Ethnic groups in Pakistan

The major ethnic groups of Pakistan in numerical size include: Punjabis, Pakhtuns, Sindhis, Saraikis, Muhajirs, Balochis, Hindkowans, Chitralis, Gujarati and other smaller groups. Smaller ethnic groups, such as Kashmiris, Hindkowans, Kalash, Burusho, Brahui, Khowar, Shina, Balti and Turwalis are mainly found in the northern parts of the country.

Pakistan's census does not include the registered 1.7 million Afghan refugees from neighbouring Afghanistan, who are mainly found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) areas, with small numbers in the cities of Karachi and Quetta. Many of them were born inside Pakistan in the last 30 years and are counted as citizens, and most of them are ethnic Pakhtuns from southeastern Afghanistan.

About 98% of languages spoken in Pakistan are of the Indo-Iranian branch (sub-branches: 75% of the Indo-Aryan branch and 20% of the Iranian branch), a branch of the Indo-European family of languages.

Language demographics

Following are the major languages spoken in Pakistan. The percentage of Pakistanis who are native speakers of that language is also given.

Numbers of speakers of larger languages

Language		2008 estimate		1998 census		Main areas spoken
1	Punjabi	76,367,360	44.17%	58,433,431	44.15%	Punjab
2	Pashto	26,342,892	16.97%	20,408,621	15.42%	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA, Karachi and Balochistan
3	Sindhi	24,455,908	12.64%	18,661,571	14.10%	Sindh
4	Saraiki	18,019,610	10.42%	13,936,594	8.53%	Punjab
5	Urdu	13,120,540	7.59%	10,019,576	7.57%	Karachi, Sindh
6	Balochi	6,204,540	3.59%	4,724,871	3.57%	Balochistan
7	Gujarati	325,000	1.03%	315,000	1.00%	Sindh
8	Others	8,089,150	3.59%	6,167,515	4.66%	Gilgit Baltistan Sindh and Kashmir
-	Total	172,900,000	100%	132,352,279	100%	Pakistan

Major ethnic groups

Ethnic Groups by Region

Ethnic Groups in Urban Pakistan

Punjabis

Punjabis in Pakistan are multi-ethnical group of people, and can be divided into sub-groups. Punjabis speak the language called Punjabi. Punjabis have many different dialects and that depends in what region of Punjab they are from. They make up 78.7 million (45%) of Pakistan's total population.

Pashtuns

Pashtuns or Pukhtuns (sometimes Pathans) are Pakistan's second largest ethnic group that are native to the land principally west of the Indus River but can also be found in many major cities of Pakistan. They make up an estimated 27.7 million (15%) of Pakistan's total population. The largest urban population of Pashtuns is interestingly found in the southern coastal city of Karachi with a fluctuating population estimated up to 7 million. This is then followed by Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and Lahore in descending order. They make up the largest ethnic group in neighboring Afghanistan, forming anywhere between 42 and 60% there. Pashtuns practice a unique code of conduct referred to as Pashtunwali and are known for their tribal structure. They are an indigenous group from the land south of the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan and west of the Indus River in Pakistan.

Sindhis

Sindhis are multi-ethnical groups of people principally inhabiting the province of Sindh, Pakistan from where the river Indus (in ancient times revered to as Sindhus) runs and subsequently, from which they derive the name Sindh from. Believed to be the inheritors of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, Sindhis are heavily influenced by the adjacent Balochs in Pakistan.The Gujarati/Godhra People Are Also Said To Be Sindhis. Sindhis can also be found in the southern part of Punjab, and there is significant Punjabi influence in the Sindhi population. Sindhis played an influential role in the development of Pakistan, by joining government services specifically in Sindh, however a large number of Sindhis clung to agricultural fields, land owning, politics and establishment. The prominent personalities of Pakistan that hail from Sindh are Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Pir Sahib Pagara, Benazir Bhutto, Muhammad Khan Junejo, Asif Ali Zardari.

Muhajirs

Muhajirs are an ethnic group of people. The are also called "Urdu Speaking". Muhajirs is a collective ethnic group, which emerged by the migration of Indian Muslims from various parts of India to the newly created Pakistan in 1947, as a result of world's largest mass migration. Majority of Muhajirs are settled in Urban areas of Sindh mainly in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sindh, Sukkur and Mirpur Khas. But there are other parts of Pakistan, including cities like Lahore, Multan, Islamabad, Peshawar where muhajirs have sizable community. Muhajirs held official offices during the early years of Pakistani nation-building. Most of the politicians of India who took part in the Pakistan movement were Muhajir.

Baloch

The Baloch as an ethnic group are principally found in the east of Baluchistan province of Pakistan. They have also settled in the adjacent provinces of Sindh and Punjab where their historical chief Mir Chakar Khan Rind lies buried in Satghara, Okara District in Central Punjab. The Baloch also inhabit the Iranian Baluchistan as a small ethnic minority and have settled in other areas of the Middle East, notably in Oman, Yemen, and the UAE. These Arabised Baloches are mostly descendants of the Baloches who were sold as slaves and were forced to migrate as labourers during the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries A.D.. With the abolition of slavery, they are now free citizens of the countries they have "settled" in. The Arabised Baloches, are now believed to represent almost 30% of the local population of Oman.

Other major ethnic groups

Rajputs

Rajputs are a major ethnic group native to Punjab and Sindh. They are sometimes referred as Punjabi Rajput and Sindhi Rajput. In Punjab most of the Rajput population is found in the areas of Soon Sakesar Valley of KhushabFaisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Jhelum, Okara, Sheikhupura and Bahawalpur etc. while in Sindh most of the Rajput population is in Tharparkar, Umerkot, Larkana, Nawabshah and Sukkur. Rajputs are further divided in different tribes.

