Religion in Pakistan

The official religion of Pakistan is Islam, as enshrined by article 2 of the Constitution, and is practiced by an overwhelming majority of 96.35% of the Pakistani population. The remaining 3.65% are followers of Hinduism, Christianity, Ahmadiyya (considered non-Muslims as per the Constitution of Pakistan), Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.

Muslims comprise a number of sects, with the majority estimated at 90-95% practicing Sunni Islam, while the rest mainly practice Shia Islam. The majority of Sunnis follow the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, while a minority belong to the Ahl-i Hadith school of thought. Most Pakistani Shia Muslims belong to the Twelver Islamic law school, with significant minority groups who practice Ismailism, which is composed of Nizari (Aga Khanis), Mustaali, Dawoodi Bohra, and Sulaymani.

Before the arrival of Islam in the 8th century, the region that makes up Pakistan was home to a number of faiths, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism.

Equal rights Khawaja Nazimuddin, Pakistan's second Prime Minister, argued against equal rights for all citizens in an Islamic state. The Constitution of Pakistan establishes Islam as the state religion, and provides that all citizens have the right to profess, practice and propagate their religion subject to law, public order, and morality. The Constitution also states that all laws are to conform with the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran and Sunnah.

The Constitution limits the political rights of Pakistan's non-Muslims. Only Muslims are allowed to become the President or the Prime Minister. Only Muslims are allowed to serve as judges in the Federal Shariat Court, which has the power to strike down any law deemed un-Islamic, though its judgments can be overruled by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. However, non-Muslims have served as judges in the High Courts and Supreme Court. In 2019, Naveed Amir, a Christian member of the National Assembly moved a bill to amend the article 41 and 91 of the Constitution that would allow non-Muslims to become Prime Minister and President of Pakistan. However, Pakistan's parliament blocked the bill.

The main principles of Human rights in the Pakistani constitution were incorporated in its fundamental rights which were granted under various articles of 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 36 & 38 of the constitution –

(a) Article 20 : Freedom to profess religion and to manage religious institutions.

(b) Article 21 : Safeguard against taxation for purposes of any particular religion.

(c) Article 22 : Safeguards as to educational institutions in respect of religion, etc.

(d) Article 25 : Equality of citizens.

(e) Article 26 : Non-discrimination in respect of access to public places.

(f) Article 27 : Safeguard against discrimination in services.

(g) Article 36 : Protection of Minorities.

(h) Article 38 : Promotion of social and economic well-being of all the people.

Demographics of religion in Pakistan

Background + Religious groups in Pakistan (1901–2023)Religiousgroup1901 census1911 census1921 census1931 census1941 census1951 census1961 census1972 census1981 census1998 census2017 census2023 census Islam 14,022,544 14,966,846 15,203,501 17,557,877 21,113,214 32,731,582 41,666,153 60,434,659 81,450,057 127,433,409 200,362,718 231,686,709 Hinduism 3,009,842 2,766,581 2,957,680 3,298,570 3,981,565 531,131 621,805 900,206 1,276,116 2,443,614 4,444,870 5,217,216 Sikhism 529,910 884,987 931,489 1,282,698 1,672,753 2,146 15,998 Christianity 59,387 167,178 276,107 360,371 432,724 432,978 583,884 907,861 1,310,426 2,092,902 2,642,048 3,300,788 Jainism 6,529 7,348 7,490 8,096 13,215 Zoroastrianism 2,512 3,007 3,407 4,178 4,253 5,320 5,219 9,589 7,007 2,348 Judaism 489 702 706 1,019 1,180 Buddhism 6 207 373 155 266 680 2,445 4,318 2,639 Tribal 9,224 8,186 236 37,603 Ahmadiyya 104,244 286,212 191,737 162,684 Others 2,039 299 77 1,553 19,228 1,476 872 205,250 101,009 96,142 43,253 72,346 Total responses 17,633,258 18,806,379 19,389,016 22,514,768 27,266,001 33,703,167 42,880,378 62,461,883 84,253,644 132,352,279 207,684,626 240,458,089 Total population 17,708,014 20,428,473 22,214,152 24,774,056 29,643,600 33,779,555 42,978,261 65,309,340 84,253,644 132,352,279 207,684,626 241,499,431

