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Languages of Pakistan
Pakistan is a multilingual country with over 70 languages spoken as first languages. The majority of Pakistan's languages belong to the Indo-Iranian group of the Indo-European language family.
Urdu is the national language and the lingua franca of Pakistan, and while sharing official status with English, it is the preferred and dominant language used for inter-communication between different ethnic groups. Numerous regional languages are spoken as first languages by Pakistan's various ethnolinguistic groups.
According to the 2023 census, languages with more than a million speakers each include Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, Urdu, Balochi, Hindko, Brahui and the Kohistani languages. The census excludes data from Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, therefore Shina and Balti population might not be exact. There are approximately 60 local languages with fewer than a million speakers.
The 2022 edition of Ethnologue lists 80 established languages in Pakistan. Of these, 68 are indigenous and 12 are non-indigenous. In terms of their vitality, 4 are classified as 'institutional', 24 are 'developing', 30 are 'vigorous', 15 are 'in trouble', and 4 are 'dying'.
* Saraiki and Hindko were included with Punjabi until the 1981 census.
*Census data for the Pakistani administered territories of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir not available as of 2024.
Urdu (اردو) is the national language (قومی زبان) and lingua franca of Pakistan. According to the 2023 census, only about 9.25% of Pakistanis reported it as their first language. However, it is widely spoken and understood as a second language across the country and serves as a symbol of national identity for all the Pakistanis.
Urdu was chosen as a symbol of unity for the new state of Pakistan in 1947, because the linguistic patriotism of Indian Muslims over Urdu played a significant role in the formation of Pakistan, and it also had already served as a lingua franca among Muslims in north and northwest British India. It is written, spoken and used in all provinces/territories of Pakistan, and together with English as the main languages of instruction, although the people from differing provinces may have different native languages.
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Languages of Pakistan
Pakistan is a multilingual country with over 70 languages spoken as first languages. The majority of Pakistan's languages belong to the Indo-Iranian group of the Indo-European language family.
Urdu is the national language and the lingua franca of Pakistan, and while sharing official status with English, it is the preferred and dominant language used for inter-communication between different ethnic groups. Numerous regional languages are spoken as first languages by Pakistan's various ethnolinguistic groups.
According to the 2023 census, languages with more than a million speakers each include Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, Urdu, Balochi, Hindko, Brahui and the Kohistani languages. The census excludes data from Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, therefore Shina and Balti population might not be exact. There are approximately 60 local languages with fewer than a million speakers.
The 2022 edition of Ethnologue lists 80 established languages in Pakistan. Of these, 68 are indigenous and 12 are non-indigenous. In terms of their vitality, 4 are classified as 'institutional', 24 are 'developing', 30 are 'vigorous', 15 are 'in trouble', and 4 are 'dying'.
* Saraiki and Hindko were included with Punjabi until the 1981 census.
*Census data for the Pakistani administered territories of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir not available as of 2024.
Urdu (اردو) is the national language (قومی زبان) and lingua franca of Pakistan. According to the 2023 census, only about 9.25% of Pakistanis reported it as their first language. However, it is widely spoken and understood as a second language across the country and serves as a symbol of national identity for all the Pakistanis.
Urdu was chosen as a symbol of unity for the new state of Pakistan in 1947, because the linguistic patriotism of Indian Muslims over Urdu played a significant role in the formation of Pakistan, and it also had already served as a lingua franca among Muslims in north and northwest British India. It is written, spoken and used in all provinces/territories of Pakistan, and together with English as the main languages of instruction, although the people from differing provinces may have different native languages.