Official name: Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Size: 310,400 square miles (803,940 square kilometers);  about twice the size of California

Population:  187,342,721 as of 2011

Capital: Islamabad

Official Language: Urdu and English

Currency: Pakistani rupee

Climate: Mostly hot and dry in the south; mild in the northwest; frigid in the mountains

Products: Cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruit, mutton, textiles and clothes, food, chemicals, paper products, fertilizer

Did you know?:

Eye-catching designs cover many Pakistani trucks and buses. The mobile art galleries attract passengers and customers.

Pakistan produces some of the world’s finest fabrics. Each region of the country has its own style of embroidery. Geometric shapes, landscapes and flowers are common patterns.

Some 70% of Pakistan’s population lives in rural areas.