Pakistan is a multilingual country with over 70 languages spoken as first languages. The majority of Pakistan's languages belong to the Indo-Iranian group of the Indo-European language family.

Urdu is the national language and the lingua franca of Pakistan, and while sharing official status with English, it is the preferred and dominant language used for inter-communication between different ethnic groups. Numerous regional languages are spoken as first languages by Pakistan's various ethnolinguistic groups.

According to the 2023 census, languages with more than a million speakers each include Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, Urdu, Balochi, Hindko, Brahui and the Kohistani languages. The census excludes data from Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, therefore Shina and Balti population might not be exact. There are approximately 60 local languages with fewer than a million speakers.

List of languages The 2022 edition of Ethnologue lists 80 established languages in Pakistan. Of these, 68 are indigenous and 12 are non-indigenous. In terms of their vitality, 4 are classified as 'institutional', 24 are 'developing', 30 are 'vigorous', 15 are 'in trouble', and 4 are 'dying'.

+Established languages Language Province Language group Aer Sindh Indo-Aryan Badeshi Khyber Pakhtunkwa Iranian Bagri Punjab, Sindh Indo-Aryan Balochi, Makrani Balochistan Iranian Balochi, Rakhshani Balochistan Iranian Balochi, Sulaimani Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh Iranian Balti Gilgit-Baltistan Sino-Tibetan Bateri Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Bhaya Sindh Indo-Aryan Brahui Balochistan, Sindh Dravidian Burushaski Gilgit-Baltistan Isolate Chilisso Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Dameli Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Dari Khyber Pakhtunkwa Iranian Dehwari Balochistan Iranian Dhatki Sindh Indo-Aryan Domaaki Gilgit-Baltistan Indo-Aryan English Federal co-official Germanic Gawar-Bati Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Gawri Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Ghera Sindh Indo-Aryan Goaria Sindh Indo-Aryan Gowro Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Gujarati Sindh Indo-Aryan Gujari Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab Indo-Aryan Gurgula Sindh Indo-Aryan Haryanvi aka Rangri Sindh, Punjab Indo-Aryan Hazaragi Balochistan Iranian Hindko, Northern Azad Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Hindko, Southern Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab Indo-Aryan Jadgali Balochistan, Sindh Indo-Aryan Jandavra Sindh Indo-Aryan Jogi Sindh Indo-Aryan Kabutra Sindh Indo-Aryan Kacchi Sindh Indo-Aryan Kalasha Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Kalkoti Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Kamviri Khyber Pakhtunkwa Nuristani Kashmiri Azad Kashmir Indo-Aryan Kati Khyber Pakhtunkwa Nuristani Khetrani Balochistan Indo-Aryan Khowar Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Kyrgyz Chitral, Hunza Turkic Kohistani, Indus Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Koli, Kachi Sindh Indo-Aryan Koli, Parkari Sindh Indo-Aryan Koli, Wadiyari Sindh Indo-Aryan Kutchi Sindh Indo-Aryan Kundal Shahi Azad Kashmir Indo-Aryan Lasi Balochistan Indo-Aryan Loarki Sindh Indo-Aryan Mankiyali Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Marwari Punjab, Sindh Indo-Aryan Mewati Punjab, Sindh Indo-Aryan Memoni Sindh Indo-Aryan Oadki Punjab, Sindh Indo-Aryan Ormuri Khyber Pakhtunkwa Iranian Pahari-Pothwari Azad Kashmir, Punjab Indo-Aryan Pakistan Sign Language Throughout Indo-Pakistani Sign Language Palula Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Pashto, Central Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab Iranian Pashto, Northern Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab Iranian Pashto, Southern Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab Iranian Punjabi Punjab, Sindh Indo-Aryan Saraiki Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab, Sindh Indo-Aryan Sarikoli Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Gilgit-Baltistan Iranian Savi Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Shina Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Shina, Kohistani Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Sindhi Sindh, Balochistan Indo-Aryan Sindhi Bhil Sindh Indo-Aryan Torwali Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Urdu Sindh, Punjab, Azad Kashmir, Islamabad Indo-Aryan Ushojo Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan Vaghri Sindh Indo-Aryan Wakhi Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa Iranian Waneci Balochistan Iranian Waziri Khyber Pakhtunkwa Iranian Yadgha Khyber Pakhtunkwa Iranian

Statistics

+Census history of major languages RankLanguage1951 census1961 census1972 census1981 census1998 census2017 census2023 census1Punjabi67.08%66.39%...48.17%44.15%38.78%36.98%2Pashto 8.16%8.47%...13.15%15.42%18.24%18.15%3Sindhi12.85%12.59%...11.77%14.1%14.57%14.31%4Saraiki.........9.84%10.53%12.19%12.00%5Urdu7.05%7.57%...7.60%7.57%7.08%9.25%6Balochi3.04%2.49%...3.02%3.57%3.02%3.38%7Hindko.........2.43%...2.44%2.32%8Brahui0.70%0.93%...1.21%...1.24%1.16%9Mewati..................0.46%10Kohistani..................0.43%11Kashmiri...............0.17%0.11%12Shina..................0.05%13Balti..................0.02%14Kalasha..................0.003%15Others1.12%1.56%...2.81%4.66%2.27%1.38% * Saraiki and Hindko were included with Punjabi until the 1981 census.

*Census data for the Pakistani administered territories of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir not available as of 2024.

