Level 1
Economic Geography MCQs set 3 for PPSC Zilladar (Revenue) Geography — 20 solved questions.
Q1. Canada is a major world supplier of which forest product group linked to newsprint and timber construction?
Answer: Softwood lumber and pulp
Explanation: Canada is one of the world's leading producers and exporters of softwood lumber and wood pulp, derived from its vast boreal forests of spruce, pine, and fir. These products underpin the newsprint, construction timber, and paper industries, with exports flowing predominantly to the United States and Asia.
Q2. Norway�s sovereign wealth fund is famous because state revenue is tied mainly to which offshore sector?
Answer: North Sea oil and gas
Explanation: Norway's Government Pension Fund Global (commonly called the oil fund) is financed primarily by revenues from North Sea oil and gas extraction, including taxes, dividends, and licensing fees from the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Established in 1990, it has grown to become the world's largest sovereign wealth fund.
Q3. If a shipper moves Australian wheat to West Asia which ocean basin usually carries the long-haul leg?
Answer: Indian Ocean
Explanation: Australian wheat destined for West Asian (Middle Eastern) markets crosses the Indian Ocean, the primary ocean basin lying between Australia's western coast and the Arabian Peninsula and Red Sea ports. This is one of the major commodity shipping lanes in the world, carrying grain, iron ore, and LNG from Australia to Asian buyers.
Q4. Indus river discharge is highest in summer mainly because of melt from which high mountain source region?
Answer: Karakoram and western Himalaya snow and ice
Explanation: The Indus River system reaches its peak discharge in summer (June-September) primarily due to snowmelt and glacial melt from the Karakoram and western Himalayan ranges, augmented by monsoon rainfall at lower elevations. This glacial contribution makes the Indus unusual among the world's major rivers and crucial for Pakistan's irrigation-dependent agriculture during the dry Kharif season.
Q5. The Ghulam Muhammad Barrage at Kotri mainly serves canal irrigation in which lower Indus province?
Answer: Sindh
Explanation: The Ghulam Muhammad (Kotri) Barrage, commissioned in 1955 near Kotri in Sindh, diverts Indus water into a network of canals irrigating the lower Indus plain of Sindh province. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the Northern Areas are served by different barrages and irrigation systems upstream.
Q6. The Strait of Hormuz rims deserts facing the Persian Gulf yet supports vast date groves inland. Irrigation there commonly raises soil problems similar to Sind’s canals because salts concentrate unless what is managed carefully?
Answer: Drainage and irrigation water quality and timing
Explanation: In arid irrigated lands like those bordering the Persian Gulf or in Sindh, the primary cause of soil salinisation is the accumulation of salts when irrigation water evaporates, leaving dissolved minerals behind in the rooting zone; careful management of drainage systems and water quality prevents salt build-up from.
Q7. Which province of Pakistan is the largest producer of wheat?
Answer: Punjab
Explanation: Punjab produces approximately 75-80% of Pakistan's total wheat output, benefiting from the flat fertile Indus plains, extensive canal irrigation, and a well-developed agricultural research and extension system. The province's dominance in wheat makes it the breadbasket of Pakistan.
Q8. Which district of Pakistan is home to the Khewra Salt Mine, the world's second-largest salt mine?
Answer: Jhelum
Explanation: The Khewra Salt Mine, the world's second-largest salt mine, is located at Khewra in Jhelum district of Punjab, where it has been mined since at least the 1200s. It sits at the foothills of the Salt Range and produces millions of tonnes of rock salt annually.
Q9. Which province of Pakistan is the largest producer of natural gas?
Answer: Balochistan
Explanation: Balochistan is Pakistan's largest producer of natural gas, primarily through the Sui Gas Field in Dera Bugti - the country's largest and most historically productive gas reservoir. The province supplies a substantial share of the natural gas distributed through Pakistan's national grid.
Q10. The Reko Diq project in Balochistan is primarily associated with the extraction of which minerals?
