Karachi is the capital of Sindh province in Pakistan and the country's largest city, with a population exceeding 20 million. Located on the Arabian Sea coast, it was Pakistan's capital from 1947 to 1959. As a beta-global city, Karachi serves as Pakistan's primary industrial and financial hub, boasting a substantial GDP. Renowned as a major metropolitan area and Pakistan's most cosmopolitan city, Karachi is known for its linguistic, ethnic, and religious diversity, as well as its progressive and socially liberal environment.
Following the reported death of Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei, hundreds of protesters stormed the US Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, and attempted to enter the Baghdad zone housing the US embassy. Demonstrations occurred across multiple locations.
In 1901, Karachi's population was 117,000 with a further 109,000 included in the Municipal area.
In 1911, Seth Harchandrai Vishandas was elected as mayor and led the municipal government to improve sanitary conditions in the Old City.
By 1914, Karachi had become the largest wheat-exporting port of the entire British Empire.
By as early as 1921, Half the city was born outside of Karachi.
In 1921, the Nadirshaw Edulji Dinshaw University of Engineering and Technology (NED) was founded. It is Pakistan's oldest institution of higher learning.
By 1924, the Drigh Road Aerodrome was established, now the Faisal Air Force Base.
The Hindu Gymkhana was constructed in 1925 and is an example of Mughal revival buildings.
In 1933, the City of Karachi Municipal Act transformed the city administration into the Karachi Municipal Corporation, which included a mayor, a deputy mayor, and 57 councillors.
On 21 January 1934, the lowest recorded temperature of 0 °C (32 °F) was recorded in Karachi.
On November 22, 1935, the first international cricket match in Karachi was held between Sindh and Australian cricket teams, attracting 5,000 spectators.
On April 1, 1936, Sindh was established as a province separate from the Bombay Presidency, with Karachi as its capital.
Compared to 1941, the population of Karachi grew.
In 1941, demographic shift in Karachi started.
In 1945, the Dow University of Health Sciences was established and became one of Pakistan's top medical research institutions.
The first Muhajirs of Karachi arrived in 1946 in the aftermath of the Direct Action Day and subsequent 1946 Bihar riots.
On 15 August 1947 Capital of Sindh shifted from Karachi to Hyderabad and Karachi was made the national capital of Pakistan.
By the dawn of Pakistan's independence in 1947, Karachi had an estimated population of 400,000.
Cricket's history in Pakistan predates the creation of the country in 1947.
Prior to Pakistan's independence in 1947, the religious demographics of the city was estimated to be 51.1% Hindu, 42.3% Muslim, with the remaining 7% primarily Christians (both British and native), Sikhs, Jains, with a small number of Jews.
On January 6, 1948, riots erupted in Karachi, leading to the exodus of much of Sindh's Hindu population to India.
By May 1948, there were 470,000 refugees in Karachi, leading to a drastic alteration of the city's demography.
In 1948, Karachi was selected as the first capital of Pakistan and was administered as a federal district separate from Sindh.
In 1948, the Federal Capital Territory of Pakistan was created, encompassing approximately 2,103 square kilometers of Karachi and surrounding areas.
By 1951, Muslims made up 96% of the city's population.
In 1951, the University of Karachi, Pakistan's largest university, was founded.
Until 1952, 100,000 Muhajir refugees arrived annually in Karachi.
On 7 August 1953, The city's highest rainfall in 24 hours occurred, resulting in major flooding.
In 1955, the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), the oldest business school outside of North America and Europe, was founded with support from the Wharton School and the University of Southern California.
In 1957, the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) was established with the task of managing land around Karachi.
In 1958, the national capital of Pakistan was shifted to Rawalpindi.
In 1959, the Federal Capital Territory of Pakistan, which included Karachi, was merged into the province of West Pakistan.
In 1960, Karachi and Lasbela District merged to create Karachi-Bela Division.
By 1961 Karachi's population grew 369% compared to 1941.
In 1962, the Dawood University of Engineering and Technology opened, offering degree programs in petroleum, gas, chemical, and industrial engineering.
In July 1967, The city's highest monthly rainfall, 19 in (480 mm), occurred.