Official languages Urdu (official language)

Urdu () is the national language () and lingua franca of Pakistan. According to the 2023 census, only about 9.25% of Pakistanis reported it as their first language. However, it is widely spoken and understood as a second language across the country and serves as a symbol of national identity for all the Pakistanis.

Urdu was chosen as a symbol of unity for the new state of Pakistan in 1947, because the linguistic patriotism of South Asian Muslims over Urdu played a significant role in the formation of Pakistan, and it also had already served as a lingua franca among Muslims in north and northwest British India. It is written, spoken and used in all provinces/territories of Pakistan, and together with English as the main languages of instruction, although the people from differing provinces may have different native languages.

Urdu is taught as a compulsory subject up to higher secondary school in both English and Urdu medium school systems, which has produced millions of second-language Urdu speakers among people whose native language is one of the other languages of Pakistan – which in turn has led to the absorption of vocabulary from various regional Pakistani languages, while some Urdu vocabulary has also been assimilated by Pakistan's regional languages.

English (co-official language)

English is a co-official language of Pakistan and is widely used in the executive, legislative and judicial branches as well as to some extent in the officer ranks of Pakistan's armed forces. Pakistan's Constitution and laws were written in English and are now being re-written in the local languages. It is also widely used in schools, colleges and universities as a medium of instruction. English is seen as the language of upward mobility, and its use is becoming more prevalent in upper social circles, where it is often spoken alongside native Pakistani languages. In 2015, it was announced that there were plans to promote Urdu in official business, but Pakistan's Minister of Planning Ahsan Iqbal stated, "Urdu will be a second medium of language and all official business will be bilingual." He also went on to say that English would be taught alongside Urdu in schools.

Major regional languages Punjabi

Punjabi () is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in the Punjab province of Pakistan, with the prominent dialect being the Majhi dialect, written in the Shahmukhi script. Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in Pakistan. It is spoken as a first language by 36.98% of Pakistanis. The language is spoken among a significant overseas diaspora, particularly in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Punjabi is unusual among the Indo-Aryan languages and the broader Indo-European language family in its usage of lexical tone. Other tonal Indo-Aryan languages include Hindko, Dogri, Western Pahari, Sylheti and some Dardic languages. It is also spoken in Indian Punjab but it is official there, unlike in Pakistani Punjab.

Pashto

Pashto () is an Iranian language spoken as a first language by more than 18.15% of Pakistanis, mainly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as in ethnic Pashtun communities in northern Balochistan and the cities of Islamabad, Rawalpindi and most notably Karachi, , thefridaytimes which may have the largest Pashtun population of any city in the world. There are three major dialect patterns within which the various individual dialects may be classified; these are the Pakhto variety of Northern (Peshawar) variety, the southern Pashto spoken in the vicinity of Quetta.

Sindhi

Sindhi () is an Indo-Aryan language spoken as a first language by almost 14.31% of Pakistanis, mostly in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The name "Sindhi" is derived from Sindhu, the original name of the Indus River.

Like other languages of this family, Sindhi has passed through Old Indo-Aryan (Sanskrit) and Middle Indo-Aryan (Pali, secondary Prakrits, and Apabhramsha) stages of growth. 20th century Western scholars such as George Abraham Grierson believed that Sindhi descended specifically from the Vrācaḍa dialect of Apabhramsha (described by Markandeya as being spoken in Sindhu-deśa) but later work has shown this to be unlikely. It entered the New Indo-Aryan stage around the 10th century CE.

The six major known dialects of the Sindhi language are Siroli, Vicholi, Lari, Thari, Lasi and Kutchi.

Saraiki

Saraiki () is an Indo Aryan language of the Lahnda group spoken in central and southeastern Pakistan, primarily in the southern part of the province of Punjab. Saraiki is to a high degree mutually intelligible with Standard Punjabi; and coshares with it a large portion of its vocabulary and morphology. At the same time in its phonology it is radically different, though still akin to surrounding Punjabi dialects.

Saraiki is spoken by approximately 26 million people in Pakistan, ranging across southern Punjab, southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and border regions of northern Sindh and eastern Balochistan.

Balochi

Balochi () is an Iranian language spoken as a first language by about 3% of Pakistanis, mostly in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.

Hindko

Hindko () is an Indo-Aryan language group of Lahnda spoken in several discontinuous areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. It is mutually intelligible with Standard Punjabi and Saraiki,The word Hindko, commonly used to refer to a number of Indo-Aryan languages spoken in the neighbourhood of Pashto, likely originally meant "the Indian language" (in contrast to Pashto).; . See there for alternative etymologies. An alternative local name for this language group is Hindki.

Brahui

Brahui () is a Dravidian language spoken in the central part of Balochistan province of Pakistan. Brahui is spoken mainly in Kalat, Khuzdar, Mastung, Nushki and Surab districts, but also in smaller numbers in neighboring districts, as well as in Afghanistan which borders Balochistan province of Pakistan; however, many members of the ethnic group no longer speak Brahui.

Endangered languages

Other languages spoken by linguistic minorities include the languages listed below, with speakers ranging from a few dozen to tens of thousands. A few are highly endangered languages that may soon have no speakers at all.Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (2005). Languages of Pakistan. In Ethnologue Languages of the World (15th ed.). Dallas, TX: SIL International. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization defines five levels of language endangerment between "safe" (not endangered) and "extinct":

Vulnerable – "most children speak the language, but it may be restricted to certain domains (e.g., home)" Definitely endangered – "children no longer learn the language as mother tongue in the home"