The British Raj came to an abrupt end 67 years ago today, setting off the bloody and traumatic partition period that eventually gave birth to India and Pakistan. While linked—essentially the countries are twins, born at the nearly the same moment in August 1947—Pakistan and India have had a contentious history of military confrontation as their economic and political structures developed along starkly divergent paths.
Here are a few quick snapshots comparing the countries across a few key indicators.
Most measures suggest India has pulled ahead in economic growth
And India has made strides in health outcomes …
And gained back considerable ground in life expectancy
Population growth has slowed for both, but more for India
Pakistan’s defense spending, which was 7% of GDP in the late 1980s, has fallen…
…but a raging domestic terrorism problem is taking a greater toll on its military
And perhaps surprisingly, the countries are neck-and-neck in terms of mobile connections
