Karachi - WikiHQ

Karachi is the capital city of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the largest city in Pakistan and 12th largest in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast and formerly served as the country's capital from 1947 to 1959. Ranked as a beta-global city, it is Pakistan's premier industrial and financial centre, with an estimated GDP of over $200 billion (PPP) . as well as one of the country's most progressive and socially liberal cities.

The region has been inhabited for millennia, but the city was formally founded as the fortified village of Kolachi as recently as 1729. The settlement greatly increased in importance with the arrival of the East India Company in the mid-19th century. British administrators embarked on substantial projects to transform the city into a major seaport, and connect it with the extensive railway network of the Indian subcontinent. Following the partition of India, the city experienced a dramatic shift in population and demography with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Muslim immigrants from India, coupled with an exodus of nearly all of its Hindu residents. According to the 2023 Census of Pakistan, Karachi's total population was 20.3 million. Karachi is one of the world's fastest-growing cities, and has significant communities representing almost every ethnic group in Pakistan. Karachi holds more than two million Bengali immigrants, a million Afghan refugees, and up to 400,000 Rohingyas from Myanmar.

Karachi is now Pakistan's premier industrial and financial centre. The city has a formal economy estimated to be worth $190 billion , which is the largest in the country. Karachi collects 35% of Pakistan's tax revenue, and generates approximately 25% of Pakistan's entire GDP. Approximately 30% of Pakistani industrial output is from Karachi, while Karachi's ports handle approximately 95% of Pakistan's foreign trade. Approximately 90% of the multinational corporations and 100% of the banks operating in Pakistan are headquartered in Karachi. Karachi is also considered to be Pakistan's fashion capital, and has hosted the annual Karachi Fashion Week since 2009.

Known as the "City of Lights" in the 1960s and 1970s for its vibrant nightlife, Karachi was beset by sharp ethnic, sectarian, and political conflict in the 1980s with the large-scale arrival of weaponry during the Soviet–Afghan War. The city had become well known for its high rates of violent crime, but recorded crimes sharply decreased following a crackdown operation against criminals, the MQM political party, and Islamist militants, initiated in 2013 by the Pakistan Rangers. As a result of the operation, Karachi dropped from being ranked the world's 6th-most dangerous city for crime in 2014, to 128th by 2022.

Etymology

Modern Karachi was reputedly founded in 1729 as the settlement of Kolachi-jo-Goth during the rule of Kalhora dynasty. Karachi may also have been referred to as Ramya in ancient Greek texts.

The ancient site of Krokola, a natural harbour west of the Indus where Alexander the Great sailed his fleet for Achaemenid Assyria, may have been located near the mouth of Karachi's Malir River, though some believe it was located near Gizri. No other natural harbour exists near the mouth of the Indus that could accommodate a large fleet. Nearchus, who commanded Alexander's naval fleet, also mentioned a hilly island by the name of Morontobara and an adjacent flat island named Bibakta, which colonial historians identified as Karachi's Manora Point and Kiamari (or Clifton), respectively, based on Greek descriptions. Both areas were island until well into the colonial era, when silting in led to them being connected to the mainland.

In 711 CE, Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Sindh and Indus Valley and the port of Debal, from where he launched his forces further into the Indus Valley in 712. Some have identified the port with Karachi, though some argue the location was somewhere between Karachi and the nearby city of Thatta.

Under Mirza Ghazi Beg, the Mughal administrator of Sindh, the development of coastal Sindh and the Indus River Delta was encouraged. Under his rule, fortifications in the region acted as a bulwark against Portuguese incursions into Sindh. In 1553–54, Ottoman admiral Seydi Ali Reis, mentioned a small port along the Sindh coast by the name of Kaurashi which may have been Karachi. The Chaukhandi tombs in Karachi's modern suburbs were built around this time between the 15th and 18th centuries.

Kolachi settlement and the first port

thumb|The [[Manora Fort, Karachi|Manora Fort, built in 1797 to defend Karachi, was captured by the British on 3February 1839 and upgraded 1888–1889.]]

