Demographics of Pakistan

Demographics of Pakistan, Data of FAO, year 2005; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Pakistan's estimated population was 172,800,000 in July 2008. During 1950-2008, Pakistan's urban population expanded over sevenfold, while the total population increased by over fourfold. And by the this decade the population is expected to be nearly 180 million. In the past, the country's population had a relatively high growth rate that has, however, been moderated by declining fertility and birth rates. Dramatic social changes have led to rapid urbanization and the emergence of megacities. During 1990-2003, Pakistan sustained its historical lead as the most urbanized nation in South Asia, with city dwellers making up 34% of its population.

Pakistan has a multicultural and multi-ethnic society and hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world as well as a young population.

Pakistan's next national census will take place in 2008.

Population data

Geographic distribution

The majority of southern Pakistan's population lives along the Indus River. In the northern half, most of the population lives about an arc formed by the cities of Faisalabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Nowshera, Swabi, Mardan and Peshawar.

Population and growth

Historical populations
Census	Population	Urban
1951	33,816,000	17.80%
1961	42,978,000	22.46%
1972	65,321,000	25.40%
1981	84,254,000	28.28%
1998	130,580,000	32.51%
2008	172,800,000	32.34%

• Population: 172,800,000 (July 2008 est.)
• Growth rate: 2.2% (2008 est.)
• Birth rate: 31 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
• Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
• Net migration rate: -1.0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Pakistanis around the world

Further information: Overseas Pakistani

Saudi Arabia	1,100,000
United Kingdom	800,000
United Arab Emirates	500,000
United States	210,410– 600,000
Canada	250,000
Kuwait	100,000
Oman	85,000
Germany	52,668
Qatar	52,500
France	50,000

Source: YEAR BOOK 2004 - 2005 Government of Pakistan - Ministry of Labour, Manpower & Overseas Pakistanis - (Overseas Pakistanis Division), pages 29 to 34.

Structure

Age structure

• 0-14 years: 40% (male 33,293,428; female 31,434,314)
• 15-64 years: 56.9% (male 48,214,298; female 46,062,933)
• 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 3,256,065; female 3,542,522) (2006 est.)

Gender ratios

• Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
• under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
• 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female
• total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Human development

Mortality and life expectancy

• Infant mortality rate: 68.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
• Life expectancy at birth:
  • total population: 63.39 years
  • male: 62.4 years
  • female: 64.44 years (2006 est.)

Fertility

• Total fertility rate: 4.00 children born/woman (2006 est.)
• Total fertility rate: 3.77 children born/woman (2007 est.)
• Total fertility rate: 3.58 children born/woman (2008 est.)
• Fertility decline rate: 1.8 children per woman per decade (2nd fastest in world)

Literacy

Definition: over the age of 15 and can read and write.

• total population: 54% (2004 est.)
• male:60%
• female: 42%

Educational Institutions by Kind

• Primary schools: 157,157
• Middle schools: 30,419
• Secondary schools: 17,231
• Arts & science colleges: 1174
• Professional colleges: 408
• Universities: 52

Source:

Percentage Disbtribution of Employed Persons by Major Industry Division

• Agriculture, forestry,Hunting and fishing: 43.37
• Mining and quarrying: 0.09
• Manufacturing: 13.84
• Construction: 6.13
• Electricity, gas, water and sanitary services: 0.66
• Commerce: 14.67
• Transport, storage and communication: 5.74
• Financing, insurance, real estate and business services: 1.10
• Services: 14.35
• Activities not adequately described: 0.04

Source:

Pakistan's Yearly Poplulation

Pakistan's yearly population from 1950 to 2008.

