Pakistan Day, which occurs on August 14th each year, commemorates the day when Pakistan officially became a country in 1947 through its independence from British rule. Although the nation was established in 1947, it wasn’t until 1956 that the country adopted its official name of Islamic Republic of Pakistan after being known as Dominion of Pakistan since 1947 and as West Pakistan since 1955. Did you know that...
1) Not all Pakistanis can read
Although Pakistan is a country founded on education, it has one of the world’s lowest literacy rates. As recently as 2008, estimates of adult literacy ranged from 60 percent to 65 percent in urban areas and 25 percent to 30 percent in rural areas. And it’s not just adults who struggle with reading; more than half of Pakistani children under age 15 have never attended school at all. The causes are many: chronic budget shortfalls leading to teacher shortages, lack of infrastructure development, low parent participation rates and more. One thing is certain—it’s up to citizens and non-governmental organizations alike to increase efforts for social justice education in Pakistan.
2) The most common name in the world is a Pakistani name
According to a 2011 study, you're more likely to meet someone with Muhammad or Bashar as a first name than any other single name. There are plenty of Pakistani names because 20 percent of all babies born in Pakistan are boys. Across Muslim countries, it's common for parents to choose names that are considered traditionally Islamic or Arabic. The most common male name in Egypt and Tunisia is Mohamed, while Muhammad is tops among Saudi Arabians. (Across Christianity-dominant countries such as America and Canada, meanwhile, John and James top all other names.)
3) A Pakistani invented Google Maps
If you use Google maps to navigate around, it may interest you to know that it was a Pakistani computer scientist who developed it. In 2004, Dr. A. Ray Ahuja worked as a researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center when he developed an algorithm to track changes in remote environments over time, like deforestation and wildfires. It took Google several years before they picked up on his research and began making plans to integrate his algorithm into their own mapping system in 2007; today, Google Maps is responsible for 95% of all map-related searches on smartphones and computers worldwide according to Forbes magazine.
4) An 11-year-old girl saved her family from terrorist attacks
Malala Yousafzai, now 17 years old, is a Pakistani activist for female education and human rights. She is known for her activism in support of women's rights, especially its right to education. On 9 October 2012, she was shot in the head by Taliban militants while returning home on a school bus from taking an exam in her hometown of Mingora; an operation and several surgeries have restored most of her vision. While living in Birmingham, UK as part of a political asylum program with her family since 2013, she has become a global ambassador for girls' education with plans to return home after completing high school. She is closely affiliated with organizations such as Let Girls Learn and Together For Girls which seek to expand opportunities for young women worldwide through educational initiatives.
5) China and India are scared of us
It’s hard to imagine it now, but when Pakistan was created in 1947, neither India nor China were particularly concerned. Both countries believed that we wouldn’t last long as an independent nation. This view changed quickly, however, as a result of our wars with India over Kashmir (1965) and East Pakistan (1971). Also known as Bangladesh today, East Pakistan became Bangladesh after a war of liberation against West Pakistani forces that killed 3 million people and displaced tens of thousands more. In both wars we managed to hold our own against numerically superior enemies through sheer valor.
6) This Pakistani changed history with math
When he was 20 years old, he invented an algorithm for data compression that is now used in approximately 50 billion emails and 25 billion text messages every day. His name? The one and only Dr. Azmat Khan! He also holds a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Cambridge University and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad in 2013. He's been recognized by many magazines (Fast Company named him one of Asia's most innovative minds) and his work is being taught in universities worldwide.
7) We made the first nuclear bomb, unaided
On March 29, 1983, Pakistan became one of only two countries to successfully detonate a nuclear device. The other country was India. (China conducted its first nuclear test on October 16, 1964.) The Pakistani government was so confident in its success that it used foreign media to publicly announce that they had become a nuclear state. Decades later, following what some consider an increasingly adversarial relationship with Washington and New Delhi—which could be considered partly attributable to their new status—Pakistan unveiled a uranium-enrichment plant at Kushab near Islamabad in April 2006.
8) One in seven babies born in 2017 was Pakistani
According to data from UNICEF, one in seven babies born in 2017 was a Pakistani. This is expected to rise to one in five by 2030. According to projections, there will be 175 million children under age 5 living in Pakistan by 2022. (Source: Express Tribune)