The first port was established by the Kalhoras near Karachi in the mid-18th century, known as Kharak Bander.

Nineteenth century Karachi historian Seth Naomal Hotchand recorded that a small settlement of 20–25 huts existed along the Karachi Harbour that was known as Dibro, which was situated along a pool of water known as Kolachi-jo-Kun. In 1725, a band of Baloch settlers from Makran and Kalat had settled in the hamlet after fleeing droughts and tribal feuds.

A new settlement was built in 1729 at the site of Dibro, which came to be known as Kolachi-jo-Goth ("The village of Kolachi). The founders of the new fortified settlement were Sindhi Baniyas, Kolachi was fortified, and defended with cannons imported from Muscat, Oman. Under the Talpurs, the Rah-i-Bandar road was built to connect the city's port to the caravan terminals. This road would eventually be further developed by the British into Bandar Road, which was renamed Muhammad Ali Jinnah Road.

The name Karachee was used for the first time in a Dutch document from 1742, in which a merchant ship de Ridderkerk is shipwrecked near the settlement. In 1770s, Karachi came under the control of the Khan of Kalat, which attracted a second wave of Balochi settlers. which was used to protect Karachi's Harbour from al-Qasimi pirates.

In 1799 or 1800, the founder of the Talpur dynasty, Mir Fateh Ali Khan, allowed the East India Company under Nathan Crow to establish a trading post in Karachi. He was allowed to build a house for himself in Karachi at that time, but by 1802 was ordered to leave the city. The city continued to be ruled by the Talpurs until it was occupied by forces under the command of John Keane in February 1839.

British control

thumb|An 1897 image of Karachi's Rampart Row street in [[Mithadar]]

thumb|Mules Mansion

thumb|Some of Karachi's most recognized structures, such as [[Frere Hall, date from the British Raj.]]

alt=|thumb|Karachi features several examples of colonial-era [[Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture|Indo-Saracenic architecture, such as the KMC Building.]]

The British East India Company captured Karachi on 3February 1839 after opened fire and quickly destroyed Manora Fort, which guarded Karachi Harbour at Manora Point. Karachi's population at the time was an estimated 8,000 to 14,000, and was confined to the walled city in Mithadar, with suburbs in what is now the Serai Quarter. British troops, known as the "Company Bahadur" established a camp to the east of the captured city, which became the precursor to the modern Karachi Cantonment. The British further developed the Karachi Cantonment as a military garrison to aid the British war effort in the First Anglo-Afghan War.

Sindh's capital was shifted from Hyderabad to Karachi in 1840 when Karachi was annexed to the British Empire after Major General Charles James Napier captured the rest of Sindh following his victory against the Talpurs at the Battle of Hyderabad. Following the 1843 annexation, the entire province was amalgamated into the Bombay Presidency for the next 93 years, and Karachi remain the divisional headquarter. A few years later in 1846, Karachi suffered a large cholera outbreak, which led to the establishment of the Karachi Cholera Board (predecessor to the city's civic government).

The city grew under the administration of its new Commissioner, Henry Bartle Edward Frere, who was appointed in the 1850s. Karachi was recognized for its strategic importance, prompting the British to establish the Port of Karachi in 1854. Karachi rapidly became a transportation hub for British India owing to newly built port and rail infrastructure, as well as the increase in agricultural exports from the opening of productive tracts of newly irrigated land in Punjab and Sindh. By 1856, the value of goods traded through Karachi reached £855,103, leading to the establishment of merchant offices and warehouses. The population in 1856 is estimated to have been 57,000. During the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the 21st Native Infantry, then stationed in Karachi, mutinied and declared allegiance to rebel forces in September 1857, though the British were able to quickly defeat the rebels and reassert control over the city.