In 1969, the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) became fully operational.
After 1970, several areas in Karachi were developed including Gulistan-e-Johar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Federal B. Area, Malir, Landhi and Korangi.
Beginning in 1970, labour unrest occurred in Karachi's industrial estates.
Between 1958 and 1970, Karachi's role as capital of Sindh was ceased due to the One Unit programme.
Following the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and independence of Bangladesh, thousands of Urdu-speaking Biharis arrived in Karachi.
In 1971, more than one million Bihari immigrants flowed into Karachi from the newly made country Bangladesh.
From 1972 onwards, the government violently repressed labour unrest in Karachi.
In 1972, Lasbela District transferred to Kalat Division, and the Karachi metropolitan area was divided into three districts: East, West, and South.
In 1972, the Karachi district was divided into three districts: East, West, and South.
In 1975, the tramway service that had been operating in Karachi since 1884 was closed.
In 1976, the Karachi Municipal Corporation became the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation.
On November 21, 1980, the first One Day International at the National Stadium was held against the West Indies, with the match going to the last ball.
In 1980, the Orangi Pilot Project, a community service organization, was founded, leading to the self-organization of households in Orangi to set up their own sewerage system.
Karachi's population had grown at a rate of 3.49% between the 1981 and 1998 census.
In 1983, the Aga Khan University, Karachi's oldest private educational institution and one of Pakistan's most prestigious medical schools, was founded.
In 1989, the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture was founded, offering degree programs in arts and architectural fields.
In 1992, Pakistani security forces initiated the controversial Operation Clean-up, targeting the MQM party and its supporters, to restore peace in Karachi.
The current terminal structure of Karachi's Jinnah International Airport was built in 1992 and is divided into international and domestic sections.
In 1993, the Lyari Development Authority (LDA) was formed.
In 1994, Operation Clean-up ended after starting in 1992, which was an effort to restore peace in the city.
In 1994, the Malir Development Authority (MDA) was formed.
In 1995, 1,742 killings were recorded in Karachi, with a maximum of 15 killings in a single day.
In 1995, Ziauddin Hospital in Karachi was the site of Pakistan's first bone marrow transplant.
In 1995, the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) was founded by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and operates a campus in Karachi.
In 1996, The National Stadium hosted two group matches (Pakistan v. South Africa on 29 February and Pakistan v. England on 3 March), and a quarter-final match (South Africa v. West Indies on 11 March) during the 1996 Cricket World Cup.
In 1996, the Karachi metropolitan area was further divided into two more districts: Central and Malir, each with its own municipal corporation.
In 1996, two (02) more districts created in the Karachi Division named Central and Malir districts.
Karachi's population grew by 59.8% since the 1998 census to 14.9 million.
The 1998 census listed Karachi's population at approximately 9.3 million.
In 1999, the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) ceased operations.
In 2000, Bahria University (BU) was founded and became one of the major general institutions of Pakistan, with campuses offering degree programs in Management Sciences, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Psychology.
Until 2000, Muhajirs kept arriving from different parts of India to Karachi.
Between 1996 and 2001, the Pakistani national cricket team failed to win any limited-overs matches at the National Stadium in Karachi.
In 2001, the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) came under the control of Karachi's local government and mayor, while the Lyari Development Authority (LDA) and Malir Development Authority (MDA) were abolished.
In 2001, under General Pervez Musharraf's rule, the five districts of Karachi were merged to form the city district of Karachi, with a three-tier structure.
Since 2001, efforts have been made to restore and restart the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) system.
Since its inception in 2004, the All Pakistan Music Conference has been holding its annual music festival.
In 2005, Karachi hosted the 2005 SAFF Championship at the Peoples Football Stadium.
In the 2005 elections, Syed Mustafa Kamal was elected City Nazim of Karachi, succeeding Naimatullah Khan, and Nasreen Jalil was elected as the City Naib Nazim.
According to the Federal Board of Revenue's 2006–2007 year book, tax and customs units in Karachi were responsible for 46.75% of direct taxes.
According to the Federal Board of Revenue's 2006–2007 year book, tax and customs units in Karachi were responsible for 33.65% of federal excise tax.
