14th August: Pakistan Independence Day

Today is Pakistan's Independence Day - here are 10 things you might not know about Pakistan:

1. Pakistan means "Land of the Pure" in Urdu and Persian.
2. It is the 36th largest country in the world -796,095 km2 (307,374 sq mi), that is, as big as France and the UK combined. It has the 26th largest economy and the 6th largest population - 191.71 million in 2015.
3. Pakistan is home to the world's second highest mountain, K2, and also the world's highest paved international road (the Karakoram Highway at 15,397 ft between China and Pakistan) and the highest polo ground at Shandur Top, Gilgit at 12,200 ft.
4. Over half of the world's footballs are made in Sialkot, Pakistan - in a World Cup year, about 60 million hand-stitched footballs are made here.
5. However, the national sport is not Football, or polo - it's field hockey.
6. Pakistan has an active space programme. It was the first South Asian nation to launch a rocket into space in 1962. The rocket was called Rehbar-1, which is Urdu for "One who leads the way".
7. The capital is Islamabad, and the largest city is Karachi.
8. Muhammad Iqbal is Pakistan's national poet. He was an academic, poet, barrister, philosopher, and politician in British India, widely regarded as having inspired the Pakistan Movement. He is considered one of the most important figures in Urdu literature, with literary work in both the Urdu and Persian languages. His birthday, December 25th, is celebrated as a national holiday in Pakistan.
9. Other national holidays include Kashmir Solidarity Day (February 5), Independence Day (August 14), Kashmir Black Day (October 27, the day when India landed its army in Jammu and Kashmir, considered to be the blackest day in Kashmir's history) and Cricket day (June 25).
10. Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto was the first Muslim woman to serve as prime minister of a democratic state and Islamic country.