Pakistan had a population of 247,541,947 according to the final results of the 2023 Pakistani census. Pakistan is the world's fifth–most populous country and has the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. Between 1951 and 2023, Pakistan's population expanded over sevenfold, going from 33.7 million to 247.5 million. The country has a relatively high, although declining, growth rate supported by high birth rates and low death rates. Between 1998 and 2017, the average annual population growth rate stood at +2.40%.

Dramatic social changes have led to urbanization and the emergence of two megacities: Karachi and Lahore. The country's urban population more than tripled between 1981 and 2017 (from 23.8 million to 75.7 million), as Pakistan's urbanisation rate rose from 28.2% to 36.4%. Even with this, the nation's urbanisation rate remains one of the lowest in the world, and in 2017, over 130 million Pakistanis (making up nearly 65% of the population) lived in rural areas.

Due to a high fertility rate, which was estimated at 3.5 in 2022, Pakistan has one of the world's youngest populations. The 2017 census recorded that 40.3% of the country's population was under the age of 15, while only 3.7% of Pakistanis were aged 65 or more. The median age of the country was 19, while its sex ratio was recorded to be 105 males per 100 females. Pakistan ranked last (148th of 148 countries) on the Global Gender Gap Index, with a gender parity score of 56.7%, reflecting one of the lowest levels of gender equality globally.

The demographic history of Pakistan from the ancient Indus Valley civilization to the modern era includes the arrival and settlement of many cultures and ethnic groups in the modern region of Pakistan from Eurasia and the nearby Middle East. Because of this, Pakistan has a multicultural, multilinguistic, and multiethnic society. Pakistan is also thought to have the world's fourth-largest refugee population, estimated at 1.4 million in mid-2021 by the UNHCR.

Population

The 2017 census recorded a population of 207,684,626 living in Pakistan's four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory. The census also reported that Azad Kashmir's population stood at 4,045,367 and Gilgit-Baltistan's population was 1,492,924. This meant that the total population of Pakistan in 2017 was 213,222,917.

The statistics in the graphs below were created by the United Nations in July 2022, and are covered in more detail in the following section. This data includes Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. For years, the country with a population exceeding 230 million has been grappling to achieve economic stability. The people of Pakistan are living in a precarious situation, with an uncertain future in the country.

Estimates from the United Nations

In July 2022, the United Nations published its 2022 World Population Prospects, a bi annually-updated database where key demographic indicators are estimated and projected worldwide down to the country level. They prepared estimates of Pakistan's population for every year from 1950 to 2021, as well as projections for future decades. This data includes Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Projections are highlighted in light yellow, and future figures are taken from the medium fertility variant.

+Year% Populationaged 0 to 14% Populationaged 15 to 64% Populationaged 65 or more1950 37,696,26440.5%54.0%5.5%1955 40.3%55.3%4.4%1960 45,954,22640.6%55.6%3.7%1965 51,841,62642.3%54.4%3.4%1970 59,290,87243.7%53.0%3.3%1975 68,126,99943.9%52.8%3.4%1980 80,624,05743.0%53.5%3.4%1985 97,121,55243.0%53.5%3.5%1990 115,414,06943.7%52.8%3.5%1995 133,117,47644.4%52.1%3.5%2000 154,369,92442.9%53.6%3.5%2005 174,372,09841.1%55.4%3.5%2010 194,454,49839.2%57.0%3.7%2015 210,969,29838.4%57.7%3.9%2020 227,196,74137.3%58.6%4.2%2025 249,948,88535.3%60.2%4.5%2030 274,029,83633.2%61.9%4.9%2035 298,432,78031.7%63.1%5.2%2040 322,595,76729.5%64.8%5.7%2045 345,818,94528.1%65.8%6.2%2050 367,808,46826.6%66.5%6.9%

Structure of population

The table below shows Pakistan's population structure by five-year age group and sex using data from the 2023 census. The country's population structure is relatively young, with a median age of 19. With low death rates and a declining birth rate, the country is in the third stage of its Demographic transition. In 2017, Pakistan's sex ratio stood at 105 males per 100 females, which is much more balanced than South Asia as a whole.

