City Profile Lahore has been the capital of the Punjab region for nearly a thousand years.  The city is home to the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) which posted a return of more than 30% over the past year.  The city is home to over 20 nationally accredited degree granting institutions and is serviced by almost 20 ISPs.

Country Rankings Pakistan Ease of Doing Business World Bank '05 60 of 155 High* Corruption Perception Transparency International '05 144 of 159 Low Growth Competitiveness World Economic Forum '05 83 of 117 Low National Literacy 45.7% Low GDP Growth (2004 est.) 6.1% Med

As the capital of the Punjab, Lahore is the province's business center and acts as a conduit for other major manufacturing centers in the province.

Historically, the economy of the Punjab has been overwhelmingly based on agriculture.  Since the mid 1990s attempts have been made to diversify the economy by relocating many industrial units to the province as well as developing indigenous industrial bases.  The provincial investment promotion department has recently been involved in negotiations with a number of delegations from China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and the UK.

The chief minister’s ‘vision 2020’ is targeting a seven to eight percent increase per year in the gross domestic product (GDP) and the promotion of a well-cultured modern society, excellent infrastructure, the development of the market economy and value added agricultural production.

A new Expo Centre in Lahore is currently in the planning stages as well as the Zayed Shopping Centre which is being established in Lahore in collaboration with an Abu Dhabi group. The Punjab, as a whole, is said to have earned US$583 million in revenue through three new cement factories, one power plant and one paper sacking plant in Chakwal by UK-based investors.  In September of this year an international conference with the theme, “Production of CNG Equipment in Pakistan & Globally”, was held to promote CNG as an alternative and environment friendly fuel in Pakistan and to promote locally manufactured CNG equipment. 

An ambitious uplift program begun by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has greatly improved roads and the newly constructed Allama Iqbal International Airport was completed in 2003.  The minister of Information Technology, Mr. Awais Leghari, has recently announced the creation of Pakistan's first technology parks in Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore on 15 acre swaths of land. 

Lahore is the home of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) which, along with the IBA of Karachi, is one of the top business schools in the country.

Source:

Population: 2004 or latest: http://www.citypopulation.de; GDP Data: 2004 CIA Fact Book estimate; Literacy: UN estimate

* Country Ranking Codes: A relative color coding of where the country falls compared to the 20 other Muslim countries represented in this list. Hgh/Green=Top 3rd; Med/Yellow=Mid 3rd; Low/Orange=Bottom rd

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