Interesting facts about Pakistan

• Pakistan has the second largest Muslim population in the world. It is second to Indonesia.
• About one fifth of the population live below the international poverty line (US$1.25 per day).
• More than 60 languages are spoken in Pakistan. English is the official language of Pakistan and is used in government.
• 96% of the population are Muslims. Just over 1.5% are Christians.
• Pakistan has the sixth largest military force in the world.
• Pakistan have cold, dry winters and hot, wet summers.
• Despite once being called the world’s most dangerous country in a British magazine (The Economist), the tourism industry is growing in Pakistan.
• The official and national sport of Pakistan is field hockey. Cricket, however, is the most popular sport. The national side won the ICC World Cup in 1992.
• Pakistan qualified for the Golf World Cup for the first time in 2009.
• One goal of the current government is to see the literacy rate reach at least 85% over the next few years.
• About 1.7 million refugees from Afghanistan live in Pakistan.
• Pakistan became an Islamic republic in 1956.
• In 1971, there was a civil war in East Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh.
• Pakistan is the first Islamic country to attain nuclear power.
• The worlds second and ninth highest mountains , The K2 and Nanga-parbat, are in Pakistan
• Pakistan has the worlds second largest Shia Muslim population.
• Pakistan founded the Organization of Islamic Conference
• Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad is one of the few planned capital cities in the world, and is often cited as one of the most beautiful ones.
• In the last five years, Pakistan’s literacy rate has grown by 250%, the largest increase in any country to date
• Despite Muslim Majority, there are 656 gurdwaras and 327 active Hindu temples in the country.
• Pakistan has best weather for business in the world. according to GALLOP survey from whole world.
• Pakistan is 2nd in Entrepreneurial activities in Asia after Japan

Some more amazing facts about Pakistan

  

    The Biggest Glaciers

The north of Pakistan boasts undoubtedly the worlds most stunning mountain scenery. Forget about those touristy Himalayan trials in Nepal, if you are looking for real wild mountain beauty, then Northern Areas are the place to go. The extreme northeastern part of Pakistan is dominated by the craggy Karakorums, whose glaciers are the worlds biggest permanent mass of snow and ice outside the poles.

A Language Isolate

  

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 Language Isolate:

The Hunza valley, with its beauty and isolation has inspired many legends. The former princely state only really opened up to the rest of the world with the completion of Karakorum Highway in 1986. Of the many unique features about the region, the presence of a language isolate is the most puzzling. Burushaski is not related to any other language in the world and with Korean and Basque, is the worlds most vibrant language isolate.

  

World's Biggest Mountain Face:

Nanga Parbat is a sight to behold. It towers above the surrounding terrain like a brooding giant. Its south face, known as Rupal Faceis the worlds biggest mountain face, rising unbroken for 4600 meters from its base. If one considers the peak to base distance, the north face of Nanga Parbat forms the worlds deepest gorge, plunging almost 7000 meters to the Indus River.

  

World's Tallest Cliff:

Trango Towers are amongst the many jewels encountered during the epic trek to K2. Standing tall like guardians of the great glaciers, the biggest member of the group, the Grand Trango, features the worlds greatest nearly vertical drop; nearly 1340 meters. They also offer some of the most technical rock climbing and extreme BASE jumping opportunities.

The most Mysterious Tribe:

Although un-contacted tribes still exist in unexplored rainforest regions, Kalash are possibly the worlds most mysterious group. Surrounded for thousands of kilometers by Islamic strongholds, they are the only tribe which has kept its pre-Islamic belief religion. Their exotic European features have inspired many theories about possible origins but nothing substantial has yet been proven. Their long term existence is however in doubt due to increasing tourist exposure and Islamization.

  

The World's Largest Mosque:

The Shah Faisal Mosque in Islamabad can accommodate almost 100000 worshipers. Completed in 1976, it could at that time probably hold the city entire population. Built with Saudi donations, was named for its King and designed like a desert tent.

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The Area of Greatest Linguistic Diversity:

The Chitral district of northwest Pakistan has 13 languages spoken, more than any other similarly sized area in the world. Many of these are unique to the district and are loosing strength in numbers. This incredible diversity, prevalence of European facial features and existence of a language isolate has lead to an extraordinary hypothesis; that the White race did not invade India from Central Asia but in fact originated in the area around Chitral and then migrated to Central Area and Europe.

World's biggest refugee population:

Pakistan's western neighbor Afghanistan has been in a perpetual state of war for generations. The Afghans however had largely learned to live with internal tribal conflicts and prejudices but the situation changed dramatically with the 1979 Soviet invasion. This coupled with non-existent border control resulted in more than 5 million refugees pouring into Pakistan. Although recent years have been some of the most peaceful of the past decades, around 1.8 million refugees still reside in Pakistan and its still hosting the world's biggest such population.

The Highest Paved Border Crossing:

The phenomenal Karakorum highway reaches its highest point at the Khunjerab Pass, the worlds highest paved border crossing. It is located on a watershed and has largely flatter, rolling terrain on the other side into China. Despite its hostile altitude, the pass has been used for centuries as a part of the famous Silk Route.

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World's Largest Irrigation System:

Pakistan has the worlds largest canal based irrigation system. Dependant exclusively on the Indus river and its tributaries, this network has also irrigated a population boom. The system was originally built by the British and was then expanded in 1960's but now has become a rusty, inefficient old machine.