In 2007, Karachi hosted the Geo Super Football League, attracting capacity crowds during the games.
Since 2009, Karachi has hosted the annual Karachi Fashion Week.
The 2010s saw another influx of hundreds of thousands of Pashtun refugees fleeing conflict in North-West Pakistan and the 2010 Pakistan floods into Karachi.
In July 2011, the city district government of Karachi was reverted to its original constituent units, known as District Municipal Corporations (DMC). The five original DMCs were Karachi East, Karachi West, Karachi Central, Karachi South, and Malir.
As of 2011, half of all middle-class children in Karachi have intestinal parasites attributed to poor water quality.
In 2011, an estimated 2.5 million foreign migrants lived in Karachi, mostly from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.
In 2011, the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) was placed under the direct control of the Government of Sindh. At the same time, the Lyari Development Authority (LDA) and Malir Development Authority (MDA) were revived.
In 2011, the Pakistan Peoples Party government revived the Lyari Development Authority and Malir Development Authority, allegedly to patronize their electoral allies and voting banks.
The Union Council system in Karachi, which had thirteen members elected from specified electorates, was dismantled in 2011.
Between 2012 and 2017, terrorist incidents in Karachi dropped by 98%, according to Pakistan's Interior Ministry.
In 2012, the Sindh Madressatul Islam, originally founded in 1885, was granted university status.
In November 2013, a sixth District Municipal Corporation (DMC), Korangi District, was carved out from District East.
Between 2013 and 2015, extortion crimes in Karachi decreased by 80%, and kidnappings decreased by 90%.
In 2013, Senator Taj Haider from the PPP claimed he had official documents revealing the city's population to be 25.6 million.
In 2013, a controversial crackdown operation against criminals, the MQM political party, and Islamist militants was initiated by the Pakistan Rangers, leading to a decrease in violent crime.
In 2013, a crackdown operation was initiated against criminals, the MQM political party, and Islamist militants by the Pakistan Rangers.
According to the Numbeo Crime Index, in 2014, Karachi was ranked as the 6th most dangerous city in the world.
In 2014, 2,023 Karachiites were killed in either acts of terror or other crime.
In 2014, Karachi was ranked the world's 6th most dangerous city for crime.
In 2014, the D. J. Sindh Government Science College, established in 1887, was granted university status.
Chinese also reached Karachi after 2015 in large number due to the CPEC project.
In 2015, 1,040 Karachiites were killed in either acts of terror or other crime, an almost 50% decrease from the 2,023 killed in 2014.
In 2015, Karachi's homicide rate was 12.5 per 100,000 residents.
With 650 homicides in 2015, Karachi's homicide rate decreased by 75% compared to 2013.
On February 25, 2016, then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurated the Karachi Metrobus project, a 6-line 150-kilometre bus rapid transit system. Sharif claimed that the project would be more beautiful than the Lahore Metro Bus. Orange and Green Lines are currently operational, while the Red Line is still under construction.
Between 2016 and 2020, Waseem Akhtar served as the mayor of Karachi, with Arshad Hassan as Deputy Mayor, as part of the KMC.
By 2016, the city registered a total of 21 cases of kidnap for ransom.
By the middle of 2016, Karachi's rank in the Numbeo Crime Index had dropped to 31 following the launch of anti-crime operations.
In 2016, the Sindh Bureau of Statistics estimated Karachi's population to be 19.1 million.
In 2016, the number of murders in Karachi had dropped to 471.
On 22 and 23 April 2017, Karachi's highest recorded temperature of 48.0 °C (118.4 °F) was recorded.
According to the Global FDI Intelligence Report 2017/2018 published by Financial Times, Karachi ranks amongst the top 10 Asia pacific cities of the future for FDI strategy.
In 2017, Karachi municipal authorities launched a new early warning system to alert city residents to forecasted heatwaves.
In 2017, the number of homicides in Karachi had dropped further to 381.
In 2017, the number of murders in Karachi had dropped further to 381.
The 2017 census numerated Karachi's population to be 14,910,352, having grown 2.49% per year since the 1998 census.
