ecnomy

GDP by Province

Despite being a very poor country in 1947, Pakistan's economic growth rate was better than the global average during the subsequent four decades, but imprudent policies led to a slowdown in the late 1990s.^[74] Recently, wide-ranging economic reforms have resulted in a stronger economic outlook and accelerated growth especially in the manufacturing and financial services sectors.^[74] Since the 1990s, there has been great improvement in the foreign exchange position and rapid growth in hard currency reserves.^[74] The 2005 estimate of foreign debt was close to US$40 billion. However, this has decreased in recent years with assistance from the International Monetary Fund and significant debt-relief from the United States. Pakistan's gross domestic product, as measured by purchasing power parity, is estimated to be US$475.4 billion^[75] while its per capita income stands at $2,942.^[75] The poverty rate in Pakistan is estimated to be between 23%^[76] and 28%.^[77] GDP growth was steady during the mid 2000s at a rate of 7%;^[78][79] however, slowed down during the Economic crisis of 2008 to 4.7%.^[16] A large inflation rate of 24.4% and a low savings rate, and other economic factors, continue to make it difficult to sustain a high growth rate.^[80][81][82] Pakistan's GDP is US$167 billions, which makes it the 48th-largest economy in the world or 27th largest by purchasing power adjusted exchange rates

The structure of the Pakistani economy has changed from a mainly agricultural base to a strong service base. Agriculture now only accounts for roughly 20% of the GDP, while the service sector accounts for 53% of the GDP.^[83] Significant foreign investments have been made in several areas including telecommunications, real estate and energy.^[84][85] Other important industries include textiles (accounts almost 60 % of total GDP), food processing, chemicals manufacture, and the iron and steel industries.^[86] Pakistan's exports in 2008 amounted to $20.62 billion (USD).^[16] Pakistan is a rapidly developing country.^[87][88][89] However, the Economic crisis of 2008 led Pakistan to seek more than $100 billion in aid in order to avoid possible bankruptcy.^[90][91] This was never given to Pakistan and therefore it had to depend on a more aggressive fiscal policy, backed by the IMF.

Education

Literacy Rate - Pakistan

Aitchison College, Lahore

Education in Pakistan is divided into five levels: primary (grades one through five); middle (grades six through eight); high (grades nine and ten, leading to the Secondary School Certificate); intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a Higher Secondary School Certificate); and university programmes leading to graduate and advanced degrees.^[92]

Pakistan also has a parallel secondary school education system in private schools, which is based upon the curriculum set and administered by the Cambridge International Examinations, in place of government exams. Some students choose to take the O level and A level^[93] exams through the British Council.

There are currently 730 technical & vocational institutions in Pakistan.^[94] The minimum qualifications to enter male vocational institutions, is the completion of grade 8. The programmes are generally two to three years in length. The minimum qualifications to enter female vocational institutions, is the completion of grade 5.^[95] All academic education institutions are the responsibility of the provincial governments. The federal government mostly assists in curriculum development, accreditation and some financing of research.

English medium education is to be extended, on a phased basis, to all schools across the country.^[96] Through various educational reforms, by the year 2015, the ministry of education expects to attain 100% enrolment levels amongst primary school aged children, and a literacy rate of 86% amongst people aged over 10.^[97]

Pakistan also has madrassahs that provide free education and also offer free boarding and lodging to students who come mainly from the poorer strata of society.^[98] After criticism over terrorists using them for recruiting purposes, efforts have been made to regulate them.^[99]

Society and Culture

Cloth market in Karachi

A sitar workshop in Islamabad

Muhammad Iqbal, the national poet of Pakistan

Pakistani society is largely hierarchical, with high regard for traditional Islamic values, although urban families have grown into a nuclear family system because of the socio-economic constraints imposed by the traditional joint family system.^[100] Recent decades have seen the emergence of a middle class in cities like Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, and Peshawar that wish to move in a more centrist direction, as opposed to the northwestern regions bordering Afghanistan that remain highly conservative and dominated by centuries-old regional tribal customs. Increasing globalization has resulted in ranking 46th on the A.T. Kearney/FP Globalization Index.^[101]

The variety of Pakistani music ranges from diverse provincial folk music and traditional styles such as Qawwali and Ghazal Gayaki to modern forms fusing traditional and western music, such as the synchronisation of Qawwali and western music by the world renowned Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. In addition Pakistan is home to many famous folk singers such as the late Alam Lohar, who is also well known in Indian Punjab. However, majority of Pakistanis listen to Indian music produced by Bollywood and other Indian film industries. The arrival of Afghan refugees in the western provinces has rekindled Pashto and Persian music and established Peshawar as a hub for Afghan musicians and a distribution centre for Afghan music abroad.^[102] State-owned Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation were the dominant media outlets, but there are now numerous private television channels. Various American, European, and Asian television channels and films are available to the majority of the Pakistani population via private Television Networks, cable, and satellite television. There are also small indigenous film industries based in Lahore and Peshawar (often referred to as Lollywood). And while Bollywood films have been banned from being played in public cinemas since 1965 they have remained popular in popular culture^[103].

