# Iran and Pakistan compared Iran and Pakistan side by side: 43 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 1 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/irn-vs-pak Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Iran: 550 BCE — Cyrus the Great founds the Achaemenid Empire - Pakistan: 14 August 1947 — The Dominion of Pakistan emerges from the partition of British India ## Economy | Metric | Iran | Observed | Pakistan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $475 B | 2024 | $372 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $5,190 | 2024 | $1,479 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 3.7% | 2024 | 3.0% | 2024 | | Inflation | 32.5% | 2024 | 12.6% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 52.1% | 2024 | 27.6% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Iran | Observed | Pakistan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 92 m | 2024 | 251 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 77.9 yrs | 2024 | 67.8 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 77.0% | 2024 | 39.2% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 1.7 | 2024 | 3.5 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Iran | Observed | Pakistan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 29.7 | 2024 | 36.4 | 2024 | | Political stability | 38.9 | 2024 | 30.6 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 37.6 | 2024 | 39.7 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 31.0 | 2024 | 42.4 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 35.7 | 2024 | 39.5 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 24.6 | 2024 | 26.3 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Iran | Observed | Pakistan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 6.0% | 2023 | 2.5% | 2023 | | Physicians | 1.81 | 2023 | 1.16 | 2021 | | Under-5 mortality | 11.3 | 2024 | 56.0 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 99.0% | 2024 | 86.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 94.4% | 2024 | 45.0% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Iran | Observed | Pakistan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 88.9% | 2023 | 58.9% | 2021 | | Education spending | 2.8% | 2023 | 1.9% | 2023 | | Primary enrolment | 102.0% | 2023 | 83.7% | 2024 | | Secondary enrolment | 85.1% | 2023 | 48.3% | 2024 | | Tertiary enrolment | 58.7% | 2022 | 10.9% | 2024 | ## Technology | Metric | Iran | Observed | Pakistan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 0.7% | 2021 | 0.2% | 2023 | | Researchers (per million) | 2,240 | 2021 | 474 | 2023 | | Internet users | 85.3% | 2024 | 57.3% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 174 | 2024 | 77 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 0.8% | 2022 | 2.4% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Iran | Observed | Pakistan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 1,622,500 km² | 2023 | 770,880 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 6.6% | 2023 | 4.7% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 29.0% | 2023 | 46.7% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 9.1 | 2024 | 0.8 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 0.9% | 2021 | 41.6% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Iran | Observed | Pakistan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 30.4% | 2021 | 1.4% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 18.3% | 2021 | 0.4% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 3.4% | 2021 | 0.1% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.1% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 95.6% | 2023 | | Iron ore | 93 Mt | 2025 | — | — | ## Military | Metric | Iran | Observed | Pakistan | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 2.0% | 2024 | 2.7% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $7.9 B | 2024 | $10 B | 2024 | | Armed forces | 650,000 | 2020 | 943,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/IRN.md and https://terralore.co/country/PAK.md. ## Entangled histories (1 event) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - c. 518 BCE: **Achaemenid Persia annexes the Indus lands** — The Persian empire incorporates the Indus region as among its wealthiest provinces, bringing centralised administration and Aramaic writing to the area. (from the Pakistan chronicle; sources: Pakistan: A Country Study; Taxila) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/IRN/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/PAK/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Iran and Pakistan compared", terralore.co/compare/irn-vs-pak, retrieved .