Pakistan
Population: 177,100,000
Official Languages: Urdu, English
Pakistan is situated in the western part of the Indian subcontinent, with Afghanistan and Iran on the west, India on the east, and the Arabian Sea on the south. The name Pakistan is derived from the Urdu words Pak (meaning pure) and Stan (meaning country). Although Urdu is an official language of Pakistan, it is spoken as a first language by only 8% of the population; 48% speak Punjabi, 12% Sindhi, 10% Saraiki, 11% other languages.
Pakistan was one of the two original successor states to British India, which was partitioned along religious lines in 1947. Ever since Pakistan gained its independence in 1947 it has struggled to maintain stability.
The northern and western highlands of Pakistan contain the towering Karakoram and Pamir mountain ranges, which include some of the world’s highest peaks: K2 (28,250 ft.; 8,611 m) and Nanga Parbat (26,660 ft.; 8,126 m). The 1,000-mile-long (1,609 km) Indus River and its tributaries flow through the country from the Kashmir region to the Arabian Sea.
