Karachi is the largest city in Pakistan and is the provincial capital of Sindh province. Located on the coast of the Arabian Sea, north-west of the Indus River Delta, it was the original capital of Pakistan and remains the cultural and economic hub, as well as being the largest seaport of the country.

Its leading economic sectors include finance, business services, transportation, media, television production, publishing, software production, medical research, education and tourism.

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. It is locally termed as the “City of Lights” for its liveliness and the “City of The Quaid”, having been the birth and death place of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, as well as his home after 1947. Residents of Karachi are called “Karachiites”.

Karachi is located in the south of Sindh, on the coast of the Arabian Sea. The city covers an area of approximately 3,530 square kilometers, comprised largely of flat or rolling plains, with hills on the western and northern boundaries of the urban sprawl. Two rivers pass through the city: the River Malir which flows from the east towards the south and centre, and the River Lyari, which flows from north to the south west. The Karachi Harbor is a sheltered bay to the south-west of the city, protected from storms by the Sandspit Beach, the Manora Island and the Oyster Rocks. The Arabian Sea beach lines the southern coastline of Karachi.