1901 census

The total population of the region that composes contemporary Pakistan was approximately 17,708,014 according to the 1901 census. With the exception of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, all administrative divisions in the region that composes contemporary Pakistan collected religious data, with a combined total population of 17,633,258, for an overall response rate of 99.6 percent. Similar to the contemporary era, where censuses do not collect religious data in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan, the total number of responses for religion is slightly smaller than the total population, as detailed in the table breakdown below.

+ Religious groups in Pakistan (1901)ReligiousgroupPakistanPunjabSindhKhyberPakhtunkhwaBalochistanAJKGilgit–BaltistanTotalPopulationPercentage Islam 14,022,544 7,951,155 2,609,337 1,890,479 765,368 747,426 58,779 Hinduism 3,009,842 1,944,363 787,683 129,306 38,158 108,331 2,001 Sikhism 529,910 483,999 25,733 2,972 17,132 74 Christianity 59,387 42,371 7,825 5,119 4,026 18 28 Jainism 6,529 5,562 921 37 8 0 1 Zoroastrianism 2,512 300 2,000 46 166 0 0 Judaism 489 9 428 4 48 Buddhism 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 Others 2,039 0 2,029 0 0 8 2 Total responses 17,633,258 10,427,765 3,410,223 2,050,724 810,746 872,915 60,885 Total population 17,708,014 10,427,765 3,410,223 2,125,480 810,746 872,915 60,885

1911 census

The total population of the region that composes contemporary Pakistan was approximately 20,428,473 according to the 1911 census. With the exception of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, all administrative divisions in the region that composes contemporary Pakistan collected religious data, with a combined total population of 18,806,379, for an overall response rate of 92.1 percent. Similar to the contemporary era, where censuses do not collect religious data in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan, the total number of responses for religion is slightly smaller than the total population, as detailed in the table breakdown below.

+ Religious groups in Pakistan (1911)ReligiousgroupPakistanPunjabSindhKhyberPakhtunkhwaBalochistanAJKGilgit–BaltistanTotalPopulationPercentage Islam 14,966,846 8,494,314 2,822,756 2,039,994 782,648 749,945 77,189 Hinduism 2,766,581 1,645,758 877,313 119,942 38,326 84,130 1,112 Sikhism 884,987 813,441 12,339 30,345 8,390 20,391 81 Christianity 167,178 144,514 10,917 6,585 5,085 55 22 Tribal 9,224 9,224 Jainism 7,348 5,977 1,349 4 10 8 0 Zoroastrianism 3,007 377 2,411 49 170 0 0 Judaism 702 36 595 14 57 Buddhism 207 168 21 0 16 2 0 Others 299 0 298 0 1 0 0 Total responses 18,806,379 11,104,585 3,737,223 2,196,933 834,703 854,531 78,404 Total population 20,428,473 11,104,585 3,737,223 3,819,027 834,703 854,531 78,404

1921 census

The total population of the region that composes contemporary Pakistan was approximately 22,214,152 according to the 1921 census. With the exception of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, all administrative divisions in the region that composes contemporary Pakistan collected religious data, with a combined total population of 19,389,016, for an overall response rate of 87.3 percent. Similar to the contemporary era, where censuses do not collect religious data in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan, the total number of responses for religion is slightly smaller than the total population, as detailed in the table breakdown below.

