diseases like cholera, diphtheria, malaria, and polio are common in some parts of Pakistan, despite being nearly eradicated in most other parts of the world._[7]
Only 15% of Pakistan's population uses the internet._[4]