Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country. The major Pakistani

ethnolinguistic group An ethnolinguistic group (or ethno-linguistic group) is a group that is unified by both a common ethnicity and language. Most ethnic groups share a first language. However, "ethnolinguistic" is often used to emphasise that language is a major bas ...

s include

Punjabis The Punjabis (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Pañjābī) are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region, comprising areas of northwestern India and eastern Paki ...

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...

Sindhis Sindhis are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group originating from and native to Sindh, a region of Pakistan, who share a common Sindhi culture, history, ancestry, and language. The historical homeland of Sindhis is bordered by southeastern Balochi ...

, Saraikis, Muhajirs, Balochs, Hindkowans/ Hazarewals, Brahuis, and Kohistanis with significant numbers of Shina, Baltis,

Kashmiris Kashmiris () also known as Koshurs are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group speaking the Kashmiri language and originating from the Kashmir Valley, which is today located in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union terr ...

, Paharis, Chitralis, Torwalis,

Hazaras The Hazaras (; ) are an ethnic group and a principal component of Afghanistan’s population. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan, primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan. Hazaras al ...

, Burusho, Wakhis, Kalash, Siddis,

Uzbeks The Uzbeks () are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, being among the largest Turkic ethnic groups in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakhs, Kazakh and Karakalpaks, Karakalpak ...

, Nuristanis, Pamiris and various other smaller minorities.

Refugees

Pakistan's census does not include the 1.4 million citizens of Afghanistan who are temporarily residing in

. The majority of them were born in Pakistan within the last four decades and mostly belong to the Pashtun ethnic group. They also include

Tajiks Tajiks (; ; also spelled ''Tadzhiks'' or ''Tadjiks'') is the name of various Persian-speaking Eastern Iranian groups of people native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Even though the term ''Tajik'' ...

and others.

Major ethnic groups

Punjabis

are an Indo-Aryan

native to the

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

region between India and Pakistan. They are the largest ethnic group of Pakistan.

Punjabi Muslims Punjabi Muslims are Punjabis who are adherents of Islam. With a population of more than 112 million, they are the third-largest predominantly Islam-adhering Muslims, Muslim ethnicity in the world, after Arab Muslims, Arabs and Bengali Muslims, ...

are the third-largest Islam-adhering

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

ethnicity in the world, globally, after

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

and

Bengalis Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym and exonym, endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divi ...

. Traditionally, Punjabi identity is primarily linguistic, geographical and cultural. Its identity is independent of historical origin or religion and refers to those who reside in the Punjab region or associate with its population and those who consider the

Punjabi language Punjabi, sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It is one of the most widely spoken native languages in the world, with approximately 150 million native sp ...

and its

dialects A dialect is a variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standardized varieties as well as vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardized varieties, such as those used in developing countries or iso ...

as their mother tongue. Integration and assimilation are important parts of Punjabi culture, since Punjabi identity is not based solely on tribal connections.

Pashtuns

are an Iranic ethnolinguistic group and are Pakistan's second largest ethnicity. They speak

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

as their first language and are divided into multiple tribes such as Afridi,

Durrani The Durrānī (, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes, tribal confederation of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, ...

Yousafzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai (, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ), or Yusufzai Afghans historically, are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. They are natively based in the northern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ( Malakand, Dir, Swat, Shangl ...

and Khattak, which are notably the main Pashtun tribes in Pakistan. They make up an estimated 38 million of Pakistan's total populationThe World Factbook
/ref> and are mostly adherent to Sunni Islam.

Sindhis

The

are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who speak the

Sindhi language Sindhi ( ; or , ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by more than 30 million people in the Pakistani province of Sindh, where it has official status, as well as by 1.7 million people in India, where it is a Scheduled languages of India, schedu ...

and are native to the

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

province of

. Sindhis are predominantly

, but have a minority

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

population, making up the largest Hindu minority population in Pakistan.". Sindhi Muslim culture is highly influenced by

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

doctrines and principles and some of the popular cultural icons of Sindh are Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai,

Lal Shahbaz Qalandar Sayyid Shah Hussain Jafari al-Marwandi , (1177 - 19 February 1274) popularly known as Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (), was a Sufi saint and poet who is revered in South Asia. In Taqaiyah, his maternal grandfather changed his name to Usman al-Marwandi o ...

