Unit 1: Our Regional Neighbours

# Our Regional Neighbours ## Unit 1: Pakistan and its neighbourhood Our neighbours are an important part of our lives. Where we live and who lives around us affect us every day. Good relationships with our neighbours make us feel better and more secure. Just as this is true for families, it is als...

# Our Regional Neighbours ## Unit 1: Pakistan and its neighbourhood Our neighbours are an important part of our lives. Where we live and who lives around us affect us every day. Good relationships with our neighbours make us feel better and more secure. Just as this is true for families, it is also true for nations. Relationships with neighbouring countries can affect many aspects of life, from the food people eat, to where they live and work. ## Pakistan and its Neighbours In this chapter we will examine the geographical, economic, and political relationships Pakistan has with four of its neighbours from the regions of South and Central Asia, the Middle East, and China. ### The Neighbours - Sri Lanka - Kazakhstan - The United Arab Emirates - China ## South Asia: Focus on Sri Lanka Sri Lanka is a small island nation with a total area of about 65,600 square kilometres, and an estimated population of over 22 million people as of 2015. Like Pakistan, Sri Lanka is a nation in the region of South Asia: unlike Pakistan, it has no land borders at all. Sri Lanka is separated by about 50 kilometres from its closest neighbour, India, across the Palk Strait. Its second-closest neighbour, the Maldives, is about a thousand kilometres away to the south-west. Sri Lanka has 1340 kilometres of coastline. ### The Geography There are three main geographical areas in Sri Lanka, each increasing in elevation, or height. - The lowest is the coastal belt, which is made up of seashore and flat, rocky areas. - Moving inland, the coast gives way to flat plains and rolling hills. - Finally, larger hills and mountains, known as the Central Highlands, are found in the central southern part of the island. The highest point is Mt Pidurutalagala, which is 2524 metres high. Forty-two per cent of the total landmass of Sri Lanka is used for farming. It has many waterways and almost 30% of the country is covered in forest. ### Cities - Colombo is the largest city in Sri Lanka, with an urban population of about 2.6 million people. - The capital of Sri Lanka, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, is close to the city of Colombo. - In recent years the capital, like Colombo itself, has grown a great deal and the two cities, along with other smaller cities, have now merged, creating a greater city population of around 5 million. - Two other significant cities are Negombo, just north of Colombo, and Kandy, which is in the Southern Highlands. ### Transport Most of Sri Lanka's people and goods are transported by road. Buses are the main means of public transport. Ships carry goods in and out of the country. ### The Climate Sri Lanka has a tropical climate that is hot and wet, with cooling ocean winds. The temperatures are always cooler in the highlands than in the flat areas of the north. Each year the country is subject to two separate monsoon seasons. - In the south-west of the country, the wet monsoon winds bring rain between May and September. - In the north and eastern coastal areas, the monsoon brings wind and rain between October and January. ### The People There are three main cultural groups in Sri Lanka. - The largest is the Sinhalese who make up 75% of the population, followed by the Tamils at 11%, and Muslims at 10%. - A small minority of Indian Tamils make up about 4% of the total population. Most people speak Sinhala, while about 20% of the people speak Tamil. The English language is widely used in government. About 70% of the people are Buddhist, 12.5% Hindu, and 10% Muslim; the rest are mostly Christian. For most of its history, the majority of Sri Lankans were involved in agriculture, but now only 28% of the people are farmers; about 30% of the population live in urban areas. The rate of population density is 331 people per square kilometre. Some Sri Lankans also work overseas in places like the Middle East, and send their incomes home to their families. There are high rates of literacy and computer literacy in Sri Lanka. Education is free and compulsory for every child for 9 years, and 92% of the population can read and write. This, combined with a growing economy, has helped Sri Lanka's poverty rate to drop sharply from 23% in 2002 to 7% in 2012. ### The Economy For the last ten years or so, Sri Lanka has had a strong and growing economy. Traditionally based on agriculture, Sri Lanka's economy has now moved to become largely services-based, and more people are being employed in areas like tourism, telecommunication, banking, and information technology. Manufacturing is also increasingly important, with around 26% of the people engaged in processing rubber, tobacco, and