Land & Economy Pakistan

Table of Contents

Land of Pakistan............................................................................2
Introduction..................................................................................................2
Location of Pakistan ...................................................................................2
Geography of Pakistan.................................................................................3
Climate of Pakistan .....................................................................................4
Flora and Fauna of Pakistan .......................................................................5
Land Usage..................................................................................................5
....................................................................................................................6
Rivers in Pakistan........................................................................................7
Economy of Pakistan:....................................................................8
Environmental Profile:................................................................12
Conclusion....................................................................................15
References:...................................................................................16

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 Land & Economy Pakistan

Land and Economy of Pakistan

Land of Pakistan
Introduction

Pakistan, which lies

between latitude
23°N and 37°N and
longitude 60°E and
76°E, is
geographically
diverse, with coastal
beaches, lagoons
and mangrove
swamps in the
south; sandy
deserts, desolate
plateau, fertile
plains and dissected
upland in the centre;
and valleys, snow-
covered peaks and glaciers in the north. It has an estimated population of 135.3 million
people and a population growth rate of 2.77%. Agriculture is the largest sector of the
economy, contributing 24% of GDP, although this represents a decrease from 29% in
1984–85. It accounts for half of the employed labor force and is the largest source of
foreign exchange earnings. Its growth rate over the last five decades has remained at
around 4% per annum. Available annual animal protein per capita is 18 kg of meat, 155
liters of milk and 44 eggs, which, although one of the highest in South-East Asia, is still
far below requirements. Demand for livestock products exceeds supply and milk powder,
baby foods and live sheep are imported. This report describes the animal resources,
production systems, development constraints and research priorities for livestock and
poultry production.

Location of Pakistan

The country of Pakistan is bordered on the west by Iran, on the north and northwest by
Afghanistan, on the northeast by China, on the east and southeast by India, and on the
south by the Arabian Sea.

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 Land & Economy Pakistan

Geography of Pakistan

Pakistan has some of the world's highest and most spectacular mountains. The northern
part of the country is home to the Hindu Kush Mountains which converge with the
Karakoram Range, a part of the Himalayan mountain system. The north and the west of

Pakistan also have mountains with great extremes of elevation, reaching the highest point
at the Himalayan peak, which is also known as Mount Godwin Austen, in the north and
the lowest point at the Arabian Sea coast in the south. Pakistan may be divided into four
geographic regions—the plateau of W Pakistan, the plains of the Indus and Punjab rivers,
the hills of NW Pakistan, and the mountains of N Pakistan. The plateau region of W
Pakistan, which is roughly coextensive with Baluchistan province, is an arid region with
relatively wetter conditions in its northern sections. Numerous low mountain ranges rise

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 Land & Economy Pakistan

from the plateau, and the Hingol and Dasht rivers are among the largest streams. Large
portions of the region are unfit for agriculture, and although some cotton is raised,
nomadic sheep grazing is the principal activity. Coal, chromite, and natural gas are found
in this area, and fishing and salt trading are carried on along the rugged Makran coast.
Quetta, the chief city, is an important railroad center on the line between Afghanistan and
the Indus valley.

East of the plateau region are extensive alluvial plains, through which flow the Indus and
its tributaries. The region, closely coinciding with Sind and Punjab provinces, is hot and
dry and is occupied in its eastern borders by the Thar Desert. Extensive irrigation
facilities, fed by the waters of the Indus system, make the Indus basin the agricultural
heartland of Pakistan. A variety of crops (especially wheat, rice, and cotton) are raised
there. Advances in agricultural engineering have countered the salinity problems involved
in farming the Indus delta. The irrigated portions of the plain are densely populated,
being the site of many of Pakistan's principal cities, including Lahore, Faisalabad
(formerly Lyallpur), Hyderabad, and Multan. Karachi, the nation's chief port, is located
west of the irrigated land at a site accessible to oceangoing vessels.

In NW Pakistan, occupying about two thirds of North-West Frontier Province is a region

of low hills and plateaus interspersed with fertile valleys. The elevation of the region
tempers the arid climate. It is a predominantly agricultural area; with wheat the chief
crop; fruit trees and livestock are also raised. Peshawar and Rawalpindi, the largest cities
of this area, are the only major manufacturing centers. In the northern section of the
North-West Frontier Province and in the Pakistani-occupied sector of Kashmir are the
rugged ranges and the high, snowcapped peaks of the Hindu Kush, Himalaya, and
Karakorum mountains; Tirich Mir (25,236 ft/7,692 m) is the highest point in the country
outside Kashmir

Climate of Pakistan

As Pakistan is subject to
various degrees of
elevations, the climate also
varies accordingly, varying
especially between the high
mountains and low plains.
While the mountainous
regions experience freezing
temperatures during winters
and mild summers, the
Indus plains have very hot
summers with the
temperatures varying from 32 degrees to 49 degrees and relatively cool winters.

