59% Pakistanis choose to identify themselves as Muslims first: Gallup survey

Islamabad, April 29, 2011 (PPI): A significant majority of Pakistanis (59%) choose to identify themselves as Muslims first. A little less than a quarter of the population (22%) considers being Pakistani as its primary identity while 10% put their provincial identity first and 7% choose to identify themselves as human beings first, showed the result of a survey conducted by Gallup Pakistan.

In the survey, a nationally representative sample of men and women from across the country were asked the following question, "Different people choose to identify themselves differently. Which identity do you identify yourself with first and foremost?" As many as fifty nine percent (59%) of the respondents said they consider themselves to be Muslims first followed by 22% who said they are Pakistanis first and foremost. As for the remaining, 10% put their provincial identity (Punjabis, Sindhi, Pathan, Balochi, Muhajir etc) first while 7% consider themselves human beings first. 2% did not respond.

Interestingly, results reveal that a greater percentage of respondents belonging to lower income categories and the young age group identify themselves primarily as Muslims as compared to those belonging to higher income categories and older age groups. On the other hand, the percentage of respondents identifying themselves primarily as 'Pakistanis' increases slightly as we go from lower income to higher income categories and from younger to older age groups.

The study was released by Gilani foundation and carried out by Gallup Pakistan, the Pakistani affiliate of Gallup International. The recent survey was carried out among a sample of 2774 men and women in rural and urban areas of all four provinces of the country, during April 2011. Error margin is estimated to be approximately + 2-3 per cent at 95% confidence level.