Demographics
The population and demographic distribution in Karachi has undergone numerous changes over the past 150 years. Non-governmental and international sources estimate Karachi's current population at about 20 million[12] — a huge increase over its population in 1947 (400,000). The city's population is currently growing at about 5% per year (mainly on account of rural-urban internal migration), including an estimated 45,000 migrant workers coming to the city every month from different parts of Pakistan.[13]
Before 1947, Karachi had large communities of Parsis, Jews, Hindus, Christians, Balochis, Gujaratis, and Sindhis. After independence, a large number of Hindus left the city for India and were replaced by Urdu-speaking Muslim refugees now known as Muhajirs. The Muhajirs originated from different parts of India and brought with them their local cultures and cuisines, further adding to the already diverse mix of people that earlier inhabited Karachi. Currently, these older groups and continuing migration from different parts of Pakistan have contributed to a very cosmopolitan mix of residents.
The new government allotted much of the property left by the departing Hindus and other groups to the new immigrants 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 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.
Since 1979, due to the Soviet war in Afghanistan and continued upheavals in their country, a steady stream of Afghan refugees have also taken up permanent residence in and around Karachi[14]. These refugees now number more than one million and comprise a number of ethnic groups: Pakhtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, and Turkmen. There are also hundreds of thousands of Arabs, Iranians, Filipinos, Arakani refugees (from Rakhine State in Myanmar), Bosniaks, Albanians, Poles, Lebanese, Armenians, Goans, Bengalis and African immigrants who are also settled in Karachi. Most refugee minorities of the city live in poor neighbourhoods.
According to the 1998 census, the linguistic distribution of the city is: Urdu: 48.52%; Punjabi: 13.94%; Sindhi: 7.22%; Pashto: 11.42%; Balochi: 4.34%; Saraiki: 2.11%; others: 12.4%. The others include Gujarati, Dawoodi Bohra, Memon, Brahui, Makrani, Khowar, Burushaski, Arabic, Persian and Bengali[15].
The religious breakup of the city is as follows: Muslim: 96.49%; Christian: 2.35%; Hindu: 0.83%; Ahmadi: 0.17%; others 0.13%. The others include Parsis, Jews and Buddhists[16] [17]
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