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The city credits its growth to the mixed populations of economic and political migrants
and refugees from different national, provincial, linguistic and religious origins
who have largely come to settle here permanently. Its population is dominated by
the Urdu Speaking Majority called "Muhajirs" or the post independence (after 1947)
migrators from India. It is locally termed as the "City of Lights” for its liveliness
and the "City of the Quaid" having been the birth and burial place of Quaid-e-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, as well as his home after 1947.
Economy
Karachi is the financial and commercial capital of Pakistan; it accounts
for a lion's share of Pakistan's revenue generation. It generates over 65% of the
total national revenue (federal and provincial taxes, customs and surcharges), although
a larger part of this amount account for as indirect tax contribution. Karachi produces
about 42 percent of value added in large scale manufacturing and 25% of the GDP
of Pakistan. In February 2007, the World Bank identified Karachi as the most business-friendly
city in Pakistan
Education
Karachi has well known educational institutes of international standards.
Most universities of Karachi are considered to be amongst the premier educational
institutions of Pakistan. For 2004-05, the city's literacy rate was estimated at
65.26%, with a GER of 111%: The University of Karachi, simply referred as KU, is
the largest university in Pakistan having one of the largest facilities in the world.
Coincidentally it is located beside the NED University, the oldest engineering institute
of Pakistan. Karachi is also host to the Institute of Business Administration (IBA),
founded in 1955 and the oldest business school outside North America. Other notable
universities include Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology, National
University of Science and Technology, Hamdard University, Bahria University, Iqra
University, Preston University, Federal Urdu University, National University of
Modern Languages and many more.
Sports
Cricket is the most popular sport of the city, and is usually played in
many small grounds around the city. Street cricket is played in the narrow by-lanes
of the city. Night time cricket can be seen at weekends when people play brightly
lit night matches on less traversed city streets. The major venue for cricket matches
is the National Stadium but matches are also hosted at the UBL Sports Complex, The
A.O. Cricket Stadium, the KCCA Cricket Ground, the Karachi Gymkhana Field and the
DHA Cricket Stadium. Other popular sports in the city are hockey, boxing, association
football, golf, table tennis, snooker, squash, and horse racing. Sports like badminton,
volleyball and basketball are also popular in schools and colleges.
Transport
The Jinnah International Airport is located in Karachi. It is the largest and busiest
airport of the country. It handles 10 million passengers a year. The airport also
receives the largest number of foreign airlines, a total of 27 airlines fly to Jinnah
International predominantly from the Middle East and Southeast Asia. All of Pakistan's
airlines use Karachi as their primary hub including PIA - Pakistan International
Airlines, Airblue, and Shaheen Air.The city's old airport terminals are now used
for Hajj flights, commercial offices, cargo facilities, and ceremonial visits from
heads of state. US Coalition forces used the old terminals for their logistic supply
operations as well. The city also has two other airstrips used primarily by the
armed forces.
The largest shipping ports in Pakistan are the Port of Karachi and the nearby Port
Qasim. These seaports have modern facilities and not only handle trade for Pakistan,
but also serve as ports for Afghanistan and the land-locked Central Asian countries.
Plans have been announced for new passenger facilities at the Port of Karachi
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