Statistics
| Rank | Language | 1998 census | 1982 census | 1961 census | 1951 census |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Punjabi | 44.15% | 48.17% | 66.39% | 67.08% |
| 2 | Pashto | 15.42% | 13.15% | 8.47% | 8.16% |
| 3 | Sindhi | 14.1% | 11.7% | 12.59% | 12.85% |
| 4 | Saraiki* | 10.53% | 9.54% | -- | -- |
| 5 | Urdu | 7.57% | 7.60% | 7.57% | 7.05% |
| 6 | Balochi | 3.57% | 3.02% | 2.49% | 3.04% |
- Saraiki was included with Punjabi in 1951 and 1961 census
Following are the major languages spoken in Pakistan. The percentage of Pakistanis who are native speakers of that language is also given.
| Language | 2008 estimate | 1998 census | Areas of Predominance | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Punjabi | 76,367,360 | 44.17% | 58,433,431 | 44.15% | Punjab | |||
| 2 | Pashto | 26,692,890 | 15.44% | 20,408,621 | 15.42% | Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa | |||
| 3 | Sindhi | 24,410,910 | 14.12% | 18,661,571 | 14.10% | Sindh | |||
| 4 | Saraiki | 18,019,610 | 10.42% | 13,936,594 | 10.53% | Southern Punjab | |||
| 5 | Urdu | 13,120,540 | 7.59% | 10,019,576 | 7.57% | Karachi | |||
| 6 | Balochi | 6,204,540 | 3.59% | 4,724,871 | 3.57% | Balochistan | |||
Read more about this topic: Languages Of Pakistan
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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