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 Land & Economy Pakistan

Flora and Fauna of Pakistan

The mountainous regions in the north have forests

that are home to coniferous alpine and sub-alpine
trees such as spruce, pine, and deodar cedar. The
southern ranges of the Himalayas, which are of
lower elevation, receive heavy rainfall and have
dense forests of deodar, pine, poplar, and willow
trees. The arid western hills are dotted with
juniper, tamarisk (salt cedar), and pistachio trees.
Dry-temperate vegetation, such as coarse grasses,
scrub plants, and dwarf palm, predominates in the
valleys of the North-West Frontier Province and
the Balochistan Plateau.

The fauna in Pakistan is made up of deer, boar,

bear, crocodile, and waterfowl. As the wetlands
provide an essential habitat for a number of
important mammal species, coated otter, Indus
dolphin, fishing cat, hog deer, and wild boar are
also found. The migration season is witness to at
least 1 million waterfowl that represents more than 100 species visiting the extensive
deltas and wetlands of Pakistan. The rivers and coastal waters contain numerous
freshwater and saltwater fish, including herring, mackerel, sharks, and shellfish. Apart
from this, endangered species like the snow leopard, Marco Polo sheep, blue sheep, and
ibex are also found in remote and protected areas of the Himalayas.

Land Usage

Pakistan's total land area is about

803,940 square kilometers. About 48
million hectares, or 60 percent, is often
classified as unusable for forestry or
Agriculture consists mostly of deserts,
mountain slopes, and urban settlements.
Some authorities, however, include part
of this area as agricultural land on the
basis that it

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 Land & Economy Pakistan

would support some livestock activity even though it is poor rangeland. Thus, estimates
of grazing land vary widely--between 10 percent and 70 percent of the total area. A broad
interpretation, for example, categorizes almost all of arid Balochistan as rangeland for
foraging livestock. Government officials listed only 3 million hectares, largely in the
north, as forested in FY 1992. About 21.9 million hectares were cultivated in FY 1992.
Around 70 percent of the cropped area was in Punjab, followed by perhaps 20 percent in
Sindh, less than 10 percent in the North-West Frontier Province, and only 1 percent in
Balochistan.

Since independence, the

amount of Cultivated Land
has increased by more than
one-third. This expansion is
largely the result of
improvements in the
irrigation system that makes
water available to additional
plots. Substantial amounts
of farmland have been lost
to urbanization and water
logging, but losses are more
than compensated for by
additions of new land. In the
early 1990s, more irrigation projects were needed to increase the area of cultivated land.

The scant Rainfall over most of the country makes about 80 percent of cropping
dependent on irrigation. Fewer than 4 million hectares of land, largely in northern Punjab
and the North-West Frontier Province, are totally dependent on rainfall. An additional 2
million hectares of land are
under non irrigated cropping,
such as plantings on
floodplains as the water
recedes. Non irrigated
farming generally gives low
yields, and although the
technology exists to boost
production substantially, it is
expensive to use and not
always readily available.

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 Land & Economy Pakistan

Rivers in Pakistan

The Indus River is the lifeline of Pakistan. Without the Indus and its tributaries, the land
would have turned into a barren desert long ago. The Indus originates in Tibet from the
glacial streams of the Himalayas and enters Pakistan in the northeast. It runs generally
southwestward the entire length of Pakistan, about 2,900 km (1,800 mi), and empties into
the Arabian Sea. The Indus and its tributaries provide water to two-thirds of Pakistan. The
principal tributaries of the Indus are the Sutlej, Beās, Chenāb, Rāvi, and Jhelum rivers. In
southwestern Punjab Province these rivers merge to form the Panjnad (“Five Rivers”),

which then merges with the Indus to form a mighty river. As the Indus approaches the
Arabian Sea, it spreads out to form a delta. Much of the delta is marshy and swampy. It
includes 225,000 hectares (556,000 acres) of mangrove forests and swamps. To the west
of the delta is the seaport of Karachi; to the east the delta fans into the salt marshes
known as the Rann of Kutch.

