Visakhapatnam district (formerly known as Vizagapatam district) is one of the six districts in the Uttarandhra region of the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, headquartered at

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...

. It is one of the twenty-six districts in Andhra Pradesh state.The district share broders with in the north and east, Vizianagaram district and South Anakapalli district in the south-west and

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line bet ...

in the south.

History

During the

British rule in India The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

, Visakhapatnam emerged as a district in the year 1802. Chicacole (present-day

Srikakulam Srikakulam is a city and the headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. census,. it has a population of 165,735. There are many other places of Buddhist Tourism such as Salihundam, Kalinga Patnam, Dabbaka Vaa ...

) which was in Visakhapatnam district was incorporated into Ganjam when the latter was formed as a district. On 1 April 1936, Bihar and Orissa Province was split to form

Bihar Province Bihar Province was a province of British India, created in 1936 by the partition of the Bihar and Orissa Province. History In 1756, Bihar was part of Bengal. On 14 October 1803, Orissa was occupied by the British Raj. On 22 March 1912, both Biha ...

and

Orissa Province Orissa Province was a province of British India created in April 1936 by the partitioning of the Bihar and Orissa Province. Its territory corresponds with the modern-day State of Odisha. On 22 March 1912, both Bihar and Orissa divisions were ...

. Parts of the Vizagapatam district (i.e.,

Nabarangpur Nabarangpur is a town, villa city and a municipality in Nabarangapur district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of Nabarangpur district. It helps GMR Group of his Nabarangpur. Geography and Climate Nabarangpur is situat ...

Malkangiri Malkangiri historically known as 'Malikamardhangiri' is a town and a Municipality in Malkangiri district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Malkangiri district. Malkangiri is the new home of the East Pakistani refugee ...

, Koraput,

Jeypore Jeypore is one of the largest towns and a place of historical significance in Koraput district in the Indian state of Odisha. It was established by Vir Vikram Dev in the mid 17th century. The kingdom was defeated by the East India Company i ...

Rayagada Rayagada is a municipality in Rayagada district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of Rayagada district. History The city of Rayagada was founded by King Vishwanath Dev Gajapati (1527-1531 CE) of the Suryava ...

etc.) and the Ganjam district (excluding Chicacole division) of

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

were transferred to

along with portions of the Vizagapatam Hill Tracts Agency and

Ganjam Hill Tracts Agency Ganjam Hill Tracts Agency was an agency in the Ganjam district of the erstwhile Madras Presidency, British India. It was created by the Act XXIV of 1839 from the ' Maliahs' or Highlands, the tribal lands inhabited by the Khonds and the Soras. Th ...

. The Chicacole division (i.e.,

Ichchapuram Ichchapuram is a town in the Srikakulam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The town is located nearly 142 km from the district capital, Srikakulam. Ichchapuram municipality is the largest urban local body in the Srikakulam di ...

Palasa Palasa is a town in Srikakulam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the mandal headquarters of Palasa mandal. It is located near to the National Highway 16 between Srikakulam and Berhampur. Along with its tw ...

Tekkali Tekkali is a census town in Srikakulam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Tekkali mandal and Tekkali revenue division and is located at a distance of 51 KM from the district headquarters. The pro ...

Pathapatnam Pathapatnam is a town in Srikakulam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Pathapatnam mandal of Palakonda revenue division. Pathapatnam is located on the border of Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh and Gajapati di ...

and

) was merged with Visakhapatnam district. Later, in 1950,

Srikakulam district Srikakulam district is one of the twenty-six districts of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located in the Uttarandhra region of the state, with its headquarters located at Srikakulam. It is one of the six districts, located in the extreme ...

was carved out from the erstwhile Visakhapatnam district. In 1979, part of the district was split to form Vizianagaram district. Visakhapatnam district is currently a part of the Red corridor. On 3 April 2022,

Government of Andhra Pradesh Government of Andhra Pradesh, abbreviated as, GOAP, or, Andhra Government, is the subnational government for the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is an elected government with 175 MLAs elected to the Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh fo ...

has created 13 new districts in the state, hence the district was once again divided into three i.e., Visakhapatnam,

Anakapalli Anakapalli is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Anakapalli district. The municipality was merged with the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation. It has the second largest jaggery market of the coun ...

and Alluri Sitharama Raju districts.

