Pakistan 🇵🇰
Pakistan is a country in Asia with a population of 235,824,862. Its capital is Islamabad. The official currency is PKR, and the main languages are Urdu, English.
Quick facts
- Capital: Islamabad
- Continent: Asia
- Population: 235,824,862
- Area: 881,913 km²
- Density: 267 people per km²
- Currency: PKR
- Languages: Urdu, English
- ISO code: PK
Where Pakistan sits
Pakistan 🇵🇰 is one of 48 countries in Asia, with its capital at Islamabad. It covers 881,913 square kilometres — 33rd in the world — and is home to about 235,824,862 people, 5th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Japan. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Pakistan compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Pakistan sits closest to Nigeria and Brazil. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Venezuela and Nigeria.
At 267 people per square kilometre it is about 4.5 times the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.
Urdu is listed as official in Pakistan alone. The PKR is used by Pakistan and no one else.
To see Pakistan next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Pakistan
Islamabad was built as a planned city in the 1960s and replaced Karachi, the largest city, as the capital. The name starts with 'Islam', which links to the green and the crescent on the flag.
The flag of Pakistan: green and white
🇵🇰 The flag is a dark green flag with a white vertical stripe at the flagpole and a large white crescent and five-pointed star. The crescent, the star and the colour green are traditional symbols of Islam. The white stripe stands for the country's religious minorities.
Region and neighbours
Pakistan is a country in South Asia, stretching from the high mountains of the north through the Indus River plain to the Arabian Sea in the south. It shares land borders with 4 countries: India, China, Afghanistan and Iran.
- India 🇮🇳 — capital New Delhi
- China 🇨🇳 — capital Beijing
- Afghanistan 🇦🇫 — capital Kabul
- Iran 🇮🇷 — capital Tehran
Three facts about Pakistan
- Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country in the world.
- K2, 8,611 m high in the Karakoram, is one of five peaks over 8,000 m in Pakistan.
- The Indus Valley Civilisation of the Bronze Age grew up in what is now Pakistan.
Sources: Wikipedia: Pakistan, Wikipedia: Flag of Pakistan, Wikipedia: Islamabad, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Pakistan
- Asian capitals quiz — match Pakistan to Islamabad
- Asian flags quiz — spot the Pakistan flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Pakistan
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Pakistan those are:
- Asia map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Asia flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Asia capitals quiz — match it to Islamabad
- Pakistan capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Pakistan
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Pakistan
- Capital of Pakistan: Islamabad — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 48 countries of Asia
Nearby countries
- Afghanistan 🇦🇫 — capital Kabul
- Armenia 🇦🇲 — capital Yerevan
- Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 — capital Baku
- Bahrain 🇧🇠— capital Manama
- Bangladesh 🇧🇩 — capital Dhaka
- Bhutan 🇧🇹 — capital Thimphu
- Brunei 🇧🇳 — capital Bandar Seri Begawan
- Cambodia 🇰🇠— capital Phnom Penh
- China 🇨🇳 — capital Beijing
- Georgia 🇬🇪 — capital Tbilisi
- India 🇮🇳 — capital New Delhi
- Indonesia 🇮🇩 — capital Jakarta
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Pakistan flag?
The flag of Pakistan is a dark green flag with a white vertical stripe at the flagpole and a large white crescent and five-pointed star. The crescent, the star and the colour green are traditional symbols of Islam. The white stripe stands for the country's religious minorities.
Which countries border Pakistan?
Pakistan shares land borders with India, China, Afghanistan and Iran.
How can I remember the capital of Pakistan?
Islamabad was built as a planned city in the 1960s and replaced Karachi, the largest city, as the capital. The name starts with 'Islam', which links to the green and the crescent on the flag.