+ Religious groups in Pakistan (1921)ReligiousgroupPakistanPunjabSindhKhyberPakhtunkhwaBalochistanAJKGilgit–BaltistanTotalPopulationPercentage Islam 15,203,501 8,975,288 2,562,700 2,062,786 733,477 780,607 88,643 Hinduism 2,957,680 1,797,141 876,629 149,881 51,348 81,733 948 Sikhism 931,489 863,091 8,036 28,040 7,741 24,491 90 Christianity 276,107 247,030 11,734 10,610 6,693 24 16 Tribal 8,186 8,186 Jainism 7,490 5,930 1,534 3 17 6 0 Zoroastrianism 3,407 309 2,913 20 165 0 0 Judaism 706 16 671 0 19 Buddhism 373 172 41 0 160 0 0 Others 77 8 64 0 5 0 0 Total responses 19,389,016 11,888,985 3,472,508 2,251,340 799,625 886,861 89,697 Total population 22,214,152 11,888,985 3,472,508 5,076,476 799,625 886,861 89,697

1931 census

The total population of the region that composes contemporary Pakistan was approximately 24,774,056 according to the 1931 census. With the exception of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, all administrative divisions in the region that composes contemporary Pakistan collected religious data, with a combined total population of 22,514,768, for an overall response rate of 90.9 percent. Similar to the contemporary era, where censuses do not collect religious data in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan, the total number of responses for religion is slightly smaller than the total population, as detailed in the table breakdown below.

+ Religious groups in Pakistan (1931)ReligiousgroupPakistanPunjabSindhKhyberPakhtunkhwaBalochistanAJKGilgit–BaltistanTotalPopulationPercentage Islam 17,557,877 10,570,029 3,017,377 2,227,303 798,093 850,135 94,940 Hinduism 3,298,570 1,957,878 1,055,119 142,977 53,681 87,554 1,361 Sikhism 1,282,698 1,180,789 19,172 42,510 8,425 31,709 93 Christianity 360,371 324,730 15,152 12,213 8,059 168 49 Jainism 8,096 6,921 1,144 0 17 11 3 Zoroastrianism 4,178 413 3,537 60 167 1 0 Judaism 1,019 6 985 11 17 Tribal 236 204 32 0 0 Buddhism 155 32 53 2 68 0 0 Others 1,553 0 1,510 0 43 0 0 Total responses 22,514,768 14,040,798 4,114,253 2,425,076 868,617 969,578 96,446 Total population 24,774,056 14,040,798 4,114,253 4,684,364 868,617 969,578 96,446

1941 census

The total population of the region that composes contemporary Pakistan was approximately 29,643,600 according to the final census prior to partition in 1941. With the exception of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, all administrative divisions in the region that composes contemporary Pakistan collected religious data, with a combined total population of 27,266,001, for an overall response rate of 92.0 percent. Similar to the contemporary era, where censuses do not collect religious data in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan, the total number of responses for religion is slightly smaller than the total population, as detailed in the table breakdown below.

+ Religious groups in Pakistan (1941)ReligiousgroupPakistanPunjabSindhKhyberPakhtunkhwaBalochistanAJKGilgit–BaltistanTotalPopulationPercentage Islam 21,113,214 13,022,160 3,462,015 2,788,797 785,181 939,460 115,601 Hinduism 3,981,565 2,373,466 1,279,530 180,321 54,394 93,559 295 Sikhism 1,672,753 1,530,112 32,627 57,939 12,044 39,910 121 Christianity 432,724 395,311 20,304 10,889 6,056 136 28 Tribal 37,603 37,598 3 0 2 Jainism 13,215 9,520 3,687 1 7 0 0 Zoroastrianism 4,253 312 3,841 24 76 0 0 Judaism 1,180 7 1,082 71 20 0 0 Buddhism 266 87 111 25 43 0 0 Others 19,228 19,128 0 0 11 89 0 Total responses 27,266,001 17,340,103 4,840,795 3,038,067 857,835 1,073,154 116,047 Total population 29,643,600 17,340,103 4,840,795 5,415,666 857,835 1,073,154 116,047

1951 census