DEMOGRAPHICS

Demographics

Population through decades

Census

Population

Urban

1951

95,940

0

1961

117,669

0

1972

237,549

76,641

1981

340,286

204,364

1998

805,235

529,180

2009 (est.)

1,740,000

Not Available


According to the 1998 census, the total population of the city was 805,235, with 434,239 males and 370,996 females. The average annual population growth rate from 1981 to 1998 was 5.19. The urban population of the city was 529,180, with 209,717 males and 238,463 females. The total rural population in 1998 was 276,055, with 143,522 males and 132,533 females.

Urdu is predominantly spoken within the city due to the ethnic mix of populations. English, being the official language of Pakistan, is also commonly understood. Other languages include Punjabi, Pashto and Pothohari. The mother tongue of the majority of the population is Punjabi, at 71.66%. 10.52% of the population are native Pashto speakers. Urdu is the mother tongue of 10.11% of the population, Saraiki 1.11%, Sindhi 0.56% and other languages accounting for 7.04%.[41] The total migrant population of the city is 397,731, with the majority from Punjab (241,977). Around 76,614 of the migrated population came from North-West Frontier Province, 26,143 from Sindh, 24,438 from Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and 21,372 from other countries. Smaller populations emigrated from Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Baluchistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Islam is the largest religion in the city, with 95.53% of the population Muslim. In rural areas this percentage is 98.80%, while in urban areas the percentage of Muslims is 93.83%. The second largest religion is Christianity, with 4.07% of the population, 0.94% in rural areas and 5.70% in the city. Hinduism accounts for 0.02% of the population, and other minorities 0.03%.

The majority of the population lies in the age group of 15–64 years, around 59.38%. Only 2.73% of the population is above 65 years of age; 37.90% is below the age of 15. Islamabad has the highest literacy rate in Pakistan, at 72.88%. 9.8% of the population has done intermediate education (equivalent to grades 11 and 12). 10.26% have a bachelor or equivalent degree while 5.2% have a master or equivalent degree. The labor force of Islamabad is 185,213 and the unemployment rate is 11.70%.

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