Awans

Awan are a major ethnic group native to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. There are mostly called Malik in Punjab and Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Awan are basically of Arab ancestry which relates to fourth Caliph of Islam Ali(R.A) which is also the reason why Awans call themselves as Alvi, Main areas of Awan Population includes Bagh District, Jhelum, Gujrat, Kohat, Sialkot, Lahore, Rawalpindi and few areas in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Jatt

Jatts are a major ethnic group related to Punjab and Azad Kashmir. some are also found in Sindh.

Hindkowans

Hindkowans are believed to be the transitional group of people between Punjabis and Pashtuns. They are also known as Punjabi Pathans/Pathans of Punjab. Their traditional homeland are areas around Hazara division including Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur and Kohat as well.Hindko is a language which is widely understood in almost all regions of Pakistan.around 1.8 million people speak this language. This language has similarity with the Saraiki dialect as well which is spoken in Dera Isamail Khan and some parts of Sindh.

Arain

Arains are also a major ethnic group of Punjab. some are also found in Sindh.

kamboh

kambohs are a major ethnic group of Punjab and sindh and form an essential group of muhajir community of Pakistan.

Minor ethnic groups

Ranghar and Meo

The Ranghar and related Meo are a mixture of different clans, they are (immigrants) from Haryana, East Punjab and Rajasthan. Most of them claim a Rajput origin. The Ranghar, though being part of the Punjabi diaspora in the undivided Punjab, speak the different dialects of East Punjab with the Punjabi accent and share common traditions, heritage and culture together with Punjabis. Ranghar Community speak Ranghari language which is itself a dialect of Haryanvi language. Meo speaks Mewati which is a dialect of Rajasthani language. They belonged to the Lahore Legislative Council in the pre-independence era and were forced to leave their homeland along with other Punjabis during the riots of East Punjab in consequence of the independence. In Areas of Pakpattan District, Okara District, Phullarwan of Sargodha District, Shujabad of Multan District and Bahawalnagar District (especially Dunga Bunga) which have the densest concentrations of Ranghar, they consist mostly of small peasants, with many serving in the army, police and Civil Services. They maintain an overarching tribal council panchayat in the Ranghari dialect, which deals with a number of issues, such as punishments for petty crime or co-operation over village projects.

Hazara

The Hazara people, natives to the present day Bamyan Province, are a Persian-speaking people mostly residing in all Pakistan and specially in Quetta. Some are citizens of Pakistan while others are refugees. Genetically, the Hazara are a mixture of Turko-Mongols and Iranian-speaking peoples, and those of Middle East and Central Asia. The genetic research suggests that they are closely related to the Eurasian and the Uygurs. The Pakistani Hazaras estimated population is believed to be more than 550,000.

Pamiris

The Pamiri peoples are a diverse group of inter-related people who are often and erroneously called Tajiks by negligence. They are speakers of many Northeast Iranian languages, which includes Wakhi, Sarikuli, Yidgha and Munji. The traditional homeland of the Pamiris is in northern Pakistan, eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan and western China (western highlands of Xinjiang). The Pakistani Pamiris are estimated to be over 1 million.

Baltis

The Balti are an ethnic group of Tibetan descent with some Dardic admixture located in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan and Ladakh. In Pakistan they mainly live in the major urban centres of Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad/Rawalpindi. The Balti language belongs to the Tibetic languages and is a sub-dialect of Ladakhi.

Shina people

The Shina are the Dardic people originating in southern Gilgit–Baltistan, Chitral and western part of Kohistan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, as well as Dras Valley and Gurais/ Kishenganga Valley region in northern Kashmir of India. They also live in some parts of Pakistani Kashmir. They speak an Indo-Aryan language, called Shina language, with varied dialects.

Burusho people

The Burusho or Brusho people live in the Hunza and Yasin valleys of Gilgit–Baltistan in northern Pakistan. They are predominantly Muslims. Their language, Burushaski, has not been shown to be related to any other. The Hunzakuts or Hunza people, are an ethnically Burusho people indigenous to the Hunza Valley, in the Karakorum Mountains of northern Pakistan. They are descended from inhabitants of the former principality of Hunza. The Hunzas are Shia Ismaili Muslims.

Chitralis

The Chitrali people live in the northernmost part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa belong mostly to the Khow ethnic group, but there are more than ten other ethnic groups represented in Chitral. Despite their diverse ethnic, religious and linguistic backgrounds they have a strong unity and share a common culture and use Chitrali as a lingua franca. The State of Chitral used to be a Princely State of Pakistan until its complete amalgamation into Pakistan in 1969.

Kalash

The Kalash or Kalasha, are a unique ethnic group of the Hindu Kush, settling in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. They speak the Kalash language, a member of the Dardic family. The culture of Kalash people is unique and differs drastically from the various ethnic groups surrounding them. They are polytheists and nature plays a highly significant and spiritual role in their daily life. As part of their religious tradition, sacrifices are offered and festivals held to give thanks for the abundant resources of their three valleys. The Kalash pantheon is the last untouched, living representative of Indo-European mythology.

Gujarati

The Gujarati People or Godhra, are an ethnic group settled in Sindh, mostly in the cities of Sindh: Karachi, Kotri, Tando Adam, Hyderabad, and Mirpur Khas. They speak Gujarati language. Some are permanent citizens of Pakistan. While others came from the Indian State of Gujarat at the time of partition in 1947, The Pakistani Gujaratis' estimated population is over 325,000. Their main centre in Sindh is Karachi.

See also

• Demographics of Pakistan