Year	Population	Absolute Increase	Percentage Increase
1950	39,448,232
1951	40,382,206	933,974	2.37
1952	41,346,560	964,354	2.39
1953	42,342,412	995,852	2.41
1954	43,372,063	1,029,651	2.43
1955	44,434,445	1,062,382	2.45
1956	45,535,711	1,101,266	2.48
1957	46,679,944	1,144,233	2.51
1958	47,868,932	1,188,988	2.55
1959	49,104,112	1,235,180	2.58
1960	50,386,898	1,282,786	2.61
1961	51,718,581	1,331,683	2.64
1962	53,100,671	1,382,090	2.67
1963	54,524,471	1,423,800	2.68
1964	55,988,385	1,463,914	2.68
1965	57,494,940	1,506,555	2.69
1966	59,046,203	1,551,263	2.70
1967	60,641,899	1,595,696	2.70
1968	62,282,496	1,640,597	2.71
1969	63,969,987	1,687,491	2.71
1970	65,705,964	1,735,977	2.71
1971	67,491,369	1,785,405	2.72
1972	69,325,921	1,834,552	2.72
1973	71,121,085	1,795,164	2.59
1974	72,911,780	1,790,695	2.52
1975	74,711,541	1,799,761	2.47
1976	76,456,121	1,744,580	2.34
1977	78,152,686	1,696,565	2.22
1978	80,051,300	1,898,614	2.43
1979	82,374,302	2,323,002	2.90
1980	85,219,117	2,844,815	3.45
1981	88,417,079	3,197,962	3.75
1982	91,465,209	3,048,130	3.45
1983	94,154,723	2,689,514	2.94
1984	96,501,806	2,347,083	2.49
1985	99,076,266	2,574,460	2.67
1986	102,065,710	2,989,444	3.02
1987	105,208,431	3,142,721	3.08
1988	108,407,786	3,199,355	3.04
1989	111,528,381	3,120,595	2.88
1990	114,606,690	3,078,309	2.76
1991	117,684,292	3,077,602	2.69
1992	120,098,197	2,413,905	2.05
1993	122,523,650	2,425,453	2.02
1994	125,531,448	3,007,798	2.45
1995	128,733,657	3,202,209	2.55
1996	132,194,115	3,460,458	2.69
1997	135,616,310	3,422,195	2.59
1998	139,062,987	3,446,677	2.54
1999	142,520,124	3,457,137	2.49
2000	146,404,914	3,884,790	2.73
2001	150,399,566	3,994,652	2.73
2002	153,470,779	3,071,213	2.04
2003	156,196,488	2,725,709	1.78
2004	159,266,367	3,069,879	1.97
2005	162,490,385	3,224,018	2.02
2006	165,873,928	3,383,543	2.08
2007	169,340,538	3,466,610	2.09
2008	172,800,051	3,459,513	2.04

Nationality and ethnicity

Ethnic groups

Major ethnic groups in Pakistan, 1973.

Main article: Ethnic groups in Pakistan

Pakistan's ethnic diversity is obvious and yet accurate numbers have been elusive. Most believe that the large majority of Pakistanis belong to the Indo-Aryan ancestral group. There are many ethnic groups: Pakistan's census and rough estimates vary, but the consensus is that the Punjabis are the largest ethnic group, followed by the well represented and influential Pashtuns (or Pakhtuns) who have the highest and most rapid birth rate as well as overall increase in percentage population, Sindhis are the third largest groups The Punjabi population is estimated to comprise 44.15% of the national total. The Pakhtuns are the second-largest group at roughly 15.42% but this percentage is expected to increase due to their higher birth rate and immigration to Pakistan's urban centres and the general stabilization of birth rates amongst other ethnic groups. Next, the Pashtuns are followed by Sindhis at 14.1%. Saraikis, a group seen as transitional between Punjabis and Sindhis, make up 10.53% of the population. The remaining groups that comprise large percentages include the Muhajirs (migrants from different parts of India) at 7.57% and the Baloch people at 3.57%. The other main ethnic groups include Hindkowans and the Brahui, and the various peoples of the Northern Areas, who all together total roughly 4.66% of the total population. The Pakhtun and Baloch represent two of the major populations that are linguistically Iranic, while the Punjabis, Sindhis and Saraikis are the major linguistically Indic groups. Muhajir population is a multi-ethnical group, and include mixed blood lines of people from the rest of South Asia who claim Afghan, Persian, Turk, Mongol, and Arab admixture such as the Rohilla Pashtun.

Over four to five million Afghan refugees were living in Pakistan during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, and about three to four million still remain in the country until December 2009; an estimate one million were repatriated back to Afghanistan but some may have re-entered through the long and porous border between the two countries.. They are not counted in the national census, even the ones born in Pakistan, because they are still considered citizens of Afghanistan. Many of the Afghan refugees have also intermarried or acquired National Identity cards further making it difficult to make an accurate assessment. In addition, there are some colonies of other refugees/migrants including but not limited to Iranian, Burmese, Tajikistani etc. who have settled in Pakistan particularly in Karachi, Lahore as well as in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Religions

Main article: Religion in Pakistan

See also: Islam in Pakistan, Christianity in Pakistan, History of the Jews in Pakistan, Hinduism in Pakistan, and Sikhism in Pakistan