, Jhulelal and

Sachal Sarmast Sachal Sarmast or Sacho Sarmast (; – 1827), was an 18th and 19th century Sindhi Sufi poet, mystic and philosopher from Daraza (present-day Sindh, Pakistan), regarded as an important figure in the Sindhi-language literature. He is revered ...

Saraikis

The Saraikis are an Indo-Aryan

inhabiting parts of central and southeastern

, primarily in the southern part of the Pakistani province of

. They are mainly found in Derajat, a cultural region of central

, located in the region where the provinces of

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

, and

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

meet. Derajat is bound by the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

and the

Sulaiman Mountains The Sulaiman Mountains, also known as Kōh-e Sulaymān, Kasē Ghrūna Da Suleiman Ghruna (Pashto: د كسې غرونه ، د سلیمان غرونه; "Mountains of Qaes/Kasi and Solomon") ( Balochi:; "Mountains of Solomon") are a north–south ex ...

to the west.

Muhajirs

Muhajirs (meaning "migrants"), are a collective multiethnic group who emerged through the migration of Indian Muslims from various parts of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

starting in 1947, as a result of the world's largest mass migration. The majority of Muhajirs are settled in

mainly in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

and

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

. Sizable communities of Muhajirs are also present in cities including

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

Mirpur Khas Mirpur Khas (Sindhi language, Sindhi and ; ''meaning "Town of the most-high Talpur, Mirs"'') is a city in Sindh province, Pakistan. The city was built by Talpur rulers of Mankani branch. According to the 2017 Census of Pakistan, its population w ...

Sukkur Sukkur is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh along the western bank of the Indus River, directly across from the historic city of Rohri. Sukkur is the List of cities in Sindh by population, third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and H ...

and

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

. The term Muhajir is also used for descendants of Muslims who migrated to Pakistan after the 1947 partition of India.Nazir, P., 1993. Social structure, ideology and language: caste among Muslims. Economic and Political Weekly, pp. 2897-2900. Notable Muhajirs include

Liaquat Ali Khan Liaquat Ali Khan (1 October 189516 October 1951) was a Pakistani lawyer, politician and statesman who served as the first prime minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the he ...

Abdul Qadeer Khan Abdul Qadeer Khan (1 April 1936 – 10 October 2021) was a Pakistani Nuclear physics, nuclear physicist and metallurgist, metallurgical engineer. He is colloquially known as the "father of Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction, Pakistan's ...

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

, Hakeem Muhammad Saeed and

Abdul Sattar Edhi Abdul Sattar Edhi (; 28 February 1928 – 8 July 2016) was a Pakistani Humanitarianism, humanitarian, Philanthropy, philanthropist and Asceticism, ascetic who founded the Edhi Foundation, which runs the world's largest ambulance network, along ...

Baloch

The Baloch are an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

ethnolinguistic group, and are principally found in the south of Balochistan province of Pakistan. Despite living in the southeastern side towards the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

for centuries, they are classified as a northwestern Iranian people in accordance to their language which belongs to the northwestern subgroup of

Iranian languages The Iranian languages, also called the Iranic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian langu ...

. According to Dr. Akhtar Baloch,

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

University of Karachi The University of Karachi (; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (which is ...

, the Balochis migrated from

during the

Little Ice Age The Little Ice Age (LIA) was a period of regional cooling, particularly pronounced in the North Atlantic region. It was not a true ice age of global extent. The term was introduced into scientific literature by François E. Matthes in 1939. Mat ...