Following the Rebellion, British colonial administrators continued to develop the city's infrastructure, but continued to neglect localities like Lyari, which was home to the city's original population of Sindhi fishermen and Balochi nomads. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Karachi's port became an important cotton-exporting port, With increased economic opportunities, economic migrants from several ethnicities and religions, including Anglo-British, Parsis, Marathis, and Goan Christians, among others, established themselves in Karachi, By 1899, Karachi had become the largest wheat-exporting port in the East. In 1901, Karachi's population was 117,000 with a further 109,000 included in the Municipal area. after large irrigation works in Sindh were initiated to increase wheat and cotton yields. Native Sindhis were upset by this influence, Riots erupted on 6January 1948, after which most of Sindh's Hindu population fled to India,

Karachi became the focus for the resettlement of middle-class Muslim Muhajir refugees who fled India, with 470,000 refugees in Karachi by May 1948, leading to a drastic alteration of the city's demography. In 1941, Muslims were 42% of Karachi's population, but by 1951 made up 96% of the city's population. Between 1958 and 1970, Karachi's role as capital of Sindh was ceased due to the One Unit programme enacted by President Iskander Mirza. Several examples of Modernist architect were built in Karachi during this period, including the Mazar-e-Quaid mausoleum, the distinct Masjid-e-Tooba, and the Habib Bank Plaza (the tallest building in all of South Asia at the time). The city's population by 1961 had grown 369% compared to 1941. Real-estate prices soared during this period, leading to a worsening housing crisis. The period also saw labour unrest in Karachi's industrial estates beginning in 1970 that were violently repressed by the government of President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from 1972 onwards. To appease conservative forces, Bhutto banned alcohol in Pakistan, and cracked-down of Karachi's discotheques and cabarets – leading to the closure of Karachi's once-lively nightlife. The city's art scene was further repressed during the rule of dictator General Zia-ul-Haq. At this time, Karachi was also rocked by political conflict, while crime rates drastically increased with the arrival of weaponry from the War in Afghanistan. The party and its vast network of supporters were targeted by Pakistani security forces as part of the controversial Operation Clean-up in 1992an effort to restore peace in the city that lasted until 1994. Anti-Hindu riots also broke out in Karachi in 1992 in retaliation for the demolition of the Babri Mosque in India by a group of Hindu nationalists earlier that year.

In 1996, two (02) more districts created in the Karachi Division named Central and Malir districts.

The 2010s saw another influx of hundreds of thousands of Pashtun refugees fleeing conflict in North-West Pakistan and the 2010 Pakistan floods.

In 2022 at least one million flood affectees from Sindh and Balochistan took refuge in Karachi.

A major fire broke out on 18 January 2026 at Gul Plaza, a large shopping mall in Karachi, Pakistan, killing at least 21 people and leaving more than 60 missing. The blaze, one of the city’s largest in over a decade, spread through the multi-story complex containing around 1,200 shops and burned for more than 24 hours before being mostly extinguished. Rescue teams later recovered bodies from the site while cranes demolished remaining structures amid collapse concerns. The fire caused widespread damage, with many shop owners losing years of investment and livelihoods.

Geography

thumb|right|280px|Karachi (left) in comparison to the [[Indus River Delta]]

Karachi is located on the coastline of Sindh province in southern Pakistan, along the Karachi Harbour, a natural harbour on the Arabian Sea. Karachi is built on a coastal plain with scattered rocky outcroppings, hills and marshlands. Mangrove forests grow in the brackish waters around the Karachi Harbour (see: Chinna Creek), and farther southeast towards the expansive Indus River Delta. West of Karachi city is the Cape Monze, locally known as Ras Muari, which is an area characterised by sea cliffs, rocky sandstone promontories and beaches.

Karachi lies very close to a major fault line, where the Indian tectonic plate meets the Arabian tectonic plate. However, Karachi lies near the western edge of the Indian Plate, on the Indo Gangetic Plain. Within the city of Karachi are two small ranges: the Khasa Hills and Mulri Hills, which lie in the northwest and act as a barrier between North Nazimabad and Orangi. Karachi's hills are barren and are part of the larger Kirthar Range, and have a maximum elevation of .

