Pakistan

The separation in 1947 of British India into the Muslim state of Pakistan (with two sections West and East) and largely Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved, and India and Pakistan fought two wars - in 1947-48 and 1965 - over the disputed Kashmir territory. A third war between these countries in 1971 - in which India capitalized on Islamabad's marginalization of Bengalis in Pakistani politics - resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. In response to Indian nuclear weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in 1998. The dispute over the state of Kashmir is ongoing, but discussions and confidence-building measures have led to decreased tensions since 2002.

Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north

Area: 803940sq km

Coastline: 1046 km

Maritime Claims: territorial sea: 12 nm, contiguous zone: 24 nm, exclusive economic zone: 200 nm, continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Environment – Current issues: water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes, and agricultural runoff; limited natural fresh water resources; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification

Population: 162419946 (July 2005 est.)

Age Structure: 0-14 years: 39.6% (male 33,104,311/female 31,244,297), 15-64 years: 56.3% (male 46,759,333/female 44,685,828), 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 3,189,122/female 3,437,055) (2005 est.)