and settled in

and

. The Little Ice Age is conventionally defined as a period extending from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries (noted in Grove 2004:4).. or alternatively, from 1300Miller ''et al''. 2012. "Abrupt onset of the Little Ice Age triggered by volcanism and sustained by sea-ice/ocean feedbacks" ''Geophysical Research Letters'' 39, 31 January
abstract (formerly on AGU website)
(accessed via wayback machine 11 July 2015); se
press release on AGU website
(accessed 11 July 2015). to 1850, although climatologists and historians working with local records no longer expect to agree on either the start or end dates of this period, which varied according to local conditions. According to Professor Baloch, the climate of Balochistan was very cold and the region was uninhabitable during the winter so the Baloch people migrated in waves and settled in

and

Hindkowans/Hazarewals

Hindkowans, also known as the Hindki, is a contemporary designation for speakers of Hindko dialects of Western Punjabi, primarily living in the

Hazara region Hazara (Hindko: هزاره; Urdu: ), historically known as Pakhli, is a region in northern Pakistan, falling administratively within the Hazara Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It forms the northernmost portion of Sindh Sagar Doab, ...

of northern Pakistan. The origins of the term refer merely to the speakers of

Indo-Aryan languages The Indo-Aryan languages, or sometimes Indic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. As of 2024, there are more than 1.5 billion speakers, primarily concentrated east ...

rather than to any particular

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

. However, the

Hindko Hindko (, , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Pun ...

-speaking community belonging to the

of northern Pakistan are recognised collectively as Hazarewal.

Brahuis

The Brahui, Brahvi or Brohi, are an ethnic group principally found in

Balochistan, Pakistan Balochistan (; ; , ) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Khybe ...

. They speak the

Brahui language Brahui ( ; ; also romanised as Brahvi or Brohi) is a Dravidian language, spoken by the Brahui people, Brahui primarily in central areas (Brahuistan) of the Pakistani province of Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan; with smaller communities of spea ...

, which belongs to the Dravidian language family, although ethnically they tend to identify as Baloch. They are a small minority group in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, where they are native, but they are also found in their diaspora in

West Asian West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

states. They mainly occupy the area in Balochistan from

Bolan Pass Bolan Pass () is a valley and a natural gateway through the Toba Kakar range in Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is situated south of Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. The pass is an stretch of the Bolan River valley from Rindli in the ...

through the Bolan Hills to Ras Muari ( Cape Monze) on the sea, separating the

Baloch people The Baloch ( ) or Baluch ( ; , plural ) are a nomadic, Pastoralism, pastoral, ethnic group which speaks the Western Iranian, Western Iranic Balochi language and is native to the Balochistan region of South Asia, South and Western Asia, encompas ...

living to the east and west. The Brahuis are almost entirely

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Meos

Meo, also spelled Mayo or occasionally, Mewati, are a Muslim ethnic group originating from the Mewat region of north-western India. During the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, several Meo were displaced from Alwar and Bharatpur districts in India, mostly settling in Pakistani districts of

Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

Narowal Narowal ( Punjabi / ; ) is a historic a city located on the western bank of river Ravi in Punjab Pakistan. It was found by a Jat named Baba Naro Bajwa many centuries ago. The city is the capital of district Narowal, and a part of the Guj ...

Dera Ghazi Khan Dera Ghazi Khan, abbreviated as D.G. Khan, is a city in the southwestern part of the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, 16th most-populous city in Punjab and List of most p ...

Sheikhupura Sheikhupura (Punjabi language, Punjabi / ; ) also known as Qila Sheikhupura, is a city and district in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. Founded by the Mughal Empire, Mughal Emperor Jahangir in 1607, Sheikhupura is the List of ...

Gujranwala Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...

, Haiderabad and

Kasur Kasur (Punjabi language, Punjabi / ; ; also Romanization, romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to the south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. The city s ...

, among others.

Kohistanis

According to the 2023 census, speakers of the

Kohistani languages The Kohistani languages are a group of several Indo-Aryan languages The Indo-Aryan languages, or sometimes Indic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. As of 20 ...

accounted around 1 million of the

province population.https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/kp/dcr/table_11.pdf Kohistani is an umbrella term encompassing several languages spoken in the north of the province, including

Indus Kohistani Indus Kohistani or simply Kohistani (, Kōstaiñ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the former Kohistan District of Pakistan. The language was referred to as Maiyã (Mayon) or Shuthun by early researchers, but subsequent observations have n ...