The latest Census data indicates that over 96% of the population is Muslim. The Muslims belong to different schools which are called Madhahib (singular: Madhhab) i.e, schools of jurisprudence (also 'Maktab-e-Fikr' (School of Thought) in Urdu). More than 77% of Pakistani Muslims are Sunni Muslims and there is sizeable minority 20% Shi'a Muslims. Nearly all Pakistani Sunni Muslims belong to the Hanafi school with a small Hanbali school represented by Wahabis and Ahle Hadith. The Hanafi school includes the Barelvis and Deobandis schools. Although the majority of Pakistani Shia Muslims belong to Ithna 'ashariyah school, there are significant minorities: Nizari Khoja Ismailis (Aga Khanis) and the smaller Mustaali Dawoodi Bohra and Sulaimani Bohra branches.

The difference among Sunni schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi, and Hanbali) are small in practice, and they may pray together in any Sunni Masjid. In Pakistan, adherents of the Barelvi and Deobandi schools also pray together in same Masjids.

The Shia Ithna 'ashariyah school has its own Masjids and Hussainias. Mustaali Dawoodi Bohra and Sulaimani Bohra also have their own Masjids. While the Nizari Khoja Ismailis (Aga Khanis) pray in Jama'at Khanas.

There are small non-Muslim religious groups: Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis (Qadianis), Sikhs, Parsis, Bahá'ís, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and others 4%.

Religious population In Pakistan

• Muslims: 173,000,000
• Hindus: 3,200,000
• Christians: 2,800,000
• Ahmadis: over 400,000
• Bahá'ís: 30,000
• Sikhs: 20,000
• Zoroastrian/Parsis: <5,000
• Other (included Animists, Atheists, Jews, etc): unknown

Sources:

Languages of Pakistan

Main article: Languages of Pakistan

There are around 75 to 80 known Pakistani languages although, in practice, there are primarily six major languages in Pakistan: Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Balochi and Kashmiri. The official language is English and the national language is Urdu, although the census indicates that only around 8% of the population speak Urdu as their first language. However, due to rapid urbanization and modernization, the use of Urdu as a first language is increasing, especially amongst the growing urbanized middle class of Pakistan. Around 44% speak Punjabi, 15% speak Pashto and 31% other languages (mainly Sindhi, Saraiki, Balochi, Hindko and Brahui) as their first language. Most Pakistanis, however, speak or understand at least two languages and almost all Pakistanis speak or understand the national language, Urdu.

The most prevalent native languages appear in bold below, with the percentage of the population speaking them as their first language rounded to the nearest percentage point:

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English (official language)

English is the official language, being widely used within the government, by the civil service and the officer ranks of the military. Pakistan's Constitution and laws are written in English. Many schools, and nearly all colleges and universities, use English as the medium of instruction. Among countries that use English as an official language, Pakistan is the third most populous country, with only India and the United States having larger populations.

Urdu (national language)

Urdu is the national language of Pakistan, the lingua franca chosen to facilitate inter-provincial communication between the country's diverse linguistic populations. Its introduction as the lingua franca was encouraged by the British upon the capitulation and annexation of Sindh (1843) and Punjab (1849) with the subsequent ban on the use of Persian, the lingua franca of the region for the last 1,000 years, probably since the time the area was part of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The decision to make the language change was to institute a universal language throughout the then British Raj in South Asia as well as minimize the influence of Persia, Ottoman Empire, Afghanistan and Central Asia had on this transitional region. Urdu is a relatively new language in the contemporary sense but has undergone considerable modifications and development borrowing heavily on the traditions of other more mature and ancient languages like Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Sanskrit and local South Asian languages all of which can be found in its vocubulary. It began as a standardised register of Hindustani and in its spoken form. It is widely used, both formally and informally, for personal letters as well as public literature, in the literary sphere and in the popular media. It is a required subject of study in all primary and secondary schools. It is the first language of most Muhajirs (Muslim refugees from other parts of South Asia that escaped from pograms to Pakistan) but is an acquired language but nearly all of Pakistan's native ethnic groups representing almost 92% of the population making Pakistan a unique country in the choice of national languages. As Pakistan's national language, Urdu has been promoted as a token of national unity. Although less than 8% of Pakistanis speak it as their first language, it is spoken as a second and often third language by nearly all literate Pakistanis. In recent years, the Urdu spoken in Pakistan has undergone further evolvement and acquired a particularly Pakistani flavour to it often absorbing local native terminology. It is a modern language which is constantly evolving from its original form. It is written in a modified form of the Perso-Arabic script, Nastaliq, and its basically local vocabulary has been enriched by words from Persian, Arabic, Turkish and English. Urdu has drawn inspiration from Persian literature and has now an enormous stock of words from that language. In recent years, the Urdu spoken in Pakistan has gradually incorporated words from many of the native languages found there including Pashto, Punjabi and Sindhi to name a few. As such the language is constantly developing and has acquired a particularly 'Pakistani' flavour to it distinguishing itself from that spoken in ancient times. The first poetry in Urdu was by the Persian poet Amir Khusro (1253-1325) and the first Urdu book "Woh Majlis" was written in 1728 and the first time the word "Urdu" was used by Saraj-ud-din Aarzoo in 1751.

