page_title: Indus River Delta
section_title: Population
hierarchical_section_title: Indus River Delta / Population
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Karachi vu de l'espace. English: Karachi from space
context_page_description: The Indus River Delta, forms where the Indus River flows into the Arabian Sea, mostly in the southern Sindh province of Pakistan with a small portion in the Kutch Region of the western tip of India. The delta covers an area of about 41,440 km², and is approximately 210 km across where it meets the sea. The active part of the delta is 6,000 km² in area. The climate is arid, the region only receives between 25 and 50 centimetres of rainfall in a normal year. The delta is home to the largest arid mangrove forests in the world, as well as many birds, fish and the Indus dolphin.
  Since the 1940s, the delta has received less water as a result of large-scale irrigation works capturing large amounts of the Indus water before it reaches the delta. The result has been catastrophic for both the environment and the local population. As a result, the 2010 Pakistan floods were considered "good news" for the ecosystem and population of the river delta as they brought much needed fresh water.
  The population of the active part of the delta was estimated at 900,000 in 2003. Most of the population depends on agriculture and fishing. Mangrove forests provide fuel wood.
context_section_description: The population of the delta was estimated at 900,000 in 2003 (the total population of Indus River Delta-Arabian Sea mangroves was 1.2 million). Within the river delta, about 140,0
  16% of the population) depended on the mangrove forests for their livelihood, and 60% depended on the forests for fuels. At least 75% of the population in the active delta depend on the fishing industry. The population suffers from the lack of health facilities and medical staff. Only about a third of the population has access to clean drinking water.
  Ethnic groups of lower Sindh can be found in the delta region: Mallaah, Mohano, Soomro, Samma and Jat. All of these groups speak Sindhi and follow Islam.
  The delta falls within the districts of Thatta and Badin of the Sindh province. Pakistan's fifth largest city, Hyderabad, lies about 130 miles north of the mouths of the Indus. Towns are found throughout the delta, but there are no large cities on the delta south of Hyderabad. Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, lies west of the delta on the coast of the Arabian Sea.
  The 2010 floods displaced nearly 1 million people in southern Sindh, including those living in the delta. In spite of this displacement and other destruction caused in the rest of Pakistan, however, many people in the delta considered the floods as "good news". Villagers reported abundance of fresh water for drinking and agriculture. Fishermen reported increase in catches.
caption: Karachi (centred in the image) is located along the western edge of the Indus River Delta (bottom-right).
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