Map of Punjab

History

The earliest evidence of human habitation in Punjab is traced to the Soan Valley of the Pothohar, between the Indus and the Jhelum rivers, where Soanian culture developed between 774,000 BCE and 11,700 BCE. This period goes back to the first interglacial period in the Ice age, from which remnants of stone and flint tools have been found. The Punjab region was the site of one of the earliest cradles of civilisation, the Bronze Age Harrapan civilisation that flourished from about 3000 BCE and declined rapidly 1,000 years later, followed by the Indo-Aryan migrations that overran the region in waves between 1500 and 500 BCE. The migrating Indo-Aryan tribes gave rise to the Iron Age Vedic civilisation, which lasted till 500 BCE.

Geography

Punjab is Pakistan's second largest province by area after Balochistan with an area of 205,344 square kilometres (79,284 square miles). It occupies 25.8% of the total landmass of Pakistan. Punjab province is bordered by Sindh to the south, the province of Balochistan to the southwest, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the west, and the Islamabad Capital Territory and Azad Kashmir in the north. Punjab borders Jammu and Kashmir in the north, and the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east.

The undivided Punjab region was home to six rivers, of which five flow through Pakistan's Punjab province. From west to east, the rivers are: the Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej.

Economy

The industrial sector comprising 24 per cent of the province's gross domestic product. Punjab has the largest economy in Pakistan, contributing most to the national GDP. The province's economy has quadrupled since 1972. Its share of Pakistan's GDP was 54.7% in 2000 and 59% as of 2010. It is especially dominant in the service and agriculture sectors of Pakistan's economy. With its contribution ranging from 52.1% to 64.5% in the Service Sector and 56.1% to 61.5% in the agriculture sector. It is also a major manpower contributor because it has the largest pool of professionals and highly skilled (technically trained) manpower in Pakistan.

Demographics

The province is home to over half the population of Pakistan, and is the world's second-most populous subnational entity, and the most populous outside of India and China. The capital and largest city is Lahore which has been the capital of the wider Punjab region since 16th-century. Other important cities include Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Multan, Sialkot, Bahawalpur, Gujrat, Sheikhupura, Jhelum, Rahim Yar Khan and Sahiwal.

As per a 2025 Dawn News report, based on data compiled by research organisation Population Council, UK Aid and the United Nations Population, Pakistan's Punjab had an annual growth rate of 2.53%.