The Districts of Pakistan ( ur, ); are the third-order
administrative divisions of Pakistan
The administrative units of Pakistan comprise four provinces, one federal territory, and two disputed territories: the provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan; the Islamabad Capital Territory; and the administr ...
, below
provinces and
divisions, but forming the first-tier of
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...
. In total, there are 169 districts in Pakistan including the
Capital Territory and the
districts of Azad Kashmir and
Gilgit Baltistan. These districts are further divided into ''
Tehsils
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administ ...
,
Union Councils''.
History
In 1947, when Pakistan gained independence there were 124 districts. In 1969, 2 new districts (Tangail and Patuakhali) in
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wit ...
were formed totalling to 126. After the
Independence of Bangladesh, Pakistan lost 20 of its districts and so there were 106 districts. In 2001, the number was reduced to 102 by the merger of the 5 districts of Karachi Central, Karachi East, Karachi South, Karachi West and Malir to form
Karachi District. The number of districts rose to 106 again in December 2004, when four new districts were created in the province of Sindh of which one (Umerkot) had existed until 2000 and three districts (Kashmore, Qambar and Jamshoro) were newly created.
The new districts were carved out of Mirpur Khas, Jacobabad, Larkana and Dadu Districts respectively. In May 2005, the
Punjab provincial government created a new district by raising the status of
Nankana Sahib from a
tehsil
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its adminis ...
of
Sheikhupura District
Sheikhupura District ( pa, ;
ur, ), is a district located in Lahore Division of Punjab Province, Pakistan. Sheikhupura is the headquarters of Sheikhupura district. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the district had a population of ...
to a district in its own right.
On 11 July 2011, the Sindh Government restored again the districts of Karachi South, Karachi East, Malir, Karachi West and Karachi Central, then later in 2013, the district of Korangi was carved out of Karachi East District. In
Azad Jammu and Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee:
*
*
* and constituting the western portion of the larger ...
, a second-tier of government was formed from three administrative divisions into ten districts. In
Gilgit–Baltistan, there are ten districts divided between the two regions of
Gilgit
Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a ...
and
Baltistan. In 2018,
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) was merged with
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...
province and FATA agencies were converted into districts.
Chagai is the largest district of Pakistan by area while
Lahore District is the largest by population with a total population of 11,126,285 at the 2017 census.
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of th ...
is the largest district of Balochistan by population with a total population of 2,275,699 at the 2017 census.
Bahawalpur is the largest district of Punjab by area.
Chitral
Chitral ( khw, , lit=field, translit=ćhitrār; ur, , translit=ćitrāl) is situated on the Chitral River in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Chitral District and before that as the capital of Chitral ...
is the largest by area and
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
is the largest by population from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the population of 4,269,079 at the Census 2017. Sindh's largest district by area is
Tharparkar and by population its Karachi West with a population of 3,914,757 at the 2017 Census. The combined population of the six districts of Karachi division is over 16 million at the 2017 census, giving an average population for these six districts of Karachi division of over 2.675 million each.
Neelum and
Kotli are the largest districts of Azad Kashmir by area and population respectively.
Gilgit
Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a ...
is the largest by area and population both for Gilgit-Baltistan.
Administration
Deputy commissioner
A deputy commissioner (popularly abbreviated to "DC") is the executive head of the district. Deputy commissioners are appointed by the government from the
Pakistan Administrative Service.
District council
A district council (or ''zila council'') is a local government body at the district level.
The functions of a district council include construction and maintenance of roads, and bridges, building hospitals and dispensaries, schools and educational institutions, health facilities and sanitation, tube wells for drinking water, rest houses, and coordination of activities of the Union ''councils'' within the district.
Provinces and Territories
Azad Jammu and Kashmir
Balochistan
Gilgit Baltistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Note: Recently merged 7 agencies and
Frontier Regions of
FATA in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa included in the list. Population and area of Frontier Regions is merged in respective districts.
Punjab
Sindh
See also
*
Administrative units of Pakistan
The administrative units of Pakistan comprise four provinces, one federal territory, and two disputed territories: the provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan; the Islamabad Capital Territory; and the administr ...
*
City Districts of Pakistan City Districts of Pakistan are districts in Pakistan that consists primarily of an urban area, such as a mega city or large metropolitan area. While there are 150 total districts in Pakistan, only 8 had been designated as "city districts" in 2001. C ...
*
List of Pakistani Districts by Human Development Index
Notes
All the figures require being re-checked. Data entry error has occurred in Sindh Province.
References
Further reading
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External links
* from the Population Census Organization (Government of Pakistan)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Districts Of Pakistan
Districts
Districts, Pakistan