Between the hills are wide coastal plains interspersed with dry river beds and water channels. Karachi has developed around the Malir River and Lyari Rivers, with the Lyari shore being the site of the settlement for Kolachi. To the east of Karachi lies the Indus River flood plains.

Climate

thumb|upright=1.15|The [[Arabian Sea influences Karachi's climate, providing the city with more moderate temperatures compared to other areas of Sindh province.]]

Karachi has a tropical semi arid climate (Köppen: BSh), formerly a desert climate, dominated by a long "Summer Season" while moderated by oceanic influence from the Arabian Sea. The city has annual average precipitation levels (approx. per annum), the bulk of which occurs during the late June–September monsoon season. Summers are hot and humid, and Karachi is prone to deadly heatwaves. Over the past 20 years, rainfall has become more abundant. Tropical storms and thunderstorms, as well as flooding are becoming more common, especially during the summer monsoon. On the other hand, cool sea breezes typically provide relief during hot summer months. A text message-based early warning system alerts people to take precautionary measures and helps prevent fatalities during an unusually strong heatwave or thunderstorm. The winter climate is dry and lasts between December and February. It is dry and pleasant in winter relative to the warm hot season that follows, which starts in March and lasts until October. Proximity to the sea maintains humidity levels at near-constant levels year-round. Thus, the climate is similar to a humid tropical climate, except for the low precipitation and occasional temperatures well over 100 F (38 C) due to the influence of the Thar Desert nearby, close to the border with India.

The city's highest annual rainfall was about 750–850 mm, recorded in the late 1970s. The city's highest monthly rainfall, , occurred in July 1967. The city's highest rainfall in 24 hours occurred on 7August 1953, when about of rain lashed the city, resulting in major flooding.

Karachi's highest recorded temperature is which was recorded on 22 and 23 April 2017, and the lowest is recorded on 21 January 1934. Deutscher Wetterdienst (humidity, 1966–1990)

|source 2 =Weather Atlas, and Karachi Extremes (1931–2018)

Cityscape

The city first developed around the Karachi Harbour, and owes much of its growth to its role as a seaport at the end of the 18th century, contrasted with Pakistan's millennia-old cities such as Lahore, Multan, and Peshawar. Karachi's Mithadar neighbourhood represents the extent of Kolachi prior to British rule.

British Karachi was divided between the "New Town" and the "Old Town", with British investments focused primarily on the New Town. The Old Town was a largely unplanned neighbourhood which housed most of the city's indigenous residents and had no access to sewerage systems, electricity, and water.

Situated on a coastal plain northwest of Karachi's historic core lies the sprawling district of Orangi. North of the historic core is the largely middle-class district of Nazimabad, and upper-middle-class North Nazimabad, which were developed in the 1950s. To the east of the historic core is the area known as Defence, an expansive upscale suburb developed and administered by the Pakistan Army. Karachi's coastal plains along the Arabian Sea south of Clifton were also developed much later as part of the greater Defence Housing Authority project.

Karachi's city limits also include several islands, including Baba and Bhit Islands, Oyster Rocks, and Manora, a former island which is now connected to the mainland by a thin 12-kilometre long shoal known as Sandspit. 35% of Karachi's residents live in unplanned communities. Since Pakistan's independence, Karachi has been the centre of the nation's economy, and remain's Pakistan's largest urban economy despite the economic stagnation caused by sociopolitical unrest during the late 1980s and 1990s. The city forms the centre of an economic corridor stretching from Karachi to nearby Hyderabad, and Thatta.