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 Land & Economy Pakistan

Economy of Pakistan:
Pakistan, an impoverished and underdeveloped country,
has suffered from decades of internal political disputes,
low levels of foreign investment, and a costly, ongoing
confrontation with neighboring India. However, IMF-
approved government policies, bolstered by generous
foreign assistance and renewed access to global markets
since 2001, have generated solid macroeconomic
recovery the last three years. The government has made
substantial macroeconomic reforms since 2000,
although progress on more politically sensitive reforms has slowed. For example, in the
third and final year of its $1.3 billion IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility,
Islamabad has continued to require waivers for energy sector reforms. While long-term
prospects remain uncertain, given Pakistan's low level of development, medium-term
prospects for job creation and poverty reduction are the best in nearly a decade.
Islamabad has raised development spending from about 2% of GDP in the 1990s to 4% in
2003, a necessary step towards reversing the broad underdevelopment of its social sector.
GDP growth, spurred by double-digit gains in industrial production over the past year,
has become less dependent on agriculture. Foreign exchange reserves continued to reach
new levels in 2004, supported by robust export growth and steady worker remittances.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $347.3 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

6.1% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:

purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 22.6%
industry: 24.1%
services: 53.3% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
45.43 million
note: extensive export of labor, mostly to the Middle East, and use of child labor

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 Land & Economy Pakistan

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture 42%, industry 20%, services 38% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate:
8.3% plus substantial underemployment (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:

32% (FY00/01 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 4.1%
highest 10%: 27.6% (FY96/97)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

41 (FY98/99)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

4.8% (FY03/04 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):

16.4% of GDP (FY03/04 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $13.45 billion
expenditures: $16.51 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Public debt:
71.4% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; milk, beef, mutton, eggs

Industries:
textiles and apparel, food processing, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, paper
products, fertilizer, shrimp

Industrial production growth rate:

13.1% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production:
75.27 billion kWh (2003)

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 Land & Economy Pakistan

Electricity - consumption:
52.66 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)
Oil - production:
61,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
365,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - proved reserves:

325.5 million bbl (2004 est.)

Natural gas - production:

23.4 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

23.4 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved

reserves:
695.6 billion cu m (2004)

Current account balance:

$1.4 billion (2004 est.)

Exports:
$15.07 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
textiles (garments, bed linen, cotton cloth, and yarn), rice, leather goods, sports goods,
chemicals, manufactures, carpets and rugs

Exports - partners:
US 21.3%, UAE 9.8%, UK 7.1%, Germany 5.2%, Hong Kong 4.2%, Saudi Arabia 4.1%
(2004)

Imports:
$14.01 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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 Land & Economy Pakistan

Imports - commodities:
petroleum, petroleum products, machinery, plastics, transportation equipment, edible oils,
paper and paperboard, iron and steel, tea

Imports - partners:
China 10.8%, US 10.2%, UAE 9.3%, Saudi Arabia 9%, Japan 7%, Kuwait 5.3%,
Germany 4.2% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$12.58 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external:
$33.97 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:

$2.4 billion (FY01/02)

Currency (code):
Pakistani rupee (PKR)

Exchange rates:
Pakistani rupees per US dollar - 58.258 (2004), 57.752 (2003), 59.724 (2002), 61.927
(2001), 53.648 (2000)

Today, Pakistan's economy is in much

better shape than it was ever before.
Pakistan is poised to catch China in terms
of growth for the fiscal year of 2005-2006.
In 2004-2005, Pakistan's economy grew
by 8.4%, which is one of the fastest in the
region. Progress is taking place throughout
society. Thanks to the widespread reforms
introduced by the President, Pervez
Musharraf. Foreign companies are
investing billions of dollars to pursue the
opportunities of a market of world's sixth
largest population.

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 Land & Economy Pakistan

Environmental Profile:
Since independence Pakistan has accomplished much in terms of economic development,
particularly in agriculture, water and power infrastructure and communication. The
country overcame a number of initial shocks, including mass migration and the collapse
of a quasi customs union with India. This was followed by three costly wars, one
involving the loss of East Pakistan in 1971. Despite these shocks per capita income
doubled, while life expectancy, infant mortality and nutrition all improved and the
country avoided deep economic crises, containing inflation and the external debt burden.
Substantial inflows of foreign assistance have aided these accomplishments.

Environmental awareness in Pakistan is of recent origin started in early 1970s. . The

government has only recently formally integrated the environmental issues in its
development planning. In view of the complex and diverse nature of the environmental
problems, a sustainable development strategy backed by environment preservation and
protection programs has been adopted by the government with necessary institutional set-
up and legal framework. For effective policy plan formulation and for efficient
implementation of National Conservation Strategy, a NCS implementation unit and
Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency in the Ministry of Environment and an
Environment Section in the planning and development division with linked structures in
all provinces have been established.

Pakistan is facing environmental pollution, threat of

depletion of ozone layer, global warming and natural
resource degradation problems. These include: industrial,
municipal vehicular and air pollution, deforestation,
desertification, water logging and salinity. Pakistan
generates over 50,000 tons of solid waste per day; out of
which only 20 to 25 percent is collected but not disposed
off in the proper manner: causing serious air, water and
land pollution and health hazards. Only 3 percent of the
industry treats their wastes while the rest discharges
untreated effluent into rivers, lakes and sea. Dumping of
untreated municipal and industrial wastes have caused contamination of surface and
ground water resources and threatened the aquatic life to the endangered level. About 47
percent of the population is still without access to safe drinking water, and nearly 84
percent of rural population is without sanitation facilities. Water borne diseases account
for 20 to 30 percent of infant deaths in the country.

