Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area
Islamabad-Rawalpindi Metropolitan Area
اسلام آباد-راولپنڈی میٹروپولیٹن علاقہ | |
|---|---|
Skyline of Islamabad | |
Interactive map of Islamabad-Rawalpindi Metropolitan Area | |
| Coordinates: 33°38′54″N 73°03′59″E / 33.64835585418554°N 73.06637710972826°E | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Region | Punjab |
| Subdivisions | |
| Districts |
|
| Cities | |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,385.5 km2 (534.9 sq mi) |
| Rawalpindi: 479 km2 Islamabad: 906.5 km2 | |
| Population (2023) | |
• Total | 5,721,475 |
| • Density | 4,129.5/km2 (10,695/sq mi) |
| Rawalpindi Metropolitan: 3,357,612 Islamabad Metropolitan: 2,363,863 | |
| Time zone | Pakistan Standard Time |
The Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area, commonly referred to as Islamabad–Rawalpindi or the Twin Cities, is the fourth-largest metropolitan area of Pakistan, after Karachi, Lahore, and Faisalabad. With a population of over 5.7 million, it is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the Punjab region, the largest in northern Punjab, and fourth in the entire country. It consists of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi; administratively within the Islamabad Capital Territory and the province of Punjab.
The area includes the Pothohar Plateau in northern Punjab, with and the colonial-era city of Rawalpindi, as well as the modern planned city of Islamabad. The region received a major boom with the construction of Islamabad as the capital city of Pakistan in the 1960s.