, Karachi had an estimated GDP (PPP) of $190 billion with a yearly growth rate of 5.5%. and accounts for approximately 25% of the total GDP of Pakistan. The informal economy may constitute up to 36% of Pakistan's total economy, versus 22% of India's economy, and 13% of the Chinese economy. The informal sector employs up to 70% of the city's workforce. In 2018 The Global Metro Monitor Report ranked Karachi's economy as the best performing metropolitan economy in Pakistan.

thumb|[[I. I. Chundrigar Road is considered to be the "downtown" of karachi]]

thumb|Under construction high rises in DHA Karachi

Today along with Pakistan's continued economic expansion Karachi is now ranked third in the world for consumer expenditure growth with its market anticipated to increase by 6.6% in real terms in 2018 It is also ranked among the top cities in the world by an anticipated increase of a number of households (1.3 million households) with annual income above $20,000 measured at PPP exchange rates by 2025. The Global FDI Intelligence Report 2017/2018 published by Financial Times ranks Karachi amongst the top 10 Asia pacific cities of the future for FDI strategy. According to Anatol Lieven the economic growth of Karachi is a result of the influx of Muhajirs to Karachi during late 1940s and early 50s.

Finance and banking

Most of Pakistan's public and private banks are headquartered on Karachi's I. I. Chundrigar Road, which is known as "Pakistan's Wall Street",

Media and technology

Karachi has been the pioneer in cable networking in Pakistan with the most sophisticated of the cable networks of any city of Pakistan,

and has seen an expansion of information and communications technology and electronic media. The city has become a software outsourcing hub for Pakistan. Several independent television and radio stations are based in Karachi, including Business Plus, , Geo TV, KTN, Sindh TV, CNBC Pakistan, TV ONE, Express TV, ARY Digital, Indus Television Network, Samaa TV, Abb Takk News, Bol TV, and Dawn News, as well as several local stations.

Industry

Industry contributes a large portion of Karachi's economy, with the city home to several of Pakistan's largest companies dealing in textiles, cement, steel, heavy machinery, chemicals, and food products. The city is home to approximately 30 percent of Pakistan's manufacturing sector, At least 4500 industrial units form Karachi's formal industrial economy. Karachi's informal manufacturing sector employs far more people than the formal sector, though proxy data suggest that the capital employed and value-added from such informal enterprises is far smaller than that of formal sector enterprises. An estimated 63% of the Karachi's workforce is employed in trade and manufacturing. The Karachi Expo Centre also complements Karachi's industrial economy by hosting regional and international exhibitions.

{|class="wikitable sortable"

! Name of estate !! Location !! Established !! Area in acres

|SITE Karachi ||SITE Town ||1947 ||4700

|Korangi Industrial Area ||Korangi Town ||1960 ||8500

|Landhi Industrial Area ||Landhi Town ||1949 ||11000

|North Karachi Industrial Area ||New Karachi Town ||1974 ||725

|Federal B Industrial Area ||Gulberg Town ||1987 ||

|Korangi Creek Industrial Park ||Korangi Creek Cantonment ||2012||250

|Bin Qasim Industrial Zone ||Bin Qasim ||1970 ||25000

|Karachi Export Processing Zone ||Landhi Town ||1980 ||315

|Pakistan Textile City ||Bin Qasim ||2004 ||1250

|West Wharf Industrial Area ||Keamari Town ||||430

|SITE Super Highway Phase-I ||Super Highway ||1983 ||300

Revenue collection

thumb|The former State Bank of Pakistan building was built during the colonial era.

As home to Pakistan's largest ports and a large portion of its manufacturing base, Karachi contributes a large share of Pakistan's collected tax revenue. As most of Pakistan's large multinational corporations are based in Karachi, income taxes are paid in the city even though income may be generated from other parts of the country. As home to the country's two largest ports, Pakistani customs officials collect the bulk of federal duty and tariffs at Karachi's ports, even if those imports are destined for one of Pakistan's other provinces. Approximately 25% of Pakistan's national revenue is generated in Karachi. Karachi accounts for 75.14% of customs duty and 79% of sales tax on imports,

Demographics

thumb|Bahadurabad Area has a high population density.

