Pakistanis

According to the 2017 Pakistani census, the population of Pakistan stood at over 213 million people, making it the world's fifth-most populous country. 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
Regions with significant populations
Pakistan	233,500,636
Saudi Arabia	2,600,000 (2017 estimate)
United Arab Emirates	1,700,000 (2017 estimate)
United Kingdom	1,587,819 (2021 official British census)
United States	526,956 (2018 American Community Survey estimate)
Canada	303,260 (2021 official Canadian census)
Oman	235,000 (2013 estimate)
Kuwait	150,000 (2009 estimate)
Germany	140,000 (2022)
Italy	130,593 (2017 official estimate)
Qatar	125,000 (2016 official Qatari estimate)
Bahrain	112,000 (2013 estimate)
Spain	100,000 (2017 estimate)
Australia	89,633 (2021) (2016 official Australian census)
Malaysia	59,281 (2017 official Malaysian estimate)
China	54,000
Norway	38,000 (2019 official Norwegian estimate)
France	26,600 (2017)
Japan	23,000 (2023)
Hong Kong	18,094 (2016 estimate)
Ireland	12,891 (2016 estimate)
New Zealand	6,000 (2017 estimate)
Switzerland	3,094 (2016 estimate)[citation needed]
Languages
Pakistani languages, including: Balochi Balti Brahui Burushaski English Hazaragi Hindko Kashmiri Khowar Kohistani Pashto Punjabi Pahari-Pothwari Saraiki Shina Sindhi Urdu Wakhi
Religion
Majority: Islam (96.28%) (85–90% Sunni, 10–15% Shia) Minority: Hinduism, Christianity, Ahmadiyya, Baháʼí Faith, Kalasha, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism

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 resides in the United Kingdom (see British Pakistanis).

Having one of the fastest-growing populations in the world, Pakistan's people belong to various ethnic groups, with the overwhelming majority being native speakers of the Indo-Iranic languages. Ethnically, Indo-Aryan peoples comprise the majority of the population in the eastern provinces of Pakistani Punjab, Sindh, and Kashmir, 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 an insignificant 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.

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

 

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, and national dress, 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. 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.

Urdu, or Lashkari (لشکری ), 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. It is not believed to be a language affiliated with any ethnicity and its speakers come from various backgrounds. Although Indo-Aryan in classification, its exact origins as a language are disputed by scholars. However, despite serving as the country's lingua franca, most Pakistanis speak their ethnic languages and the lingua franca as second. 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.

Pakistan officially endorses Islam as a state religion. The overwhelming majority of Pakistanis identify as Muslims, and the country has the second-largest population of Muslims in the world after Indonesia. 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. 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.

 

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. 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.

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