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 Land & Economy Pakistan

Vehicular pollution is
also one of the largest
sources of air pollution
in our cities. During the
last few years, traffic in
urban areas has increased
tremendously due to
increasing trend in single
occupancy and private
transport. The level of air
pollution in our cities is
as high as three times of
the acceptable limits. It
has been estimated that
on average each vehicle
in Pakistan emits 15-20 times more pollutants than the average vehicle in developed
country. According to an estimate, the country is loosing 25 percent of its potential crop
production.

A major reason for Pakistan’s poor ranking is annual population growth of 3 percent, one
of the highest in the world, diluting many of the economic gains. Even today in Pakistan,
one child in ten dies in its first year those that survive are likely to be malnourished.
Illiterate women tend to have more children’s.

Forests occupy only 5 percent of the total land area of

Pakistan and are being depleted increasingly. Pakistan is
facing one of the highest rates of deforestation in the
world. One third of the forest is productive and the
remaining two-third is maintained for environmental
stability.

There are 19.7 million household in Pakistan

accommodating total population of 131.5 million. The
household size has marginally declined from 6.7 persons
to 6.6 which is over crowded by International Standards
About 35 percent of total urban population lives in the “Katchi Abadis” and slums. Most
of the rural houses are Katcha and devoid of water supply and sanitation facilities.

Considerable progress has been made in the transport and communication sector. The
total length of roads is 181,836km; motor way which started in 1998 is now picking up
the pace. Pakistan railways network consists of 8,774 route km. The network of Pakistan

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 Land & Economy Pakistan

International Airlines covers 55 international stations in four continents and 37 domestic

stations covering almost all parts of the country. The country has two major sea ports
namely Karachi Sea Port and Port Qasim.

Pakistan is now connected with most of the countries of the world through international
gateway exchange. Value added services such as the internet, E-mail, cellular mobile
telephone; optical fiber system, card pay phone, paging services etc. are now available in
the country.

Presently a number of environment

related laws such as wildlife protection,
pesticide control, motor vehicles
emission’s regulation and control of
industrial pollution through Pakistan
Environment Protection Ordinance
1983 exist. However, these laws are not
being implemented fully and effectively

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 Land & Economy Pakistan

Conclusion
Pakistan's economy is in a much better position these days than it was prior to 1997. It
has achieved macroeconomic stability as revealed by the performance of all relevant
indicators. The GDP growth rate has shown substantial improvement and has reached the
historic landmark of more than 5 percent. In the past, Pakistan's human development has
not matched its growth rate. Now there is a critical need to link growth of the GDP to
human development, because growth without development is a recipe for social and
political instability. A strong correlation between economic growth and human
development is essential for a successful and peaceful Pakistan.

The pace of accelerating debt has been slowed and brought within manageable limits.
This is a result of the strict fiscal discipline adopted by the military regime headed by
General Musharraf. There has been improvement in Pakistan's balance of trade. Although
the government still operates at a deficit, the gap between revenues and expenditures has
been reduced in recent years. Governance has improved thanks to reforms undertaken by
the military government, although these are still at the initial stage and face stiff
resistance from vested interests. Opponents to political devolution, whether bureaucrats
or politicians who lost power in the process of reform, are creating problems with the
proper implementation of these reforms. Positive economic performance with an
equitable distribution of its gains is the surest way to silence those in opposition.

Despite improvement in all sectors of the economy, it is at the take-off stage and faces
many challenges that still need to be addressed. Pakistan's poverty rate continues to rise.
Unemployment in Pakistan has been aggravated due to constraints on public expenditures
in recent years. Rising unemployment not only creates economic problems, but also has
social consequences for society as a whole. A major contributing factor to growing
impoverishment is Pakistan's population growth rate of 2.6 percent per annum that will
lead, according to one estimate, to a doubling of the population by 2020. Controlling the
population growth rate is fundamental to improving per capita income.

To improve the environmental profile of the country, a number of environment related

laws such as wildlife protection, pesticide control, motor vehicles emission’s regulation
and control of industrial pollution through Pakistan Environment Protection Ordinance
1983 exist. However, these laws are not being implemented fully and effectively. .
Pakistan participates in the World Heritage Convention and the Ramsar Convention on
Wetlands, and it has one designated biosphere preserve under the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere
Program.

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 Land & Economy Pakistan

References:

• Article by Mr. Sarfraz, Research Officer, Ministry of Industries & Production

• http://www.unep.net
• http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia
• http://www.world66.com/asia/southasia/pakistan/economy
• http://www.infoplease.com

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