Districts of Pakistan


The Districts of Pakistan, are the third-order administrative divisions of Pakistan, below provinces and divisions, but forming the first-tier of local government. In total, there are 154 districts in Pakistan including the Capital Territory and the districts of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan. These districts are further divided into Tehsils, Union Councils.

History

In 1947, when Pakistan gained independence there were 124 districts. In 1969, 2 new districts in East Pakistan 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 had existed until 2000 and three districts 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 of Sheikhupura District 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, 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 and Baltistan. In 2018, Federally Administered Tribal Areas was merged with 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 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 is the largest by area and Peshawar 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 is the largest by area and population both for Gilgit-Baltistan.

Provinces and Territories

Sr. No.States / ProvincesDistrictsArea
Population
Density
Country of Comparable Size
1Azad Jammu and Kashmir1013,2974,045,366304.23
2Balochistan34347,19012,344,40835.55
3Gilgit-Baltistan1472,9713,500,00047.96
4Islamabad Capital Territory19062,006,5722,214.76
5Khyber Pakhtunkhwa34101,74135,525,047349.17
6Punjab36205,345110,012,442535.74
7Sindh29140,91447,886,051339.82

Azad Jammu and Kashmir

#DistrictHeadquartersArea
Population
Population
Density
Division
1MuzaffarabadMuzaffarabad1,642453,957650,370394Muzaffarabad
2Hattian BalaHattian Bala854166,064230,529270Muzaffarabad
3NeelumAthmuqam3,621125,712191,25153Muzaffarabad
4MirpurMirpur1,010333,482456,200452Mirpur
5BhimberBhimber1,516301,633420,624297Mirpur
6KotliKotli1,862563,134774,194416Mirpur
7PoonchRawalakot855411,035500,571585Poonch
8BaghBagh770281,721371,919483Poonch
9HaveliForward Kahuta598111,694152,124254Poonch
10SudhnatiPallandari569224,091297,584523Poonch

Balochistan

Sr. No.DistrictHeadquartersArea
Population
Density
Division
1AwaranAwaran29,510122,0114Kalat
2BarkhanBarkhan3,514171,55648.8Zhob
3ChagaiChagai44,748226,0085Quetta
4Dera BugtiDera Bugti10,160312,60331Sibi
5GwadarGwadar12,637263,51421Makran
6HarnaiHarnai4,09697,01724Sibi
7JafarabadDera Allahyar2,445513,813210Nasirabad
8Jhal MagsiJhal Magsi3,615149,22541Nasirabad
9KachhiDhadar7,499237,03032Nasirabad
10KalatKalat6,622412,23262Kalat
11KechTurbat22,539909,11640Makran
12KharanKharan8,958156,15217Kalat
13KhuzdarKhuzdar35,380802,20723Kalat
14Killa AbdullahChaman3,293757,578230Quetta
15Killa SaifullahKilla Saifullah6,831342,81450Zhob
16KohluKohlu7,610214,35028Sibi
17LasbelaUthal15,153574,29238Kalat
18LehriBakhtiarabad9,830118,04612Nasirabad
19LoralaiLoralai9,830397,40040Zhob
20MastungMastung5,896266,46145Kalat
21MusakhelMusa Khel Bazar5,728167,01729Zhob
22NasirabadDera Murad Jamali3,387490,538145Nasirabad
23NushkiNushki5,797178,79631Quetta
24PanjgurPanjgur16,891316,38519Makran
25PishinPishin7,819736,48194Quetta
26QuettaQuetta2,6532,275,699858Quetta
27SheraniSherani2,800153,11655Zhob
28SibiSibi7,796135,57217Sibi
29SohbatpurSohbatpur7,796200,53826Nasirabad
30WashukWashuk29,510176,2066Kalat
31ZhobZhob20,297310,54415Zhob
32ZiaratZiarat1,489160,422108Kalat
33DukiZhob153,000Zhob

