The districts of Pakistan () are the third-level

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

s of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, below

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

and

divisions Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...

, but forming the first-tier of

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

. In total, there are 169 districts in Pakistan, including 10 districts in

Azad 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 ...

and 14 districts in

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...

., excluding

Islamabad Capital Territory The Islamabad Capital Territory is a federal territory of Pakistan, centred around Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. It is located on the northern edge of the Pothohar Plateau, at the foot of the Margalla Hills, in the northwest of the ...

. These districts are further divided into '' tehsils and 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 the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

were formed, bringing the total to 126. With the

Independence of Bangladesh The independence of Bangladesh was Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence, declared from Pakistan on 26 March 1971, which is now celebrated as Independence Day (Bangladesh), Independence Day. The Bangladesh Liberation War started on 26 March ...

, 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 Karachi District (formerly Karachi South District)() is an administrative district of Karachi Division in Sindh, Pakistan, created in 1972. Karachi District had a population of 2,329,764 (2.3 million) as of 2023 Pakistani census. In 2023, the ...

. 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 Nankana Sahib (; ) is a city and capital of Nankana Sahib District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is named after the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, who was born in the city and first began preaching here. Nankana Sahib is among ...

from a

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 ...

Sheikhupura District Sheikhupura District (; ), 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 3,321,029 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 language, Shina: ; ) is a city in Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan, Gilgit–Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kas ...

and

Baltistan Baltistan (); also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet, is a mountainous region in the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilgit-Baltistan and constitutes a northern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute bet ...

. In 2018,

Federally Administered Tribal Areas The Federally Administered Tribal Areas, commonly known as FATA, was a semi-autonomous tribal region in north-western Pakistan that existed from 1947 until being merged with the neighbouring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018 through the ...

(FATA) was merged with

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

province and FATA agencies were converted into districts. Chagai is the largest district of Pakistan by area while

Lahore District Lahore District () is a Districts of Punjab, Pakistan, district in Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, Pakistan, consisting of the provincial capital, Lahore and surrounding areas. It is the most populous Districts of Pakistan, district of Pakistan, with ...

is the largest by population with a total population of 11,126,285 at the 2017 census.

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

is the largest district of Balochistan by population with a total population of 2,275,699 at the 2017 census.

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur (Urdu: ; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 13th largest city of Pakistan and List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, 8th most populous city of Punjab. Bahawalpur is the capital of Bahawalpur Division. Founded in ...

is the largest district of Punjab by area.

Chitral Chitral () is a city situated on the Kunar River, Chitral River in northern area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Lower Chitral District, and was previously the capital of Chitral District, and before ...

is the largest by area and

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

is the largest by population from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with a population of 4,269,079 in the 2017 census. Sindh's largest district by area is

Tharparkar Tharparkar (Dhatki language, Dhatki/; , ), also known as Thar, is a district in Sindh province in Pakistan, headquartered at Mithi. Before Indian independence it was known as the Thar and Parkar (1901⁠–⁠1947) or Eastern Sindh Frontier Distr ...

and by population its Karachi West with a population of 3,914,757 in the 2017 census. The combined population of the six districts of Karachi division is over 16 million in the 2017 census, giving an average population for these six districts of Karachi division of over 2.675 million each. Neelum and

Kotli Kotli ( Pahari-Pothwari / ; ) is a city and headquarters of the Kotli District in Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir. The city lies along the Poonch River, which is known for its natural secenary and waterfalls. According to the 2017 Census ...

are the largest districts of Azad Kashmir by area and population respectively.

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 The Pakistan Administrative Service, or PAS () (previously known as the District Management Group or DMG before 1 June 2012) is an elite cadre of the Civil Services of Pakistan. The Pakistan Administrative Service over the years has emerged as ...

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

List of districts by province and territory

Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Gilgit-Baltistan

Balochistan

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Punjab

Sindh

N.B. All the figures require to be re-checked. Data entry error has occurred in Sindh Province.

List of all districts by area, population, density, literacy rate etc

List of all districts by population over the years

Notes

References

External links

* from the Population Census Organization (Government of Pakistan) {{DEFAULTSORT:Districts of Pakistan

Districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

Subdivisions of Pakistan Local government in Pakistan