Karachi has an overall plurality of Urdu-speaking Muhajirs, followed by Pashtuns as the second largest group, while Sindhis are the third largest, followed by Punjabis with over a million people each respectively. Along with other large communities of Balochs, Saraikis, and Hindkowans, there are also smaller communities of Brahuis, Kashmiris, Shina, Balti, Gujaratis, Memons, Bohras, Kutchi, Kalasha, and many more coexisting. It is the most linguistically, ethnically, and religiously diverse city in Pakistan. As per the 2023 census, the linguistic breakdown of Karachi Division is:

{| class="wikitable"

!Language

!Speakers (2023)

!Speakers (2017)

!Speakers (1998)

!Speakers (1981)

!Speakers (1972)

!Speakers (1961)

!Speakers (1951)

!Urdu

|10,315,905 (50.67%)

|6,779,142 (42.30%)

|4,497,747 (48.52%)

|2,830,098 (54.34%)

!Pashto

|2,752,148 (13.52%)

|2,406,011 (15.01%)

|1,058,650 (11.42%)

|453,628 (8.71%)

!Sindhi

|2,264,189 (11.12%)

|1,709,877 (10.67%)

|669,340 (7.22%)

|327,591 (6.29%)

!Punjabi

|1,645,282 (8.08%)

|1,719,636 (10.73%)

|1,292,335 (13.94%)

|710,389 (13.64%)

!Balochi

|808,352 (3.97%)

|648,964 (4.04%)

|402,386 (4.34%)

|228,636 (4.39%)

!Saraiki

|753,903 (3.70%)

|798,031 (4.98%)

|195,681 (2.11%)

|18,228 (0.35%)

!Others

|1,817,695 (8.94%)

|1,963,233 (12.25%)

|1,153,126 (12.44%)

|639,560 (12.27%)

!All

|20,357,474 (100%)

|16,024,894 (100%)

|9,269,265 (100%)

|5,208,132 (100%)

The category of "others" includes 653,727 Hindko speakers, 75,993 Brahui speakers, 50,982 Kashmiri speakers, 30,375 Mewati speakers, 26,906 Balti speakers, 14,073 Kohistani speakers, 21,860 Shina speakers, 614 Kalasha speakers, and 943,165 speakers of other languages such as Kutchi,Gujarati, Memoni, Burushaski, Marwari, Dari, Makrani, Khowar, Hazaragi, Bengali, Konkani and others.

Population

At the end of the 19th century, Karachi had an estimated population of 105,000. By the dawn of Pakistan's independence in 1947, the city had an estimated population of 400,000. Rapid economic growth following independence attracted further migrants from throughout Pakistan and South Asia. Karachi's population grew by 59.8% since the 1998 census to 14.9 million, while Lahore city grew 75.3% which would require an annual growth rate accelerating to between 4.6% and 6.33%. † Large population rise between 1941 and 1951 due to large-scale migration after independence in 1947.

Political parties in the province have suggested the city's population has been underestimated in a deliberate attempt to undermine the political power of the city and province. while the Sindh Bureau of Statistics, part of by the PPP-led provincial administration, estimated Karachi's 2016 population to be 19.1 million.

District population density per km2

According to 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.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: right;"

!|Rank

!|District

!|Population (2023 census)

!|Population (2017 census)

!|Area (Sq. km.)

!|Density (2023)

!|Density (2017)

