Pakistan
A research paper on Pakistan may present a discussion of the social, spatial and economic components of Pakistan and Pakistani culture, with a particular emphasis on the country's trade relationships and participation in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). In addition, the future economic prospects for Pakistan in light of recent political events will be examined. Although it is true that the region has suffered extreme political, social, and economic turmoil in recent years, the presentation of Pakistan as a slightly better-off Afghanistan is facile and reductive, revealing the apparent inability of many Americans to acknowledge that complex, multi-faceted cultures exist outside the sphere of Western consumerism and conspicuous consumption.
Pakistan has a few problems innate in its landscape:
- Inhospitable desert terrain
- Harshly divergent climactic zones
- Devastating natural disasters such as frequent earthquakes and flooding
Pakistan is surrounded by India, China, Iran, and the Arabian Sea. Although vast natural gas stores have been located in the region, Pakistan itself boasts few other natural resources. The country is heavily populated, with recent estimates placing the number of inhabitants at roughly 140 million. Pakistanis are culturally diverse, speaking a number of distinct and mutually intelligible dialects, although the prevalence of Islam is a more monolithic, uniting cultural force.