Pakistani people

Pakistanis
پاكِستانى قوم

Muhammad Ali Jinnah · Liaquat Ali Khan · Khwaja Nazimuddin · Raja Aziz Bhatti Zia-ul-Haq · Benazir Bhutto · Abdul Sattar Edhi · Abdus Salam Hina Rabbani Khar · Jahangir Khan · Shahid Afridi · Muneeb-ur-Rehman Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan · Noor Jehan · Mohsin Hamid · Mahira Khan
Total population
187 million approx. 2.7% of the world's population
Regions with significant populations
Pakistan: 187,000,000 (2011)
United Kingdom 1,200,000+ Saudi Arabia 1,200,000+ United Arab Emirates 1,100,000+ United States 700,000+ Canada 300,000+ Kuwait 250,000+ Italy 100,000+ Oman 85,000+ Greece 80,000+ France 60,000+ Germany 53,668+ Qatar 52,000+ Spain 47,000+ Bahrain 45,500+ Norway 39,134+ Denmark 21,152+ Australia 31,277+ Netherlands 19,408+ Hong Kong 11,000+ Japan 10,000+ South Korea 9000+
Languages
Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi, Saraiki, Persian, Kashmiri, Balti and others
Religion
Islam 97% (Sunni 75%, 25% being Shia) with Christian, Hindu, Sikh and Bahai minorities

Pakistani people (cultural phrase: Pakistanis; or People of Pakistan (Urdu: پاكِستانى قوم‎ Pakistani Qaum) are the people who are citizens of the modern State of Pakistan. Pakistan's estimated population in 2011 is over 187 million making it the world's sixth most-populous country. Though Pakistan is in essence a multi-ethnic and multilingual state, its people are predominantly Indo-European, mainly Indo-Aryan and Iranian both ethnically and linguistically.

Ethnic groups

Main article: Ethnic groups in Pakistan

Pakistan has one of the world's fastest growing populations. Being a land mass that is transitionally localed both in South Asia and Central Asia, the Pakistani people are a mixture of various ethnic groups, mainly Indo-Aryan, Iranian and Dardic. Furthermore, various ethnic groups, invading armies and the migrations to the region by people passing through on their way to and from South Asia have left their imprint on the population.

Pakistani people belong predominantly to seven ethno-lingustic groups: Punjabis, Sindhis, Seraikis, Pashtuns, Mohajirs, Balochs, and Kashmiris, with smaller numbers of Brahuis, Hindkowans, Chitralis and other small, minority ethnic groups in the remote north of the country.

In the west, the Pashtun people are an indigenous Eastern Iranic group who have been settled the western banks of the Indus and are believed to have originated from the Sulaiman Mountains of Pakistan. The Baloch people are a western Iranic ethnic group who inhabit the southwest of the country and are believed to be settlers from far off Aleppo (in modern day Syria) who arrived to the region and assimilated into the local peoples and gave their name to the province of Balochistan. The Punjabi people, an Indo-Aryan people and the largest ethnic group, reside in the northeast and have been the primary inhabitants of the historical Punjab region which derives its name from the Persian Panj meaning five (5) and Ab meaning water(s); hence the land of five rivers or Panj-Ab. The Sindhi people, another Indo-Aryan people, on the other hand have been settled in the southeast of the country and gave their name to the mighty Indus/Sindhu river, while regional groups such as the Seraiki people have inhabited the regions between Punjab and Sindh. Groups in the west of the country share cultural ties with ethnic groups in Eastern Iran and Eastern Afghanistan, and Central Asia regions. The Kashmiri people are an important ethnic group of the Kashmir region in the north. There are other important indigenous people like the Balti, Hunzakots, and Gilgiti people(s) of the northern territories of Gilgit through whose territory ran the ancient Silk Route connecting Asia and Europe. The Chitrali people are another indigenous people who live high in the mountains in the northwest. Along with these main groups, there are smaller communities of Sheedi's who are descendants of African sailors and warriors who are believed to have arrived from the horn of Africa as well as Muhajir people who came as refugees from India when Pakistan attained its independence from Britain in 1947. There are countless other ethnic groups that make up part of Pakistani's mosaic such as the Bengalis, Burmese, Hazara, Tajik, Persian, Arab and Hakka; the last are an ethnic group that traces its origin to China.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Pakistan

Pakistan has a heterogeneous culture, with all of the provinces maintaining differing social mores. However, Islam is the driving force behind the unity of varying ethnic groups from different parts of the country, and has significantly shaped the values and traditions of Pakistanis.

Languages

Main article: Languages of Pakistan

Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and spoken as a first, second or at times third tongue by almost all Pakistani people; although there are numerous regional and provincial languages which are spoken as first languages by the ethno-linguistic groups making up the country. English is spoken at an official level and is a legacy of the long British Raj colonial rule in the region. Many Pakistanis worldwide speak the various regional languages of Pakistan such as: Saraiki, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi, Kashmiri, and Farsi. Overseas Pakistanis also speak many of the national languages of the country such as: English, Norwegian, German, Japanese, Arabic, French, Swedish, Arabic, Dutch, etc.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Pakistan

Further information: Islam in Pakistan

National identity

Main article: Pakistani nationalism

According to Pakistan Studies curriculum, Muhammad bin Qasim is often referred to as the first Pakistani. Muhammad Ali Jinnah also acclaimed the Pakistan movement to have started when the first Muslim put a foot in the Gateway of Islam.

Diaspora

Main article: Pakistani diaspora

There are large populations of Pakistani ancestry around the world, due to emigration. The population of Pakistanis abroad is considered to exceed seven million and can be found in the Middle East, North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Notable people

Main article: List of Pakistanis