Minorities in Pakistan

Pakistan is a diverse society with various ethnic and religious minorities. According to Western religious freedom and human rights monitoring groups, religious minorities face severe discrimination in Pakistan. According to Farahnaz Ispahani, media advisor to the president of Pakistan from 2008 to 2012, the population of Pakistan's religious minorities has declined from 23% in 1947 to around 3-4% of the population today, primarily due to emigration.

According to the Government of Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), in 2012, the population of registered religious minorities in Pakistan was as follows:

According to the most recent (1998) census conducted by the Government of Pakistan, Hindus make up 1.20% of the population and Christians (Protestant and Roman Catholic) 1.9%, or around 2.3 million people. Other estimates put the numbers higher. Historically, there was also a small contingent of Jews in Pakistan who emigrated to Israel in 1948.

The U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2002 estimates the Shi'a population between 10-12%, among which around 900,000 are Ismailis which is a sect of Shi'i Muslims and who pay tribute to their living spiritual leader, the Aga Khan. It also lists Christians at 2.09 million; Ahmadis at 286,000, Hindus at 1.03 million; Parsis, Buddhists, and Sikhs at 20,000 each; and Baha'is at 30,000.

In a 2011 book, Ishtiaq Ahmed wrote that "Some independent studies, however, suggest that the non-Muslims population of Pakistan is nearly 10 per cent and Hindus, Christians and Ahmadis make up four million each. It is generally noted that while majorities play down minority figures, the minorities inflate them. This is especially true of the Ahmadiyya community. Official statistics return less than half a million for them while the Ahmadis claim to be around ten million."

...
Wikipedia