Bela is an administrative subdivision (

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

) in

Lasbela District Lasbela District ( , , ) is a coastal district and part of the Kalat Division situated in the south-east of Balochistan, Pakistan. Located approximately northwest of Karachi, the district is geographically and economically significant. A ...

, located in the southeastern part of

Balochistan, Pakistan Balochistan (; ; , ) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Khybe ...

. According to the 2023 national census, Bela tehsil has a population of 129,264, distributed across 388 settlements. The

is divided into five Union Councils, with the town of Bela serving as its administrative centre.

Geography

Bela spans approximately 1,527 square kilometres. It borders

Khuzdar District Khuzdar (Balochi language, Balochi: ; Urdu and Brahui language, Brahui: ) is a Districts of Pakistan, district in the Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city of Khuzdar serves as the district's headquarters. Until its e ...

to the north,

Kanraj Tehsil Kanraj, also spelled as Kanrach, (, ) is an administrative subdivision (tehsil) in Lasbela District, located in the southeastern part of Balochistan, Pakistan. According to the 2023 national census, the tehsil has a population of 15,996, dispe ...

to the east, Uthal Tehsil to the southeast, Lakhra Tehsil to the south, and Awaran District to the west. The terrain is predominantly

arid Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...

and desert-like, with rugged hilly terrain traversed by seasonal streams. Among its notable natural and historical features are the caves of Gondrani, and archeological site, and shrouded in local folklore. Bela has a hot desert climate (

Köppen classification Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: BWh), characterised by hot, wet summers and short, mild winters. During the summer month, particular from May to July, mean temperature range between to , with extreme highs reaching up to in May. Winters are relatively short and warm, with average daytime temperatures around while the extreme minima is . Annual rainfall is limited, generally falling between and , mostly during the July to September

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

season. The tehsil's vegetation is

xerophytic A xerophyte () is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water. Examples of xerophytes include cactus, cacti, pineapple and some gymnosperm plants. The morphology (biology), morphology and physiology ...

, dominated by thorny

shrubs A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

, resilient bushes, scattered drought-tolerant trees, and seasonal ground flora adapted to arid conditions.

Population

According to 2023 census, Tehsil had 129,264 population living in 19,806

household A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

s, with 15,827 in rural areas and 3,979 in urban localities. While Bela shows a comparatively higher literacy rate than other tehsils in the district, significant challenges remain. The overall

literacy rate Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

is 40.98%, with a noticeable

gender disparity Sex differences in humans have been studied in a variety of fields. Sex chromosome#Sex determination, Sex determination generally occurs by the presence or absence of a Y chromosome in the 23rd pair of chromosomes in the human genome. ''phenot ...

: 51.87% for males and only 29.17% for females. This underscores continued barriers to education, particularly for women and girls.

Languages

In Sonmiani Tehsil, Balochi is the predominant language, spoken by approximately 106,105 individuals (82.07% of the population). Other languages include Sindhi (10,658 speakers, ~8.25%), and Brahui (4,327 speakers, ~3.35%), with the remaining population speaking various other languages. It is important to note that the Sindhi reported in this context largely refers to Lasi, a distinct local dialect of Sindhi also spoken in the costal region of Balochistan.

2022 Floods

The 2022 floods in Balochistan had a particularly severe impact on Bela Tehsil, where nearly two-thirds of homes, businesses, and road infrastructure were destroyed. The disaster followed an earthquake in May 2022, which significantly worsened pre-existing challenges related to basic infrastructure and electricity provision, with long-term consequences for local livelihoods, mobility, and access to essential services. Recovery efforts have been slow, highlighting the region’s vulnerability to climate-related events.

References and notes

Explanatory notes

References

{{Tehsils of Balochistan Tehsils of Balochistan, Pakistan Tehsils of Lasbela District Lasbela District