In early 1994, the population of Pakistan was around to be 126 million, making it the ninth most populous nation in the world. Its land area, ranks thirty-second among nations. Thus Pakistan has about 2 % of the world's population living on less than 0.7 % of the world's land. The population growth rate is among the world's highest, officially around at 3.1 % per year, but privately thought to be closer to 3.3 % per year by many planners involved in population programs. Pakistan's population is expected to reach 150 million by 2000 and to account for 4 % of the world's population growth between 1994 and 2004. Pakistan's population is expected to double between 1994 and 2022.

By the early 1990s Pakistan's population was separated into five ethnic groups, defined broadly. The Punjabis constitute the majority, with more than 55 % of the population; the Sindhis account for another 20 %, the Pathans and the mujahirs for about 10 % each, and the Balochs for about 5 %. There are subgroups within each of these five categories. The Arains, Rajputs, and Jats—all Punjabis—regard themselves as ethnically distinct. Some groups overlap the five categories: for instance, there are Punjabi Pathans as well as Hazarvi Pathans. Some smaller groups, such as the Brohis in Sindh and the Seraikis in Punjab, are also ethnically distinct.