food, or making textile and fabric. Clothing is now the country's leading export. Sri Lanka's per capita GDP, or individual GDP, has risen to US$3794.9, up from US$1424.1 in 2006. ### Agriculture Today, agriculture makes up less than 10% of Sri Lanka's economy. The main agricultural products include tea, rice, sugar cane, grain, pulses, oilseed, spices, vegetables, fruit, coffee, rubber, coconut products, animal hides, beef, and fish. Of these, tea, which is grown in the Central Highlands, makes up almost 20% of its exports. The humid climate, cool temperatures, and high rainfall in the hills create ideal growing conditions for this tea, which is considered the best in the world. ### Resources and Energy Sri Lanka has few natural mineral resources, although precious stones, such as rubies, are one of its key exports. Most of Sri Lanka's energy comes from hydroelectric power; the Mahaweli River is dammed in several places for this purpose. Petroleum is the country's largest import. ### Sri Lanka’s Relationship with Pakistan Sri Lanka and Pakistan have a long and stable relationship. Both countries gained independence from British rule in the late 1940s and were quick to establish diplomatic and trade contacts. Today, Pakistan is one of Sri Lanka's key trade partners in South Asia. Sri Lankan exports to Pakistan include vegetable products, rubber, and coconut products. Pakistani exports to Sri Lanka include cotton products, cement, refined sugar, and potatoes. In 2015, the two countries signed an agreement by which Pakistan would help Sri Lanka establish a nuclear energy plant as well as forge closer cooperation in the areas of defence, shipping, and sport. Both countries are bound by a love of cricket and regularly play against each other. ## Central Asia: Focus on Kazakhstan Kazakhstan shares its 13,364 kilometres of land borders with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. Despite being far from the ocean, it does have 2894 kilometres of shoreline along the vast Caspian and the Aral Seas. Although most of the country is located in Asia, a small part of Kazakhstan lies west of the Ural Mountains, in Eastern Europe. ### The Geography Kazakhstan has some of the highest and lowest land in the world. - The areas around the Caspian Sea are below sea level, while Khan Tengri Mountain in the Tian Shan Range in the east of the country is 7010 metres high. However, much of the land is made up of a huge expanse of flat grassland that extends from the mouth of the River Volga in the west to the Altai Mountains in the east, and from the plains of western Siberia in the north to the deserts of Central Asia in the south. - Seventy-seven per cent of the land is agricultural, although most of this is permanent pasture. Only 9% is arable and can be used for growing food. As well as having access to the Caspian and Aral Seas, Kazakhstan has a number of other large inland lakes including Lake Balkhash, which is the fifteenth-largest lake in the world. These lakes, along with the many rivers that flow through the country, such as the Ural, have given the nation access to large amounts of water. ### Man-made changes Unfortunately, two main rivers that used to flow into the Aral Sea were diverted for irrigation for cotton farming during the late twentieth century. The lake slowly dried up, leaving behind harmful chemical pesticides and salts. In 1960 it was one large lake that measured 68,000 square kilometres: today it has shrunk to four smaller lakes with a total area of 17,000 square kilometres. ### Cities Almaty, with 1.7 million people, is Kazakhstan's largest city. It was also the nation's capital until 1997. Today, the specially planned city of Astana is the capital and the country's second-largest city with a population of 860,000. The country's largest port is at Aktau on the Caspian Sea. Most cities in Kazakhstan are near rivers or lakes. ### The People The people who live in Kazakhstan reflect the fact that their nation sits between Asia and Europe, and that the country was under Russian control for almost two centuries. There are more than 100 different ethnic and cultural groups in Kazakhstan. The largest of these is the Kazakhs at 63%, followed by Russians at 24%. The rest is made up largely of Uzbeks, Uighurs, Tatars from Central and North Asia, and Ukrainians and Germans from Europe. About 70% of the people are Muslim, and 26% Christian. Kazakh and Russian are both official languages, with Russian widely used in the government. Traditionally Kazakhstanis led nomadic lives herding their livestock from one pasture to another. This changed as Russians began to settle in the area and set up farms and townships. Today, just over half the population lives in cities. Work has also changed with 62% of Kazakhs in service industries, which can range from shop and hotel work to employment in transport, communications, finance, teaching, or medicine. Twenty-six per cent of