PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN
        
Pakistan Since its turbulent birth as an independent Muslim state in 1947, Pakistan, which means "land of the pure", has struggled to unite differences of race and language around a common commitment to the Islamic religion. Pakistan's complex ethnic composition includes Persians, Arabs, Indians, and Mongolians; more than six languages and dialects are spoken. The population, now at 135 million, is growing quickly; half are under 16. Most people are poor and uneducated. Literacy is 36 percent. Pakistan is mountainous and semi-arid, and slightly less than twice the size of California. The Indus River flows 1,000 miles through the country before emptying into the Arabian Sea a few miles east of Karachi, Pakistan's largest city. The production of cotton textiles, a major industry, is centered in the eastern Indus river basin, where most of the population lives. In part because of its ongoing dispute with India over the contested state of Kashmir, Pakistan has always maintained a strong army. The government spends over 5% percent of its gross domestic product on defense, compared to only 2.5% for France and 2.7% for India. Since the 1980s, the influx of millions of refugees fleeing the war in neighboring Afghanistan have strained Pakistan's resources. The challenges to the government include long-standing economic vulnerabilities—inadequate infrastructure, low levels of literacy, and increasing sectarian, ethnic, and tribal violence.