|style="text-align: left;"| 1

! East

|3,921,742

|2,875,315

|139

|28,213.97

|20,685.72

|style="text-align: left;"| 2

! Central

|3,822,325

|2,971,382

|69

|55,396.01

|43,063.51

|style="text-align: left;"| 3

! Korangi

|3,128,971

|2,577,556

|108

|28,971.95

|23,866.26

|style="text-align: left;"| 4

! West

|2,679,380

|2,077,228

|370

|7,241.57

|5,614.13

|style="text-align: left;"| 5

! Malir

|2,432,248

|1,924,364

|2,160

|1,126.04

|890.90

|style="text-align: left;"| 6

! South

|2,329,764

|1,769,230

|122

|19,096.43

|14,501.89

|style="text-align: left;"| 7

! Kemari

|2,068,451

|1,829,837

|559

|3,700.27

|3,273.41

|style="text-align: left;"|

! All

|20,357,474

|16,024,894

|3,527

|5,771.90

|4,543.49

Ethnicity

The oldest portions of modern Karachi reflect the ethnic composition of the first settlement, with Sindhis and Balochis continuing to make up a large portion of the Lyari neighbourhood, though many of the residents are relatively recent migrants. Following Partition, large numbers of Hindus left Pakistan for the newly independent Dominion of India (later the Republic of India), while a larger percentage of Muslim migrant and refugees from India settled in Karachi. The city grew 150% during the ten-year period between 1941 and 1951 with the new arrivals from India, who made up 57% of Karachi's population in 1951. The city is now considered a melting pot of Pakistan and is the country's most diverse city.

thumb|Karachi is home to large numbers of descendants of refugees and migrants from [[Hyderabad, in southern India, who built a small replica of Hyderabad's famous Charminar monument in Karachi's Bahadurabad area.]]

Much of Karachi's citizenry descend from Urdu-speaking migrants and refugees from North India who became known by the Arabic term for "Migrant": Muhajir. The first Muhajirs of Karachi arrived in 1946 in the aftermath of the Direct Action Day and subsequent 1946 Bihar riots. The city's wealthy Hindus opposed the resettlement of refugees near their homes, and so many refugees were accommodated in the older and more congested parts of Karachi. The city witnessed a large influx of Muhajirs following partition, who were drawn to the port city and newly designated federal capital for its white-collar job opportunities. Muhajirs continued to migrate to Pakistan throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, with Karachi remaining the primary destination of Indian Muslim migrants throughout those decades.

Karachi is home to a wide array of non-Urdu speaking Muslim peoples from what is now the Republic of India. The city has a sizable community of Gujarati, Marathi, Konkani-speaking refugees. These ethno-linguistic groups are being assimilated in the Urdu-speaking community.

During the period of rapid economic growth in the 1960s, large numbers Pashtuns from the NWFP migrated to Karachi with Afghan Pashtun refugees settling in Karachi during the 80's., Pashtuns from Afghanistan are regarded as the most conservative community. Large scale Rohingya migration to Karachi made Karachi one of the largest population centres of Rohingyas in the world outside of Myanmar.

Central Asian migrants from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have also settled in the city. Domestic workers from the Philippines are employed in Karachi's posh locales, while many of the city's teachers hail from Sri Lanka. Chinese also reached Karachi after 2015 in large number due to the CPEC project. The city is also home to a small number of British and American expatriates.

During World War II, about 3,000 Polish refugees from the Soviet Union, with some Polish families who chose to remain in the city after Partition. Post-Partition Karachi also once had a sizable refugee community from post-revolutionary Iran.

|titlebar=#ddd

|left1=Religions

|right1=Percent

|float=right

|bars=

thumb|With a capacity of 800,000 worshippers, [[Grand Jamia Mosque, Karachi|Grand Jamia Mosque is the largest mosque in Pakistan and 3rd largest in the world.]]

alt=|thumb|[[Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Karachi|St. Patrick's Cathedral, built-in 1881, serves as the seat of the Archdiocese of Karachi.]]

alt=|thumb|upright|The [[Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Karachi|Swaminarayan Temple is the largest Hindu temple in Karachi.]]

Karachi is a religiously homogeneous city with more than 96 per cent of its population adhering to Islam. Karachiites adhere to numerous sects and sub-sects of Islam, as well as Protestant Christianity, and community of Goan Catholics. The city also is home to large numbers of Hindus, and a small community of Zoroastrians and Parsi's. According to Nichola Khan Karachi is also the world's largest Muslim city. 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. Following the independence of Pakistan, the vast majority of Karachi's Sindhi Hindu population left for India while Muslim refugees from India, in turn, settled in the city. This mass migration dramatically changed the religious demographics of the city.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Religious groups in Karachi City (1872–2023)