Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad.
In the 1950s, Rawalpindi was smaller than Hyderabad and Multan, but the city's
economy received a boost during the building of Islamabad (1959–1969), during
which time Rawalpindi served as the national capital and its population increased
from 180,000 at the time of independence to over 4.5 million in 2007.
Rawalpindi is in the northernmost part of the Punjab province, 275 km
(171 mi) to the north-west of Lahore. It is the administrative seat of the
Rawalpindi District. The total area of the city is approximately 108.8