The Muhajir Urdu-speaking community in the 2017 census forms slightly less than 45% of the city's population.
By 2018, Karachi's ranking on the Numbeo Crime Index had dropped to 50.
In 2018, Karachi was ranked third in the world for consumer expenditure growth, with its market anticipated to increase by 6.6% in real terms.
In 2018, Karachi's Jinnah International Airport was the busiest airport in Pakistan, handling a total of 7.2 million passengers.
In 2018, The Global Metro Monitor Report ranked Karachi's economy as the best performing metropolitan economy in Pakistan.
In 2019, K-Electric, the sole electricity provider in Karachi, was privatized, though the government still retains some shares.
In August 2020, the Sindh cabinet approved the formation of the seventh district in Karachi: Keamari District, which was created by splitting District West.
In November 2020, the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) partially revived operations. The KCR is a regional public transit system that had been fully operational between 1969 and 1999, and restoration has been sought since 2001.
Between 2016 and 2020, Waseem Akhtar served as the mayor of Karachi, with Arshad Hassan as Deputy Mayor, as part of the KMC.
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines were available in all major hospitals in Karachi.
As of 2021, Karachi had an estimated GDP of over $200 billion (PPP).
During the 2021 COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines were available in all major hospitals in Karachi.
In 2021, Karachi's ranking on the Numbeo Crime Index fell to 115.
As of 2022, 80% of Karachi households have access to piped water, with private water tankers supplying much of the water in informal settlements. 15% of residents rated their water supply as "bad" or "very bad", and 40% expressed concern about the stability of the water supply. An estimated 35,000 people were dying annually due to water-borne diseases by 2022.
As of 2022, Syed Saif-ur-Rehman is the Administrator of Karachi.
By 2022, Karachi's crime ranking dropped to 128th in the world.
In 2022 at least one million flood affectees from Sindh and Balochistan took refuge in Karachi.
In 2022, 75% of Karachi residents reported that the city's drainage system overflows or backs up, the highest percentage among major Pakistani cities. Parts of the drainage system overflow on average 2–7 times per month, causing street flooding.
In 2022, Karachi's ranking on the Numbeo Crime Index fell further to 128th place.
In 2022, at least 50 150m+ buildings were under construction in Karachi.
In 2022, the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) was included in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) by Shehbaz Sharif, and construction commenced to rebuild the existing 43 km track and stations into an automated rapid transit system with electric trains.
In 2022, the provincial government launched the Peoples Bus Service with a fleet of over 100 buses operating on 12 routes. The buses are air-conditioned, equipped with Wi-Fi, and offer priority seating for disabled and elderly individuals, as well as wheelchair accessibility.
In a 2022 survey, 42% of residents in Karachi reported that their streets are never cleaned, with only 17% reporting daily street cleaning. 69% of Karachi residents rely on private garbage collection services. 53% reported that the state of their neighbourhood's cleanliness was either "bad" or "very bad".
Many Sri Lankans moved to Karachi due to the 2022 Economic Crisis in Sri Lanka.
According to the 2023 Census of Pakistan, Central is the most literate district among all the districts of Karachi and Sindh.
According to the 2023 Census of Pakistan, Karachi's total population was 20.3 million.
According to the 2023 Census, with 55,396.01 residents per square kilometre Karachi Central is the most densely populated district of the seven districts of Karachi as well as the entirety of Pakistan.
According to the 2023 census, approximately 1,435 Parsis were residing in Karachi in 2023.
As per the 2023 census, linguistic information for Karachi Division was compiled.
In 2023, Murtaza Wahab of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was elected the mayor of Karachi.
In 2023, another mega mall/entertainment complex named 'Mall of Karachi' situated at the bottom of Pakistan's tallest skyscraper Bahria Icon Tower will be opened.
A 2025 analysis by Climate TRACE identified Karachi as the largest urban area with the most people exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution.
By 2025, Karachi is expected to be among the top cities in the world with an anticipated increase of 1.3 million households with annual income above $20,000 measured at PPP exchange rates.
On 18 January 2026, a major fire broke out at Gul Plaza, a large shopping mall in Karachi, killing at least 21 people.
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