the people are engaged in agriculture, and 12% in industry. The country has high literacy rates with 99.8% of the population able to read and write. All children are expected to stay in school for 15 years. ### The Climate Kazakhstan has a mixture of continental climate in the north and desert climate in the south. Both climates have cold winters and hot summers; however, the desert climates are drier. The temperature in winter can fall to -30°C and in summer can rise to 30°C, with temperatures as high as 40°C in the south. ### The Economy Kazakhstan is the strongest and most stable economy in Central Asia. This is largely due to the fact that it has significant amounts of fossil fuels, minerals, and metals. These products are in demand for energy and industrial use and are strong exports. However, in recent years the government has been concerned that the economy might be relying too much on oil and minerals and has focused instead on developing new areas of the economy such as transport, pharmaceuticals, telecommunication, petrochemicals, and food processing. The per capita (per person) GDP of Kazakhstan for 2015 was US$12,601, which is the highest in Central Asia. The country's major exports are oil and oil products, natural gas, metals, chemicals, machinery, grain, wool, meat, and coal. As a landlocked country, Kazakhstan relies on shipping its exports through its neighbours, especially Russia. Russia is also its second-largest trading partner after China. ### Agriculture Although more than a quarter of Kazakhstan's people work in agriculture, the sector only makes up 5% of the country's overall GDP. Almost 70% of the land is permanent pasture land and many people still live as traditional herders who do not produce goods to sell. Agricultural products include wheat—which is one of the country's biggest exports—barley, potatoes, vegetables, melons, meat, wool, cotton, flax, and rice. ### Industry and Manufacturing Industry and manufacturing make up 35.3% of Kazakhstan's economic production with the processing of minerals and metals being the largest sector. Other manufactured products include iron, steel, tractors and agricultural machinery, electric motors, construction materials, and pharmaceuticals. ### Kazakhstan’s Relationship with Pakistan Pakistan was one of the first countries to acknowledge Kazakhstan when it gained independence in 1991 and the relationship between the two states has continued to be positive. However, trade is relatively low, at US$34 million in 2016. ## The Middle East: Focus on the United Arab Emirates The UAE is situated on the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula. It has 1066 kilometres of land borders with Saudi Arabia to the south and Oman to the east. It has 1316 kilometres of coastline along the Persian Gulf. The UAE is made up of seven emirates, and together they cover 83,600 square kilometres of territory. The population is estimated to be 9.5 million. ### The Geography Almost all of the UAE is desert, and it is home to some of the world's largest sand dunes. Agricultural land makes up only 5% of the total area, and only a fraction of that is arable. Most arable land is found around oases, or fertile areas with water from underground springs. Oases are dotted across the desert and include the towns of Liwa near the south of the country, and Al-Ain to the east. The UAE has no rivers; it has two small, man-made lakes. The highest point in the country is 1527 metres at Mt Jebel Yibir in the Hajar Mountains that run along the eastern part of the country in the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah. Snow occasionally falls on these mountains. ### Cities and Emirates Dubai is the largest city in the UAE with 2.5 million people. The second-largest is the capital, Abu Dhabi, which has a population of 1.5 million. Dubai is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, and Abu Dhabi is the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The other Emirates that make up the UAE are: Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. ### The Climate The coastal regions of the UAE are hot and humid, while the desert regions are hot and dry. The eastern mountains are a little cooler than the desert. The average January temperature is around 18°C. In July, the temperature averages 33°C. Temperatures can as be high as 49°C in the desert in the summer months. ### The People The population of the UAE is made up of a mix of nationalities. Only about 20% of the people, or one in five, are Emirati, or nationals of the UAE. The bulk of the population are workers from West, South, and South-east Asia. According to an estimate, about 12% of the inhabitants of the UAE are Pakistani. Most people live in cities along the coast in places where there is a good supply of water, or in the oasis town of Al-Ain. Around 85% of the population lives in urban areas. The official language is Arabic, but Hindi, Persian, Urdu, and