General Information about Karachi: A Snaphot

Location:

Eastern coast of the Arabian Sea near the mouth of the Indus River in Pakistan. Click on the map to see a larger version (100 KB). Here is a street map with some landmarks.

Population:

Estimated at 14 million, which is expected to double in size during the next decade.

Land Size:

Over 550 square miles or 1800 square kilometers.

Language:

Urdu is the national language. English is the official language of business. Baluchi, Punjabi, Pushto, Sindhi, and Gujarati are also spoken, along with many other languages.

Government:

Karachi is the capital of the Sindh province. Pakistan itself is an Islamic Republic.

Religion:

Over 97% of the people in Karachi are Muslims, predominantly belonging to the Sunni sect. A small percentage of Muslims in this city belong to the Shia sect. There are also small Hindu, Parsee and Christian communities.