- Demographics of Karachi
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Trend of population growth (in millions) in Karachi.
Karachi is the largest and most populous city in Pakistan. The population and demographic distribution in the megacity has undergone numerous changes over the past 150 years. On 14 August 1947, when it became the capital city of a new Dominion of Pakistan, its population was about 450,000 inhabitants. However, the population rapidly grew with large influx of refugees from neighbouring Union of India (after the partition of British India). By 1951, the city population had crossed one million mark.[1] in the following decade, the rate of growth of Karachi was over 80 percent.[2]. Today, the city has grown 60 times its size in 1947 when it became the country's first capital.[3] Although, Islamabad remains the nation's capital since 1960s, the city's population continues to grow at about 5% per annum, largely thanks to its strong economic base.[4]
A person from Karachi is known as a Karachiite.
Contents
Migration
Whereas most megacities in the developing world have grown out of rural-urban migration from the countryside not too distant from them, Karachi's demographics are the largely contributed by long-distance immigration.[3] Before the independence of Pakistan, Karachi already had a diverse mix of religions and ethnic groups. After independence, most of the Muslim refugees from South Asia settled in Karachi. Likewise, a large number of Hindus left the city for India. Predominantly Urdu speaking, the refugees known as Muhajirs formed the dominant ethnic group in Karachi. Muhajirs originated from different parts of India and brought with them their local cultures and cuisines, thus further adding to the already diverse mix of people that earlier inhabited Karachi. Currently, these older groups of people and continuing migration from different parts of Pakistan have contributed to a rich and diverse mix of people that live in Karachi. This has further been diversified with migration from other non-traditional countries such as by Arabs from different Middle Eastern countries, Persians from Iran, Afghans and more recently from the Central Asian Republics. The city is also home to Pakistan's largest Jewish, Nestorian and Armenian communities. This has given the city a very metropolitan character, and has earned it the title as the Melting Pot of Pakistan.
Year Urban population 1856 56,875 1872 56,753 1881 73,560 1891 105,199 1901 136,297 1911 186,771 1921 244,162 1931 300,799 1941 435,887 1951 1,068,459 1961 1,912,598 1972 3,426,310 1981 5,208,132 1998 9,269,265 2007 14,500,000 * * Karachi City Government
estimate, retrieved 13 February 2008.The government allotted most of the property left over by the departing emigrants to the immigrants who had left their homes in India, to help them settle into the new country. However, the large number of Muhajirs also formed the dominant political majority in the city, which gave them substantial political clout, to the chagrin of the earlier provincial Sindhi and Balochi inhabitants. Also, the vagaries of mass migration of populations between the two newly independent countries gave rise to ethnic tensions which have surfaced in Karachi from time to time.
Ethnic groups
There are several ethnic groups in Karachi including Muhajirs (refugees from India), Punjabis, Sindhis, Kashmiris, Seraikis, Pashtuns, Balochis, Memons, Bohras, Ismailis, and others. Due to the conflicts in Afghanistan since 1979, a steady stream of Afghan refugees have also taken up residence in and around Karachi. They number about 50,000 as of 2009[5] and consist mainly of ethnic Pashtuns, followed by Tajiks and others. There are also hundreds of thousands of Arabs, Iranians, Turkish, Filipinos, Muslim Arakani refugees (from Rakhine State in Myanmar), Bosnians, Albanians, Polish, Lebaneses, Armenians, Goan, Bengalis and Africans immigrants who are also settled in Karachi. Most refugee minorities of the city live in poor neighbourhoods.
Religion
According to a 1998 census of Pakistan, the religious breakdown of the city is as follows:[6] Shia and Sunni Muslim (96.45%), Christian (2.42%), Hindu (0.86%), Ahmadi (0.17%) and other (0.10%). Other religious groups include Parsis, Sikhs, Bahai, Jews and Buddhists. Of the Muslims, approximately 65% are Sunnis and 30% are Shi'ites.
Trivia
Stunned by Karachi's diverse demographics, the American political scientist and South Asia expert Stephen P. Cohen once stated that if Karachi's ethnic groups "got along well, it would be an amazingly complex city, a lot like New York."[7]
References
- ^ 1960, Monographs in the Economics of Development. Institute of Development Economics, Pakistan.
- ^ G Myrdal (1968), Asian Drama: An Inquiry Into The Poverty Of Nations. Pantheon Books. (3 volumes)
- ^ a b S J Burki (2004), Karachi: a unique mega city, [DAWN Newspaper|DAWN], 5 October. Retrieved on 7 January, 2008
- ^ P Blood (ed.) (1994), Pakistan: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress.
- ^ KARACHI: UN body, police baffled by minister’s threat against Afghan refugees, Dawn. February 10, 2009. "Sindh is home to some 50,000 Afghan refugees and most of them are staying in Karachi.
- ^ Arif Hasan, Masooma Mohiburl (2009-02-01). "Urban Slums Reports: The case of Karachi, Pakistan" (PDF). http://www.ucl.ac.uk/dpu-projects/Global_Report/pdfs/Karachi.pdf. Retrieved 2006-04-20.
- ^ "If Karachi’s ethnic groups got along it could be a city like New York: Stephen P. Cohen". The Express Tribune. July 4 2011. http://tribune.com.pk/story/201887/if-karachis-ethnic-groups-got-along-it-could-be-a-city-like-new-york-stephen-p-cohen/.
See also
- Economy of Karachi
- Demography of Pakistan
- List of metropolitan areas by population
Categories:- Karachi
- Demographics of Pakistan
- Metropolitan areas of Pakistan
- Demographics by city
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