English are also spoken. Islam is the official religion and 76% of the people are Muslim. The country's population density is 109 people to every square kilometre. Around 78% of the people are involved in the services sector, 15% in industry, and 7% in agriculture. Many people are engaged in construction, hospitality, retail, cleaning services, information technology, education, and health, as well as in the gas and oil industries. Literacy is high, with rates having risen dramatically between 1970 and 2013 from 20% to 95% for males, and from 10% to 92% for females. School enrolments increased from 6972 to 340,803 in the same period, while the number of schools increased twenty-fold. ### The Economy The UAE has a strong economy which is second only to Saudi Arabia's within the Middle East. The discovery of oil and gas has provided the country with a high income and standard of living. At US$43,962, its GDP per capita is one of the highest in the world. The government has used the money to develop its cities, roads, and airports as well as its education and health systems. However, as the world becomes more concerned about the use of fossil fuels, the UAE has begun to change its economy in order to be less dependent on them. Now it is opening itself up to new businesses and tourism. Services industries now make up almost half of the economy. ### Agriculture Agriculture contributes little to the country's economy and employs fewer than one in ten people. Arable land is scarce and most foods are imported. However, the UAE produces enough to be almost self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables, eggs, chicken, dairy products, and fish. Its agricultural region is centred largely in the emirates of Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah. The major crops grown there are dates along with tomatoes, cucumbers, and aubergine. Improved irrigation techniques have increased yields over the last few years. The UAE has one of the largest fishing industries in the Arab world with fishing concentrated in Umm al-Quwain. ### Energy and Resources Almost all the energy used in the UAE is provided by fossil fuels; however, they are moving towards solar power. The Shams Solar Power Station in Abu Dhabi is the largest outside of the USA and Spain. Dubai is also building solar plants and aims to provide 7% of its energy from solar by 2020, increasing this target to 25% by 2030, and 75% by 2050. The UAE is the eighth-largest producer of oil and the eighteenth-largest producer of natural gas in the world. It is also a big consumer of both these products, and ranks twelfth in the world for natural gas consumption. ### Industries As an oil-rich nation, the UAE also processes oil into petroleum and produces petrochemicals. Additionally, it produces aluminium, cement, and fertilizers. Commercial ship repair and building construction are also important industries. ### Pakistan’s Relationship with the UAE Pakistan and UAE have strong ties through their shared religion of Islam and the the fact that many Pakistanis live and work in the UAE. There are also strong trading relations, with UAE being Pakistan's sixth-largest partner for exports and second-largest partner for imports. ## East Asia: Focus on China China is a vast country. With 1.376 billion people, it is the largest nation in the world by population; at 9,596,961 square kilometres it is the fourth-largest in landmass, or size, after Russia, Canada, and the USA. China has the longest land borders of any country in the world, with fourteen neighbouring countries to the north, west, and south. To the east, it has 14,500 kilometres of coastline along the Pacific Ocean. ### The Geography As you would expect for such a vast area, China has a wide variety of landforms, or topography, including plains, deserts, mountain ranges, lakes, and rivers. The flattest parts of the country are the large fertile plains of the eastern coastal regions. Moving westward, hills, deserts, and high plateaus make up much of the landscape. Huge mountain ranges such as the Himalayas and the Karakoram, Pamirs, and Tian Shan Mountains dominate the south-western region. In fact, 33% of the country is made up of mountains, while 26% is high plains, and 10% is hills. About 22% of the land is covered by forest. Only about 12% of the land is arable, or able to be used for farming. ### Cities There are many densely populated cities in China. Six of them have more than ten million people and, as of 2016, three of them, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, have more than twenty million. Shanghai has the largest inner-city population in the world, just ahead of Karachi. Beijing, which is China's capital, has the third-largest inner-city population in the world. ### Transport Road and rail are the most common forms of transport for people and goods in China. China's road network has tripled over the last twenty years and there are now 4,106,387 