Demographics
Peshawar is a rapidly growing city with a population of 2,982,816 in 1998. The current population growth rate is 3.29% per year, which is higher than the average of many other Pakistani cities.
Peshawar's inhabitants consist mainly of Pashtun and Hindkowans. In addition, tens of thousands of Punjabis, Chitralis, Gypsies, Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras can be found in the city. Languages such as Pashto, Urdu, Persian/Dari, Hindko, Khowar, Saraiki and Punjabi are spoken in Peshawar, although only Urdu and English, with Pashto and Persian to a much smaller extent, are found as written languages in the city.
- Urban Population: 51.32% (1,536,000 persons)
- Rural Population: 48.68% (1,600,000 persons)
- Male/Female ratio: 1.1:1
- Average annual growth rate 3.56%
In 2002, on the growth rate of 3.56% population doubled in 20 years from 1.1 million in 1981 to 2.242 million in 2002. Peshawar District covers a large area extending over 50 kilometres (31 mi) from north to south and over 30 kilometres (19 mi) from east to west. It is situated at an altitude of 359 m (1,138 ft) above sea level. The Peshawar valley is nearly circular, extending from the Indus to the Khyber Hills. It is bounded on the North and North East by hills, which separate it from the Swat Valley. In the Northwest are the rugged mountains of Khyber and to the South is the continuation of spur which branches off from Safed Koh (the famous white mountain on the Afghan border) and runs to Indus. The lower portion of this branch separates the district of Peshawar and Kohat.
Over 99% of the city's population is Muslim, mostly Sunnis with Twelver Shias and Ahmadis as the minority. Despite the overwhelmingly Islamic nature of modern Peshawar, the city was previously home to diverse communities such as Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, Zoroastrians, and Bahá'ís. There is still a significant number of Sikhs, and smaller communities of Hindus and Christians.
Read more about this topic: Peshawar