View of food street in Lahore

The architecture of the areas now constituting Pakistan can be designated to four distinct periods — pre-Islamic, Islamic, colonial and post-colonial. With the beginning of the Indus civilization around the middle of the 3rd millennium^[104] B.C., an advanced urban culture developed for the first time in the region, with large structural facilities, some of which survive to this day.^[105] Mohenjo Daro, Harappa and Kot Diji belong to the pre-Islamic era settlements. The rise of Buddhism and the Persian and Greek influence led to the development of the Greco-Buddhist style, starting from the 1st century CE. The high point of this era was reached with the culmination of the Gandhara style. An example of Buddhist architecture is the ruins of the Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi in the northwest province. The arrival of Islam in today's Pakistan meant a sudden end of Buddhist architecture.^[106] However, a smooth transition to predominantly pictureless Islamic architecture occurred. The most important of the few completely discovered buildings of Persian style is the tomb of the Shah Rukn-i-Alam in Multan. During the Mughal era design elements of Islamic-Persian architecture were fused with and often produced playful forms of the Hindustani art. Lahore, occasional residence of Mughal rulers, exhibits a multiplicity of important buildings from the empire, among them the Badshahi mosque, the fortress of Lahore with the famous Alamgiri Gate, the colourful, still strongly Persian seeming Wazir Khan Mosque as well as numerous other mosques and mausoleums. Also the Shahjahan Mosque of Thatta in Sindh originates from the epoch of the Mughals. In the British colonial period, predominantly functional buildings of the Indo-European representative style developed from a mixture of European and Indian-Islamic components. Post-colonial national identity is expressed in modern structures like the Faisal Mosque, the Minar-e-Pakistan and the Mazar-e-Quaid.

A Kalash man dances during the Uchau Festival.

The literature of Pakistan covers the literatures of languages spread throughout the country, namely Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi, Pushto, Baluchi as well as English^[107] in recent times and in the past often Persian as well. Prior to the 19th century, the literature mainly consisted of lyric poetry and religious, mystical and popular materials. During the colonial age the native literary figures, under the influence of the western literature of realism, took up increasingly different topics and telling forms. Today, short stories enjoy a special popularity.^[108] The national poet of Pakistan, Allama Muhammad Iqbal, suggested the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of India. However, Iqbal had also wrote the Tarana-e-Hind which stated the belief of a strong united India. His book The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam is a major work of modern Islamic philosophy. The most well-known representative of the contemporary Urdu literature of Pakistan is Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Sufi poetry Shah Abdul Latif, Bulleh Shah and Khawaja Farid are also very popular in Pakistan.^[109] Mirza Kalich Beg has been termed the father of modern Sindhi prose.^[110]

Holidays

Tourism

The site of Pakistan National Monument in Islamabad.

The Lahore Fort, rebuilt by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1566.

Despite having an image problem, hyped particularly in the West, and once alleged as one of the most dangerous countries in the world by the British magazine "The Economist",^[111] tourism is still a growing industry in Pakistan because of its diverse cultures, peoples and landscapes.^[112] The variety of attractions ranges from the ruins of ancient civilizations such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Taxila, to the Himalayan hill-stations, that attract those interested in field and winter sports. Pakistan also has several mountain peaks of height over 7,000 metres (22,970 ft), that attract adventurers and mountaineers from around the world, especially to K2.^[113] Starting in April to September, domestic and international tourists visit these areas helping tourism become a source of income for the local people. Majority of the tourists are from other Asian countries.

The northern parts of Pakistan are the site of several historical fortresses, towers and other architecture. Including the Hunza and Chitral valleys, the latter being home to the Kalash, a small pre-Islamic Animist community.^[114] Punjab is also the site of Alexander's battle on the Jhelum River. The historic city of Lahore is considered Pakistan's cultural centre and has many examples of Mughal architecture such as the Badshahi Masjid, Shalimar Gardens, Tomb of Jahangir and the Lahore Fort.^[115] The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) also helps promote tourism in the country.^[116] However, tourism is still limited because of the lack of proper infrastructure and the worsening security situation in the country. The recent militancy in Pakistan's scenic sites, including Swat and NWFP, has given a massive blow to the tourism industry.^[117] Much of the trouble is also being blamed on: the frail travel network, tourism regulatory framework, low prioritization of the tourism industry by the government, low effectiveness of marketing and a constricted tourism perception.^[118]

Sports

Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan

Polo is regarded as a traditional sport and played widely in the northern areas

The official and national sport of Pakistan is field hockey, although cricket is more popular. The national cricket team has won the Cricket World Cup once (in 1992), were runners-up once (in 1999), and co-hosted the games twice (in 1987 and 1996). Pakistan were runners-up in the inaugural 2007 ICC World Twenty20 held in South Africa and are the champions of 2009 ICC World Twenty20 held in England. Squash is another sport that Pakistanis have excelled in, with successful world-class squash players such as Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan winning the World Open several times during their careers.

At an international level, Pakistan has competed many times at the Summer Olympics in field hockey, boxing, athletics, swimming, and shooting. Pakistan's medal tally remains at 10 medals (3 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze) while at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games it stands at 61 medals and 182 medals respectively. Hockey is the sport in which Pakistan has been most successful at the Olympics, with three gold medals in (1960, 1968, and 1984). Pakistan has also won the Hockey World Cup a record four times (1971, 1978, 1982, 1994).

The Motorsport Association of Pakistan is a member of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile^[119]. The Freedom Rally is a yearly off-road race which takes place during the Independence celebrations.

Other

• Pakistan travel guide from Wikitravel

Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35

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