Punjabi (provincial language)

Punjabi is spoken as a first language by more than 44% of Pakistanis, mostly in Punjab as well as by a large number of people in Karachi. It is an important language since Punjabi is spoken by about half of Pakistanis. However, Punjabi does not have any official status in Pakistan. The exact numbers of Punjabi speakers in Pakistan is hard to find since there are many dialects / languages, such as Saraiki, which some regard as part of Punjabi and others regard as separate language. Punjabi is spoken by almost 60% of the population in Pakistan. The standard Punjabi dialects is from Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Sheikhupura districts of the Pakistani Punjab which was used by Waris Shah (1722-1798) in his famous book Heer and is also now days the language of Punjabi literature, film and music; such as Lollywood. Other dialects are Multani or Saraiki in the West and South, Pothowari in the North, Dogri in the mountain areas and Shahpuri in the Sargodha district.

Punjabi is a very old language and it has been related to Sanskrit in the Vedic period (1700 B.C.), Pali, Prakrit and Apabhramsha in the Ashoka period (273 B.C. - 232 B.C.) and Hindvi, Lahori and Multani in the Muslim period (711 A.D. - 1857 A.D.). Punjabi literature was principally spiritual in nature and has had a very rich oral tradition. The Great poetry written by Sufi saints has been the folklore of the Punjab and is still sung with great love in any part of Punjab.

• Punjabi dialects
  • Lahori - "The standard Punjabi language" and spoken in the heart of Punjab where most of the Punjabi population lives. The main districts are Lahore, Multan, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala and Sialkot.
  • Jhangvi or Jangli - Spoken in the central parts of Pakistani Punjab, stretching across the districts of Khanewal and Jhang extending upto the district of Gujranwala and including Faisalabad and Chiniot.
  • Shahpuri - Spoken in Sargodha, Khushab and Mandi Bahauddin districts.
  • Pothowari - The area where Pothowari is spoken extends in the north from Azad Kashmir (Mirpur) to as far south as Jhelum, Gujar Khan, Chakwal and Rawalpindi. The language in the Dhani area of Chakwal is a mix of Pothowari, Saraiki and Jhangvi

Pashto (provincial language)

Pashto is spoken as a first language by 15% of Pakistanis, mostly in the North-West Frontier Province and in Balochistan as well as by immigrants to the eastern provinces who are often not counted due to census irregularities. The Pashto has rich written literary traditions as well as an oral tradition. There are two major dialect patterns within which the various individual dialects may be classified; these are Pakhto, which is the Northern (Peshawar) variety, and the softer Pashto spoken in the southern areas. Khushal Khan Khattak (1613-1689) and Rahman Baba (1633-1708) were the most famous poets in the Pashto language. In the last part of 20th century, Pakhto / Pashto has produced some great poets like Ghani Khan, Khatir Afridi and Amir Hamza Shinwari.

Sindhi (provincial language)

Sindhi is spoken as a first language by 14% of Pakistanis, mostly in Sindh. Sindhi has very rich literature and is used in schools. Sindhi language contains Arabic words and is affected by Arabic language to a great extent. The reason being Arab ruled Sindh for more than 150 years. Muhammad bin Qasim entered Sindh and conquered it in 712 AD. He remained here for three years and set up Arabic rule in the area. According to historians, the social fabric of Sindh comprises elements of Arabic society. Sindhi is spoken in Pakistan and is also one of the constitutional languages of India. It is spoken by about 20 million people in the southern Pakistani province of Sindh, Southern Pakistan and by the Sindhi diaspora who have migrated abroad. In Pakistan it is written in the Arabic script with several additional letters to accommodate special sounds. The largest Sindhi-speaking city is Hyderabad, Pakistan. Sindhi literature is also spiritual in nature and Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (1689-1752) is one of its Greatest poet who wrote Sassi Punnu, Umar Marwi (the great folk stories of the civilization) in his famous book "Shah jo Rasalo".

