This brief analyses the drivers of Pakistan’s urbanisation, and highlights both the positive and negative implications of the country’s transition to a more urban state. Much of Pakistan’s urbanisation is driven by migration. In past decades, Indian Muslims and Afghans fled to Pakistani cities to escape war back home. Rural Pakistanis are entering cities to escape war, insecurity and natural disasters, and also to seek new livelihoods and better basic services. The large natural increase in Pakistan’s total population also explains the country’s rising urban population.