Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area

Islamabad-Rawalpindi Metropolitan Area
اسلام آباد-راولپنڈی میٹروپولیٹن علاقہ
Skyline of Islamabad
Coordinates: 33°38′54″N 73°03′59″E / 33.64835585418554°N 73.06637710972826°E / 33.64835585418554; 73.06637710972826
Country Pakistan
Principal citiesIslamabad, Rawalpindi
Area
  Total
1,165.5 km2 (450.0 sq mi)
 Rawalpindi: 259 km2
Islamabad: 906.5 km2
Population
 (2017)
  Total
3,108,063
  Density2,700/km2 (6,900/sq mi)
 Rawalpindi Metropolitan: 2,831,379
Islamabad Metropolitan: 2,003,368
Time zonePakistan Standard Time

The Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area (Urdu:اسلام آباد-راولپنڈی میٹروپولیٹن علاقہ) is the fourth-largest metropolitan area of Pakistan, after Karachi, Lahore, and Faisalabad. It consists of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The area includes the Pothohar Plateau and the colonial 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.