The oil drilling company Lasmo is reported to have found one of the world's biggest gas fields near Karachi. Gas is clean burning and in many respects more valuable than oil.
Record GNP growth
Pakistan achieved a very good 6% growth of GNP in 96 . This kept well ahead of the population growth . It compares favourably with the Asian tigers. There is reported to be a balance of payment and debt problem however.
World's third largest country
New projection by UN sources show that Pakistan's population by the middle of the next century will be triple what it is now from a low of 280 million to a more realistic 370m. It will overtake Indonesia and Russia to become the third most populous country in the world.
Pakistan richer than India.
The World Bank has a new report showing that Pakistan has a much higher GNP per capita -£260 -$440 than India but it criticies the unusually low literacy rate of less than 35%.