km of roads, second only to the USA. China has 191,270 km of railway lines, the third-longest after the USA and India. Rivers also offer important access to many busy areas of China, with barges and riverboats carrying a variety of cargo. The majority of its imports and exports come in and out of the country via ports like Dalian, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Tianjin. ### The Climate The climate of China varies widely from tropical in the south-east to a subarctic climate in the north, an alpine climate in the mountainous regions, and the cold desert climate of the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts in the west. ### The People The population of China makes up about one-fifth of the world's population. Most Chinese people are Han Chinese (91.6%). Other groups include Zhuang, Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Tibetan, and Mongolian. Mandarin is the official language, but hundreds of languages are spoken across the country. The majority of Chinese people live in the fertile areas of the east coast and along the rivers. Traditionally these have been rural areas and for most of China's history the majority of its people have been involved in farming. More recently, however, there has been a move from agriculture to urban-based manufacturing and service industries, and these areas have become home to China's largest cities. Today, 56% of the Chinese people live in urban areas, as opposed to 36% in 2002. The population density is 145 people per square kilometre. ### The Economy The Chinese economy has changed a great deal in the last two decades. When the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, it had a state-run economy, which meant there was no private ownership of businesses and people had little choice about what they produced. From the 1980s onward, the government started to allow people to run their own farms and businesses and to encourage foreign trade. Since then the Chinese economy has grown by about 9% each year. Previously mainly an agricultural country, it now has a mix of agriculture and manufacturing. In 2010, China became the world's largest exporter. More businesses and greater exports have made China wealthier. The GDP of China per capita, or per person, is US$7590, ranking it as 73rd in the world. While this is below the world average of US$10,738, the poverty rate in China has dropped dramatically in the last decade owing to the increased economic activity in the country. ### Agriculture Agriculture remains the main occupation in China, with about a third of its people working on the land. Despite limited arable land, China produces more rice than any other country, as well as large amounts of wheat, corn, tobacco, soybean, potatoes, peanuts, grain, tea, fish, and cotton. However, this populous nation is unable to support itself and has to import food from other countries to feed its people. ### Energy and Resources China has large oil and natural gas reserves. However, it also imports large amounts of oil and petroleum products to support its large population's growing use of cars. Many metals, such as iron ore and tungsten, are mined in China. It is the world's fifth-largest producer of gold. China's north is rich in coal and 67% of its energy is produced by coal. Many dams are built on its rivers to produce hydroelectricity, which provide about 20% of its energy needs. Renewable sources such as solar and wind power account for 9%, and 1.5% of its energy comes from nuclear power. In recent years, China has become the world's biggest energy consumer, which has led to a great deal of air and water pollution. ### Manufacturing The manufacturing sector has grown enormously since the 1980s. More than 30% of China's people work in manufacturing. The country produces everything from clothes, textiles, and toys to tools and machinery, computer equipment, and furniture. ### China's Relationship to Pakistan Pakistan and China share a long history of friendship and cooperation. As well as being Pakistan's largest neighbour, it is also its most significant trading partner. China is Pakistan's greatest source of imports and its second-largest export partner, as well as supplying the country with military weapons and technology. In recent years, China and Pakistan have been working together on projects which are collectively known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. These include the rebuilding of the Karakoram Highway between China's western border and Islamabad, the development of Gwadar Port in Balochistan, and the construction of a motorway between Lahore and Karachi. This corridor will build stronger economic and trade ties by providing better access between the two nations. It will provide China with a direct trade route to the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, while at the same time improving Pakistan's roads and port infrastructure and creating many jobs.