Saraiki (regional language)

Saraiki is related to Punjabi (See Classification, below) It is spoken as a first language by 11% of Pakistanis, mostly in the southern districts of Punjab, Pakistan (see Saraikis). Almost 10% of the population of Pakistan speak the Saraiki language. Dialects tend to blend into each other, with Punjabi to the east, and Sindhi to the south. Until recently it was considered to be a dialect of Punajbi. The Saraiki language has an 85% lexical similarity with Sindhi and 68% similarity with Odki and Sansi. Dialects are Derawali, Khatki, Jangli or Jatki and Riasti or Bahawalpuri. Saraiki or Multani (also Lehndi by some) differs from Punjabi more than any other dialect. Multani becomes more and more different as you move down south, as the influence of Sindhi increases, it is also known as Saraiki there. Saraiki itself is Sindhi word and means northern.

Balochi (provincial language)

Balochi is spoken as a first language by over 5% of Pakistanis, mostly in Balochistan. Sindh and southern Punjab. Balochi language is very close to the Persian itself. The name Balochi or Baluchi is not found before the 10th Century. It is believed that the language was brought to its present location in a series of migrations from northern Iran region of Caspian Sea. Rakshani is the major dialect group in terms of numbers. Sarhaddi, is a sub dialect of Rakshani. Other sub - dialects are Qalati, Chagai Kharani, and Makrani. The Eastern Hill Balochi or Northern Balochi are distinct dialects.

Hindko (regional language)

Hindko is an ancient Indo-Aryan language spoken by Hindkowans (Punjabi Pathans/Pashtuns) in Pakistan. The language is spoken in the areas of the North West Frontier Province (including Hazara), Punjab and Kashmir by an estimated 2.2 to 4 million people. During the pre-Buddhist era in present day Pakistan, the language of the masses was refined by the ancient grammarian Pāṇini, who set the rules of a structurally rigorous language called Sanskrit which was used principally for scriptures (analogous to Latin in the Western world). Meanwhile, the vernacular language of the masses, Prakrit developed into many tongues and dialects which spread over the northern parts of South Asia. Hindko is believed to be closely related to Prakrit. Due to the geographic isolation of the regions, it has undergone very little grammatical corruption, but has borrowed considerable vocabulary from its neighbours, in particular Pashto. It shows close affinity to Punjabi and the Lahnda sub-group of Indo-Aryan tongues and can be sub-divided into a northern and southern dialects.

Persian (cultural language)

Persian is considered to be a cultural language of Pakistan. Although Persian has neither official status since being banned by the British upon the annexation of various regions of Pakistan, it had for long been the lingua franca, a preferred language amongst the educated elite and was the official and cultural language of the Mughal Empire and various Muslim states based in Pakistan. Persian was officially abolished from the region with the arrival of the British to the province of Sindh in 1843 and Punjab in 1849 to minimize the influence of Persia and Afghanistan on the provinces that made up Pakistan. Nevertheless, Persian and Persian culture continue to influence the country and have influenced Urdu immensely, and is still appreciated as a literary and prestigious language among the educated elite, especially in fields of music (Qawwali) and art. Persian is mainly spoken by the inhabitants of Chitral and amongst native speakers in several urban centres in Pakistan. Dari (a variant of Persian) is also the native tongue of many Afghan refugees currently residing in Pakistan.

Arabic (religious language)

Arabic is considered to be religious language of Pakistan. The Quran, Sunnah, Hadith and Muslim theology is taught in Arabic with Urdu translation. The large numbers of Pakistani's living in the Gulf region and in other Middle Eastern Countries has further increased the number of people who can speak Arabic within Pakistan.

Turkish (cultural language)

Turkish was the mother tongue of Mughals and earlier Sultans of South Asia. The autobiography of Mughal emperor Babur, Tuzk Babari was also written in Turkish. The Turkish directly influenced Urdu. The word Urdu is of Turkish origin, as Urdu was originally called Zaban-e-Ordu or language of the Army, Ordu means army' in Turkish.