The statistics below do not contain Azad Kashmir or Gilgit-Baltistan, which disseminate their census data separately from Pakistan's four provinces and Islamabad.

+Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercentTotal 123,824,681 116,613,077 240,458,089 106.12 100.0%0 – 4 18,744,989 17,726,432 36,471,421 105.1 14.0%5 – 9 16,566,852 15,705,284 32,272,136 108.8 14.5%10 – 14 14,971,914 13,817,137 28,790,182 111.8 11.8%15 – 19 12,581,753 11,569,893 24,154,118 108.0 10.3%20 – 24 10,323,755 10,141,864 20,468,713 100.0 8.9%25 – 29 8,946,770 9,016,962 17,967,161 98.8 7.9%30 – 34 7,730,953 8,026,004 15,759,670 96.4 6.8%35 – 39 7,313,967 7,047,727 14,364,278 102.2 5.8%40 – 44 6,471,820 6,063,242 12,536,758 101.5 4.6%45 – 49 5,095,175 4,624,839 9,721,110 104.9 3.8%50 – 54 4,219,234 3,827,003 8,047,113 110.4 3.3%55 – 59 3,455,455 2,933,026 6,388,995 113.8 2.4%60 – 64 2,247,341 2,063,695 4,311,861 108.9 2.1%65 – 69 1,557,733 1,393,718 2,952,013 111.8 1.4%70 – 74 1,131,916 1,001,805 2,134,220 113.0 1.0%75 or more 1,338,251 1,287,621 2,626,523 103.9 1.26%Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent0 – 14 43,533,720 40,182,776 83 716 496 108.3 40.3%15 – 64 58,778,374 57,478,712 116,257,086 102.3 56.0%65+ 4,027,900 3,683,144 7,711,044 109.4 3.7%

Population distribution

Pakistan's population is distributed unevenly, with over half of the country's people living in the Punjab province. On the other hand, Balochistan, which is geographically Pakistan's largest province, is the least-populated. The population is mainly clustered around the most agriculturally fertile areas (which is the reason Punjab has the highest population as it is agriculturally fertile), particularly the Indus River and its tributaries. Most of the country's people live in rural areas, but two large and growing megacities exist: the coastal Karachi and Lahore in eastern Punjab. Numerous smaller cities (such as Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Gujranwala and the capital Islamabad) dot the rest of the country.

By province

The table below shows Pakistan's provinces and territories by their historical population. While every one of Pakistan's administrative units currently has a growing population, the pace of growth is uneven throughout the country due to differing levels of fertility, mortality, as well as domestic and international migration. Populations pertaining to the modern borders of provinces are shown.

+Province or Territory1951196119721981199820172023 20,540,762 25,463,974 37,607,423 47,292,441 73,691,290 109,989,655127,688,922 6,047,748 8,367,065 14,155,909 19,028,666 30,439,893 47,854,51055,696,147 5,888,550 7,578,186 10,879,781 13,259,875 20,919,976 35,501,96440,856,097 1,167,167 1,353,484 2,428,678 4,332,376 6,565,885 12,335,12914,894,402 — 117,669 237,549 340,286 805,235 2,003,3682,363,863Four Provinces and ICT 33,740,167 42,880,378 65,309,340 84,253,644 132,352,279 207,684,626241,499,431 886,000 1,065,000 1,573,000 1,983,465 2,972,501 4,045,3674,333,467 — — — — 884,000 1,492,9241,709,049Total Pakistan — — — — 136,208,780 213,222,917247,541,947

Urbanization

The following table shows how Pakistan has urbanised. As is true with population growth, urbanisation is an uneven and nonlinear process. With an urbanisation rate of 54% as of 2023, Sindh is the country's most urbanised province, just after Punjab. This is largely fuelled by the growth of Karachi, which economically dominates the province and attracts migrants from the rest of the province. On the other hand, the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the territory of Gilgit-Baltistan both share very low urbanisation rates.