Answer: Gold and copper
Explanation: Reko Diq in Chagai district of Balochistan contains one of the world's largest undeveloped porphyry copper-gold ore deposits, with estimated reserves of billions of tonnes of ore carrying significant concentrations of both copper and gold. The project has been developed in partnership with international mining companies and is central to Pakistan's long-term mineral export strategy.
Q11. Which crop is commonly called the "white gold" of Pakistan due to its economic importance?
Answer: Cotton
Explanation: Cotton is called "white gold" in Pakistan because of its critical economic importance as the primary raw material for the textile sector, which accounts for the majority of Pakistan's export earnings. The white colour of the raw cotton bolls and its historically high value per kilogram relative to food crops gave rise to this nickname.
Q12. Which province of Pakistan is the leading producer of tobacco?
Answer: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Explanation: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is Pakistan's leading tobacco-producing province, particularly the Swabi, Mardan, and Charsadda districts where Virginia flue-cured tobacco has been cultivated for decades. The province's specific soil types and climatic conditions in the Peshawar Valley are well-suited to tobacco cultivation, and the crop has been a significant cash crop for KP farmers historically.
Q13. The Thar Coal Field, one of the world's largest lignite deposits, is located in which district of Sindh?
Answer: Tharparkar
Explanation: The Thar Coal Field is located in Tharparkar District in the southeastern corner of Sindh, and with estimated reserves of over 175 billion tonnes of lignite it ranks among the largest coal deposits in the world. The coal lies at depths of 130-200 metres beneath the Thar Desert.
Q14. Which country is Pakistan's largest trading partner and source of foreign investment?
Answer: China
Explanation: China is Pakistan's largest trading partner and the single largest source of foreign direct investment, primarily through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which has channelled tens of billions of dollars into infrastructure, energy, and industrial projects. This relationship has deepened significantly since CPEC's launch in 2013.
Q15. Which port of Pakistan was developed as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)?
Answer: Gwadar Port
Explanation: Gwadar Port in Balochistan is the flagship project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), developed with Chinese investment to create a deep-sea port providing China with access to the Arabian Sea and reducing its dependence on the Strait of Malacca. It is intended to serve as a regional trade and energy transit hub.
Q16. Pakistan's largest single export commodity category by value is:
Answer: Textile and apparel
Explanation: Textiles and apparel consistently account for approximately 60% of Pakistan's total export earnings, making it by far the dominant export category and the backbone of the industrial economy. Pakistan is one of the world's leading producers of cotton, which feeds a large integrated textile sector producing yarn, fabric, garments, and home textiles for global markets.
Q17. Which district of Balochistan is known as the chromite capital of Pakistan due to its vast chromite reserves?
Answer: Muslimbagh (Khanozai)
Explanation: Muslimbagh (also known as Khanozai) in Zhob district of Balochistan is Pakistan's chromite capital, sitting atop some of the largest chromite deposits in Asia. Chromite, the primary ore of chromium, is essential for producing stainless steel and other alloys, and Muslimbagh's reserves have been commercially exploited for decades.
Q18. Which city of Pakistan is known as the "City of Sports Goods" due to its dominance in the global sports goods industry?
Answer: Sialkot
Explanation: Sialkot, in northeastern Punjab, produces an estimated 70-80% of the world's hand-stitched footballs and is home to hundreds of sporting goods manufacturers, giving it the title "City of Sports Goods." The city also dominates global production of surgical instruments and is a major exporter of leather goods.
Q19. Which province is the primary producer of sugarcane in Pakistan?
Answer: Punjab
Explanation: Punjab is Pakistan's largest sugarcane-producing province, with the bulk of cultivation concentrated in districts like Faisalabad, Sahiwal, and Dera Ghazi Khan. The province accounts for the majority of Pakistan's sugarcane output, which feeds the country's extensive sugar milling industry.
Q20. What is the approximate estimated coal reserve in the Thar Coal Field, making it one of the largest in the world?
Answer: 175 billion tonnes
Explanation: The Thar Coalfield in Tharparkar district of Sindh is estimated to contain approximately 175 billion tonnes of lignite coal, making it one of the largest coal reserves in the world. The deposit lies at depths of 150-200 metres and is being developed through underground coal gasification and open-cast mining methods for power generation.