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

Sr. No.DistrictHeadquartersArea
Population
Density
Division
1AttockAttock6,8581,883,556275Rawalpindi
2BahawalnagarBahawalnagar8,8782,981,919336Bahawalpur
3BahawalpurBahawalpur24,8303,668,106148Bahawalpur
4BhakkarBhakkar8,1531,650,518202Sargodha
5ChakwalChakwal6,5241,495,982229Rawalpindi
6ChiniotChiniot2,6431,369,740518Faisalabad
7Dera Ghazi KhanDera Ghazi Khan11,9222,872,201241Dera Ghazi Khan
8FaisalabadFaisalabad5,8567,873,9101,345Faisalabad
9GujranwalaGujranwala3,6225,014,1961,384Gujranwala
10GujratGujrat3,1922,756,110863Gujranwala
11HafizabadHafizabad2,3671,156,957489Gujranwala
12JhangJhang8,8092,743,416311Faisalabad
13JhelumJhelum3,5871,222,650341Rawalpindi
14KasurKasur4,7963,454,996720Lahore
15KhanewalKhanewal4,3492,921,986672Multan
16KhushabJauharabad6,5111,281,299197Sargodha
17LahoreLahore1,77211,126,2856,279Lahore
18LayyahLayyah6,2911,824,230290Dera Ghazi Khan
19LodhranLodhran2,7781,700,620612Multan
20Mandi BahauddinMandi Bahauddin2,6731,593,292596Gujranwala
21MianwaliMianwali5,8401,546,094265Sargodha
22MultanMultan3,7204,745,1091,275Multan
23MuzaffargarhMuzaffargarh8,2494,322,009524Dera Ghazi Khan
24NarowalNarowal2,3371,709,757732Gujranwala
25Nankana SahibNankana Sahib2,9601,356,374458Lahore
26OkaraOkara4,3773,039,139694Sahiwal
27PakpattanPakpattan2,7241,823,687669Sahiwal
28Rahim Yar KhanRahim Yar Khan11,8804,814,006405Bahawalpur
29RajanpurRajanpur12,3191,995,958162Dera Ghazi Khan
30RawalpindiRawalpindi5,2865,405,6331,322Rawalpindi
31SahiwalSahiwal3,2012,517,560786Sahiwal
32SargodhaSargodha5,8543,703,588633Sargodha
33SheikhupuraSheikhupura3,0303,460,4261,142Lahore
34SialkotSialkot3,0163,893,6721,291Gujranwala
35Toba Tek SinghToba Tek Singh3,2522,190,015673Faisalabad
36VehariVehari4,3642,897,446664Multan

Sindh

Sr. No.DistrictHeadquartersArea
Population
Density
Division
1BadinBadin6,7261,804,516268Banbhore
2DaduDadu7,8661,550,266197Hyderabad
3GhotkiMirpur Mathelo6,0831,646,318270Sukkur
4HyderabadHyderabad5,5192,199,463398Hyderabad
5JacobabadJacobabad5,2781,006,297191Larkana
6JamshoroJamshoro11,250993,14288Hyderabad
7Karachi CentralKarachi692,971,62643,067Karachi
8Karachi EastKarachi1652,907,46717,610Karachi
9Karachi SouthKarachi1221,791,75114,686Karachi
10Karachi WestKarachi9293,914,7574,214Karachi
11KashmoreKandhkot2,5921,089,169420Larkana
12KhairpurKhairpur15,9102,404,334151Sukkur
13KorangiKorangi952,457,01925,918Karachi
14LarkanaLarkana1,9061,524,391205Larkana
15MalirMalir2,2682,008,901886Karachi
16MatiariMatiari1,417769,349543Hyderabad
17Mirpur KhasMirpur Khas2,9251,505,876515Mirpur Khas
18Naushahro FerozeNaushahro Feroze2,9451,612,373548Shaheed Benazir Abad
19Qambar ShahdadkotQambar5,5991,341,042239Larkana
20SangharSanghar10,7202,057,057192Mirpur Khas
21Shaheed Benazir AbadNawabshah4,5021,612,847358Shaheed Benazir Abad
22ShikarpurShikarpur2,5121,231,481490Larkana
23SujawalSujawal8,699781,967106Banbhore
24SukkurSukkur2,5121,487,903592Sukkur
25Tando AllahyarTando Allahyar5,165836,887162Hyderabad
26Tando Muhammad KhanTando Muhammad Khan2,310677,228293Hyderabad
27TharparkarMithi19,6381,649,66184Mirpur Khas
28ThattaThatta7,705979,81798Banbhore
29UmerkotUmerkot5,6081,073,146191Mirpur Khas