Ethnic Groups

According to the latest census , the population comprises several main ethnic groups - Punjabis ((44.15% of the population), Pashtuns (15.42%), Sindhhis (14.1%), Seraikis (10.53%), Muhajirs (7.57%), Balochis (3.57%), and others (4.66%). Smaller ethnic groups, such as Turwalis, Kafiristanis, Hindko, Brahui, Kashmiris, Khowar, and Shina, are mainly found in the northern parts of the country. Pakistan's census does not include the sizeable refugee population from neighbouring Afghanistan, who are found mainly in the NWFP and Baluchistan. From the 1980s, Pakistan accommodated over three million Afghan refugees - the largest refugee population in the world, including Pashtuns, Tajiks, Turkmen and Hazaras. If Afghan refugees were added to the official population, total figures would alter the percentages of Pashtuns and the category of others. Most of the Afghan refugees have permanently settled in Pakistan due to continuing violence in Afghanistan. A large number of Bengali, Arab, Burmese and African Muslim refugees are concentrated in Karachi whilst hundreds of thousands of Iranian migrants are scattered throughout the country. There are also communities of Chinese, Arab and Greek descent.