Pakistan

Pakistan

Location : Pakistan is our western neighbour.
It is bordered by Iran in the west, India in the east the Arabian Sea in the south and Afghanistan in the North.
Latitude : Pakistan lies between 24°N and 37°N latitudes.
Longitude : It lies between longitudes 61°E and 75°E.
Area and composition : Pakistan has an area of about 3,12,685 sq km.
It comprises of West Punjab, Sind, Baluchistan, N.W.F.P. and a few tribal areas.
Physical Divisions of Pakistan : Pakistan may be divided into following four physical divisions:
The Northern and Western Highlands : The Hindukush mountains which extend from the Pamir Knot form a mountain wall in the north of Pakistan. Tirich Mir (7690 m) is the highest peak of the Hindukush.

» The famous Khyber Pass lies in this region.
» Other important mountain ranges are Sulaiman range and Kirthar range.
» These ranges spread in north-south direction.
» The Baluchistan Plateau Situated in the south-west of Pakistan.
» It is a dry and rocky plateau with little vegetation.
The Indus Plain : Without the Indus, Pakistan would have been a complete desert.
It is a 2700 km long fertile plain in the eastern Pakistan made by rich alluvial soil brought down by Indus and its five tributaries.
The Thar Desert : It is located in south-eastern part of Pakistan and continues into India.
Climate of Pakistan : The climate of Pakistan is one of the extremes. » It is very hot in summer and very cold in winter.
» It gets little rainfall in summer.
» The average rainfall in Pakistan is less than 25 cm in a year.
» There is some rainfall in winter brought by the Western disturbances coming from the Mediterranean Sea.

Natural Vegetation

» In plateaus, plains and desert mostly bushes, shrubs and coarse grasses are found.
» In mountainous area in the north and west temperate deciduous trees, coniferous trees and alpine vegetation is found.
Language - Urdu
Currency - Rupee
Religion - Islam.

Economic Development

Agriculture : Rainfall in this agricultural country is very low and unreliable.
» Rivers and a developed network of canals make irrigation possible.
» Pakistan is known as the 'Land of Canals'. Mangla Dam and Tarbila Dam in Pakistan are very famous.
» Wheat, millets, cotton, rice, sugarcane and oil seeds are cultivated.
Animal Rearing : People of Pakistan rear milch cattle.
» Drought animals are also reared. Sheep and goats are reared in dry Baluchistan Plateau and the mountainous areas.
Mining : Mineral position of Pakistan is not satisfactory.
» It has some deposits of petroleum, coal, iron and copper.
» The gas fields of Sui is important.
» Salt deposits near Khewra are well known.
Industrial Development : Industrialy Pakistan is now well developed.
Cotton textile, woolen textile, chemicals, cement, sugar, paper, etc are important industries of Pakistan. Carpets, embroidered goods, pottery and handicrafts are also manufactured here.
Population : Pakistan has a population of 182,142,594 (2013) excluding 4 million residents of Pakistan ruled Jammu and Kashmir and 01 million Afghan refugees.
» The density of population is 236 persons per sq km. (in 2013).
» 90% people are Muslims, who follow Islam. Urdu is the state language.