Surface: 803.950 km²
Population: 131.500.000 inhabitants
Density of population: 149.6 inhabitants/km²
Capital: Islamabad (350.000 inhabitants)
Official language: English and Urdu
Official currency: rupia
Imported products: car pieces, petroleum, chemical products, vegetable oils, iron, steel
Exported products: cotton, carpets, rice, clothes
Brut Intern Product: 56.000 million $
State type: Republic
Geographical Characteristics
The mountains are situated in the west and north of the country. The highest chain mountains are in the north and they have a height of 7.694 m in Trichmir, the highest peak of the country. The northern mountains have rivers as Yarkhan, Swat, Chitral and Panjkora. The Khyber Pass is a route through the mountains which unites Pakistan with Afgha
nistan. The south-west of the country is formed of Baluchistan Plateau which is continued in the east with Kirthar Mountains. The plateau has a medium height of 300 m. A big part of the eastern Pakistan is a low plain, crossed by the rivers Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej.
Climate
The monsoon conditions dominate Pakistan which has three main seasons. The cold season between October and February is sunny with warm days and cold nights. The hot season is between March and June has occasionally rains. The rainy season is between June and October. Because it is a big country there are many regional variations. The medium temperature in Karachi is 19°C in January and 31°C in July, with only 20 cm rainfall per year. For Islamabad the numbers are: 9°C, 33°C and 90 cm. In the summer Jacobabad is one of the hottest places on Earth, with temperatures of 36°C in June-July. Once there were registered 53°C.
Transports and Cities
There are 8.163 km of railways and 179.752 km of roads. The main ports are Karachi and Gwadar. Over 30% of the population is urban. Karachi, the ex capital, is the biggest city of the country. Lahore (2.952.689 inhabitants) is situated on the Ravi River and is a very important industrial center. Faisalabad, the ex Lyallpur, (1.104.209 inhabitants) is a commercial and industrial center. Islamabad, the country's capital from 1965, was created to encourage the developing to the interior. It is 14 km away from Rawalpindi (794.843 inhabitants) at an altitude of 600 m.
Energy
The thermo-electric power stations produce 50% of the electric energy and the rest is produced in the hydro-electric center. The were built big hydro-electric centrals on the rivers: Indus, Jhelum and Kabul. These were the only important sources of energy before discovering the big deposits of gas. A nuclear-electric central near Karachi uses uranium.
Industry
The main industries are: textile, clothes, petroleum product, chemical products and paper. The older industries are based on agricultural products, especially cotton, sugar, rice and tobacco. The leather industry is famous and they have many shoe factories. The industries hire 13% of the population. Other industries are: cement, metal and pottery.
Agriculture
51%of the population works in the agriculture. 27% of the country's surface is cultivated and 6% is grassland. The valley of the Indus River is the main cultivated field, in the summer people cultivated rice and corn, in the spring grain. Cotton, the main plant for trade, is cultivated for fibres. Other plants cultivated for trade are: sugar cane, tobacco and fruits.
Surface: 803.950 km²