📜 A long story
Pakistan, 1800 → today
Pakistan grew from 13.1 million in 1800 to 248 million; a newborn can expect 47.5 more years of life than in 1921, and output per person is 5.4× its 1950 level, adjusted for inflation.
Told with long-run reconstructions, not the yearly series used elsewhere on the site: each chapter names its source. Scroll to move through the years.
☺ Chapter 1 · Population
How many people live there?
1800
In 1800, about 13.1 million people lived in Pakistan.
1900
18.3 million people.
1.4× the 1800 level
1950
35.9 million people.
2× the 1900 level
Reached twice the 1800 level in 1931.
2023
248 million people, the latest year in this series.
6.9× the 1950 level
Reached 5 times the 1800 level in 1974.
Reached 10 times the 1800 level in 1995.
Long-run series: before 1950, reconstructions by HYDE and Gapminder, filled in between benchmark years by those sources. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
✚ Chapter 2 · Life expectancy
How long do people live?
1921
In 1921, a newborn in Pakistan could expect to live 20.1 years, on average.
1950
34.2 years.
+14 years since 1921
2023
67.6 years, the latest year in this series.
+33 years since 1950
Passed 40 years in 1956.
Passed 50 years in 1967.
Passed 60 years in 1992.
Long-run series: before 1950, historical estimates (Riley, Clio Infra, Human Mortality Database), only for years they cover. Dashed stretches are years without data.
◎ Chapter 3 · GDP per person (PPP)
How much is produced per person?
1950
In 1950, Pakistan produced about Int$1,030 per person, in 2011 prices.
2022
Int$5,530, the latest year in this series.
5.4× the 1950 level
Reached twice the 1950 level in 1983.
Reached 5 times the 1950 level in 2017.
Long-run series (Maddison Project) in 2011 international dollars: adjusted for inflation, so not the same unit as today’s PPP figure. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
❦ Chapter 4 · CO₂ per person
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
1946
In 1946, fossil fuels and industry in Pakistan emitted about 0.018 t of CO₂ per person.
2024
0.7 t, the latest year in this series.
39× the 1946 level
Reached twice the 1946 level, reached 5 times the 1946 level in 1950.
Reached 10 times the 1946 level in 1952.
Reached 20 times the 1946 level in 1968.
Reached 50 times the 1946 level in 2017.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 30% between 2021 and 2024 (1 t → 0.7 t).
Long-run series: fossil CO₂ emitted within each country’s borders (Global Carbon Budget); early estimates are less certain. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
☕ Chapter 5 · Years of schooling
How long do people go to school?
1870
In 1870, people aged 15–64 in Pakistan had spent 0.01 years in school, on average.
1900
0.02 years.
about the same as 1870
1950
1 years.
+0.98 years since 1900
2015
5.9 years, the latest year in this series.
+4.9 years since 1950
Passed 2 years in 1980.
Passed 4 years in 2000.
Long-run series (Lee & Lee, Barro & Lee) for people aged 15–64, every 5 years until 2015: a different age group than today’s figure (25 and older).