Administrative divisions

The district has two revenue divisions, namely Bheemunipatnam and Visakhapatnam, each headed by a sub collector. These revenue divisions are divided into 11

mandals 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 administr ...

. The district consists of one municipal corporation.

city is the only municipal corporation.

Mandals

There are 6 mandals in Visakhapatnam division and 5 in Bheemunipatnam division. The 11 mandals under their revenue divisions are listed below:

Politics

There are two parliamentary and six assembly constituencies in Visakhapatnam district. The parliamentary constituencies are The assembly constituencies are

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Visakhapatnam district has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

of 4,290,589. This gives it a ranking of 44 in India (out of a total of 640 districts) and 4th in the state. The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 11.89%. It has a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species dev ...

of 1003

females Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

for every 1000 males, and a

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

of 67.7%. After reorganization, Visakhapatnam district had a population of 1,959,544, of which 1,757,542 (89.69%) live in urban areas. The district has a sex ratio of 983 females per 1000 males.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

made up 167,272 (8.54%) and 22,574 (1.15%) of the population respectively. Hindus are the predominant community in the district. Muslims and Christians live primarily in the Visakhapatnam metropolitan area. At the time of the 2011 census, 92.93% of the population spoke

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

, 2.47%

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

as their first language.

Notable people

Alluri Sitarama Raju Alluri Sitarama Raju (4 July 1897 or 1898 – 7 May 1924) was an Indian revolutionary, who waged an armed campaign against the British colonial rule in India. Born in present-day Andhra Pradesh, he was involved in opposing the British in res ...

, freedom fighter *

Tenneti Viswanadham Tenneti (Telugu: తెన్నేటి) is an family names. It may also refer to: * Tenneti Hemalata (1935–1997), Indian Woman writer popularly known as Lata * Tenneti Viswanadham (1896–1979), Indian Politician from Visakhapatnam * Tenne ...

, politician *

Sri Sri (writer) Srirangam Srinivasa Rao (30 April 1910 – 15 June 1983), popularly known as Sri Sri, was an Indian poet and lyricist who is known for his works in Telugu literature and films. Noted for his anthology '' Maha Prasthanam'', Sri Sri is a recipient ...

, writer *

Parasuram (director) Parasuram Petla is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. Parasuram began his career in the film industry as an assistant director to his cousin Puri Jagannadh and later to Bommarilu Bhaskar. He made his director ...

, writer and director * Sricharan Pakala, Music director *

Ramana Gogula Ramana Gogula (born Gogula Ramana Murthy) is an Indo-American music composer and singer of film music and Indian pop, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist. His notable film compositions include '' Premante Idera'' (1998), ''Thammudu'' (1999), ' ...

, Music director * Satyadev Kancharana, film actor

Municipalities in District

Geography

Visakhapatnam district occupies an area of approximately , comparatively equivalent to

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Atka Island. Climate

Economy

The Gross District Domestic Product (GDDP) of the district is and it contributes 14% to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). For the FY 2013–14, the

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

at current prices was . The

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works ...

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

and tertiary sectors of the district contribute , and respectively. The major products contributing to the GVA of the district from agriculture and allied services are,

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

paddy Paddy may refer to: People *Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname *An ethnic slur for an Irishman Birds *Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon * Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird species *Black-faced s ...

betel leaves The betel (''Piper betle'') is a vine of the family Piperaceae, which includes pepper and kava. The betel plant is native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious perennial, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel p ...

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in Sout ...

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

and

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, ...

. The GVA to the industrial and service sector is contributed from

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and ...

, minor minerals, software services and unorganised trade.

Transport

The total road length of

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

s in the district is .

Education

The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools, under the ''School Education Department'' of the state. They include 162 government, 2,793 mandal and zilla parishads, 9 residential, 1225 private, 5 model, 34 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV), 147 municipal and 829 other types of schools. The total number of students enrolled in primary, upper primary and high schools of the district are 609,587.

Temples

There are thirty six temples under the management of Endowments Department.

References

External links

Official Website

Vizagport
* This contains a detailed description of the town and district under British rule. {{Authority control Districts of Andhra Pradesh Uttarandhra 1936 establishments in India