Other Pakistani languages

Aer

Population: 100 to 200 (1998). Women are monolingual. Region Lower Sindh, Jikrio Goth near Kunri around Deh 333, Hyderabad, and at Jamesabad. Others are reported to have migrated to India at Partition in 1947, living in the Kutch Bhuj area in Gujarat. Dialects Jikrio Goth Aer, Jamesabad Aer. Lexical similarity 78% with Katai Meghwar and Kutchi Bhil, 75% to 77% with Rabari, 76% with Kutchi Koli. Classification Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Central zone, Language use All ages. They also speak Sindhi (adult men only for common topics), Panjabi (adult men of Jikrio Goth only for common topics), and Gujarati. 100% of boys and 25% of girls attend Sindhi medium schools. Language development Literacy rate in second language: 15% in Sindhi. Sindhi-based script.

Unusual interrogative word suggests possible historical connection with Western Rajasthani group. Speakers in Pakistan are running out of marriage possibilities and may have to move to India. The group in India is the most influential. Other Aer people in Nawabshah, Sindh are reported to speak a different language, dress differently, and do not intermarry with this Hindu group.

Others

Numerous other languages are spoken by relatively small numbers of people, especially in some of the more remote and isolated places in, for example, the Northern Areas of Pakistan. Other Indo-European languages spoken in Pakistan include Pothohari, Shina, Wakhi, Kashmiri, Marwari, Khowar, Dari Persian, Brahui, a Dravidian language, and Burushaski, a language isolate.

Arabic and Persian are also taught in schools and religious institutions.

Classification

Indo-European

Nearly all of Pakistan's languages are Indo-European languages and within the smaller Indo-Iranian sub-branch.

Indo-Aryan languages

Around 80% of Pakistan's population speak one or more of the various Indo-Aryan languages. Usually concentrated in the heavily populated areas east of the Indus river, the Indo-Aryan languages and their cultures form the predominate cultural group in the country. They derive their roots from the Sanskrit language of Aryan invadors and are later heavily influenced by the languages of the later Muslim arrivals (i.e., Turkish, Persian, and Arabic), and are all written in a variant of either the Arabic or Nastaliq script. Urdu, the country's national language, is an Indo-Aryan tongue. Punjab, Hindko and Seraiki, all mutually intelligible, are classified by linguists as dialects of an Indo-Aryan speech called Lahnda, also spelled as Lehnda. These are also, to a lesser extent, mutually intelligible with Urdu. Added together, speakers of these mutually-intelligible languages make up nearly two-thirds of Pakistan's population. Sindhi is the common language of the people of Sindh in southern Pakistan and has a rich literary history of its own, traced back to the era of the early Arab arrivals. The Dardic languages of the Northern Areas, Azad Kashmir and the northwestern mountains are sometimes classified by many linguists as belonging to the Indo-Aryan family. Other Indo-Aryan languages include Gujarati, Kutchi, and others.

Iranian family of languages

Pashto and Balochi are classified as members of the Iranian family of languages. If combined, Iranian peoples who speak Pashto, Balochi, Dari-Persian (Afghan refugees speak both Pashto and Dari-Persian) and Wakhi comprise over 1/5 of the population of Pakistan.

Dardic languages

The Dardic languages are spoken in the northern Pakistan. They include Shina (spoken in Gilgit, Chilas and Diamar) , Khowar (spoken in Chitral), Kalasha (spoken by Kalash tribe) , Kohistani (spoken in upper Swat and Kohistan) and Kashmiri (in Azad Kashmir and by over million Kashmiri refugees who fled Indian invasion and occupation of Kashmir in 1947) and by many in Neelum District.

Kashmiri spoken in Kashmir valley (not confuse with Pahari language spoken in Azad Kashmir) is the only Dardic language that has literary tradition that goes well back into the history where as other Dardic languages spoken in northern Pakistan, unfortunately, they do not have written literature like Kashmiri. This is because the people in the northern areas of Pakistan have remained isolated in the mountain valleys from the others for centuries.

Non-Indo-European languages

Dravidian

Brahui language is believed to belong to the Dravidian language family though this has not been conclusively proven. Brahui is a minority language of Balochistan. Brahui is heavily influenced by Balochi, Persian and Sindhi, languages in which many Brahui speakers are necessarily bilingual.

See also

• Pakistan
• Punjab
• Balochistan
• NWFP
• Sindh

External links

• Government of Pakistan - National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA)
• infopak.gov.pk - Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
• Population Reference Bureau
• statpak.gov.pk - Population by mother tongue
• US Census: International Data Base (IDB)