The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is located the area where South Asia converges with Middle East and Central Asia. The country has a 1,046 kilometre (650 miles) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Iran and Afghanistan in the west, India in the east and China in the northeast.
Pakistan’s people and traditions reflect a mixture of many varied cultural influences. Although the modern Pakistani state was founded in 1947, it is home to one of the earliest known human civilizations, the Indus Valley civilization, dating back at least 5000 years.
Pakistan’s economic lifeline and main source of water is the Indus River. Since as far back Indus Valley civilization, the people of this area have settled near the river and used it for agricultural and transportation purposes. The agricultural sector still dominates Pakistan’s economy. The country is one of the world’s largest cotton producers, with cotton being one of its primary export earners. Other significant exports include rice, leather goods, sports goods, chemicals, manufactures, carpets and rugs.
Pakistan is administratively divided into four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Baluchistan. the federal capital of Islamabad and seven Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). In addition, Pakistan administers one part of the disputed territory of Kashmir, known as Pakistan Administer Kashmir (PAK) and the Northern Areas. Punjab is Pakistan’s most populous province and produces a significant proportion of agricultural output. NWFP produces many varieties of citrus and dry fruits, as well as timber. To the south, Sindh is also known for its agricultural output and its capital Karachi is Pakistan’s largest city and port, and it’s industrial and financial hub. Baluchistan is the largest province in terms of size but is the least populated. Although largely covered by desert, Baluchistan is rich in natural resources and contains Pakistan’s largest natural gas reserves.
According the Human Development Report 2010, Pakistan’s HDI value increased from 0.311 to 0.490 during 1980 to 2010, an increase of 58% or average annual increase of about 1.5% which ranked it 10 in terms of HDI improvement in comparison to the average progress of other countries. Pakistan’s life expectancy at birth increased by more than 9 years, mean years of schooling increased by about 3 years and expected years of schooling increased by almost 4 years. Pakistan’s GNI per capita increased by 92 per cent during the same period.
Pakistan’s 2010 HDI of 0.490 is below the average of 0.516 for countries in South Asia. It is also below the average of 0.592 for medium human development countries. From South Asia, Pakistan’s 2010 “HDI neighbours”, i.e. countries which are close in HDI rank and population size, are India and Bangladesh, which had HDIs ranked 119 and 129 respectively. Pakistan is also compared to the Islamic Republic of Iran, a high human development country.