+Province or Territory1951196119721981199820172023 17.3% 21.5% 24.4% 27.6% 31.3% 36.9%40.7% 29.2% 37.9% 40.4% 43.3% 48.8% 51.9%54.0% 8.6% 10.3% 11.1% 12.6% 14.3% 16.5%15.0% 12.4% 16.9% 16.5% 15.6% 23.9% 27.6%30.1% 0.0% 0.0% 32.3% 60.1% 65.7% 50.4%46.9%Four Provinces and ICT 17.7% 22.5% 25.4% 28.3% 32.5% 36.4%38.9% — — — 8.1% 12.5% 17.4% — — — — 16.8% 16.5%

Largest cities

As urbanisation has progressed and owing to the country's large population, Pakistan today has many very large urban centers which act as hubs for commerce and culture. The nation has two megacities, Karachi and Lahore. With populations of 18.9 million and 13 million respectively (as of 2023), they are among the world's largest metropolises. The country also has eight more cities with more than 1 million residents each: Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Multan, Hyderabad, Peshawar, Quetta, and Islamabad. All of them play a significant role in the country, housing nearly 19 million people altogether.

Below a list showing Pakistan's cities with a population over 500,000 as of the 2023 census can be found, which not only shows the current populations of the cities, but also their growth rates and locations. The full list can be found on the main article: List of cities in Pakistan by population.

All city population figures below include adjacent cantonments.

+City NameProvince or Territory2023 PopulationAvg. Annual Growth Rate (2017–2023)2017 PopulationAvg. Annual Growth Rate (1998-2017)1998 Population Karachi 18,868,021 4.05%14,884,402 2.48%9,339,023 Lahore 13,004,135 2.65%11,119,985 4.06%5,209,088 Faisalabad 3,691,999 2.37%3,210,158 2.49%2,008,861 Rawalpindi 3,357,612 8.18%2,097,824 2.11%1,409,768 Gujranwala 2,668,047 3.55%2,028,421 3.11%1,132,509 Multan 2,215,381 2.85%1,872,641 2.38%1,197,384 Hyderabad 1,921,275 1.53%1,733,622 2.10%1,166,894 Peshawar 1,905,975 −0.55%1,969,823 3.72%982,816 Quetta 1,565,546 7.79%999,385 3.04%565,137 Islamabad 1,108,872 1.59%1,009,003 3.45%529,180 Sargodha 975,886 6.81%658,208 1.92%458,440 Sialkot 911,817 5.64%656,730 2.36%421,502 Bahawalpur 903,795 2.88%762,774 3.34%408,395 Jhang 606,533 6.58%414,309 1.83%293,366 Sheikhupura 591,424 3.80%472,269 2.79%280,263 Gujrat 574,240 6.65%390,758 2.34%251,792 Sukkur 563,851 2.02%500,401 2.12%335,551 Larkana 551,716 2.07%488,006 3.15%270,283 Sahiwal 538,344 5.59%388,795Okara533,693 6.90%358,146 Rahim Yar Khan 519,261 3.57%420,963 3.14%233,537 Kasur510,875 6.11%358,296

Vital statistics

As Pakistan lacks a national vital statistics system that publicly disseminates data, all of the following information is made from estimates, which are constantly being revised. The United Nations estimated that in February 2021, only 42% of births in Pakistan were officially registered, making it the world's most populous country where more than half of births remained unregistered. The United Nations was unable to estimate how many deaths were officially registered.

Demographic and Health Surveys

Surveys taken by the Pakistani government or intergovernmental organisations are seen as the most reliable method of keeping tabs on birth, death, fertility, and infant mortality rates in a country without a reliable vital registration system. The data recorded in these surveys is used by the United Nations in order to estimate historical and future fertility and mortality figures for Pakistan in the World Population Prospects.

+SurveyCrude birth rateCrude death rateInfant mortality rateTotal fertility rateLife expectancyUrbanRuralTotalMaleFemaleDHS 2006–07 30.7 — 78 3.30 4.49 4.08 — — 2007–08 — — 69 3.13 4.41 3.95 — —PSLM 2011–12 — — 63 3.26 4.35 3.95 — —DHS 2012–13 — — 74 3.16 4.20 3.84 —