Kalat District (
Brahui and ) is a
district
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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
located in
Kalat Division of Balochistan, Pakistan. Kalat was made a separate district on February 3, 1954. At that time
Khuzdar
Khuzdar ( Balochi, , ) also known as ''Hozdar'', is a city and the administrative headquarters of Khuzdar District in Balochistan province of Pakistan. Khuzdar is surrounded by mountainous region of the southwestern portion of the country near ...
and
Mastung districts were sub-divisions of
Kalat (which then also included
Kachi,
Jhal Magsi and
Naseerabad (Dera Murad Jamali); these were separated in 1965 as Kachhi District). Khuzdar became a separate district by notification of 1 March 1974, while Mastung was announced as a separate district on 18 February 1992. The district draws its name from the ancient city of Kalat. The old name of the district headquarters was Kahan. The current district consists of two sub-divisions, i.e. Kalat and Manguchar, four tehsils: Kalat,
Mangochar, Johan, and Gazgz, 81 Patwar circles and 614 mauza (villages).
The climate is arid, hot in summer and cold in winter, with most rainfall occurring in the winter. The terrain is mountainous with several valleys and one main river.
The Khan of Kalat is a ceremonial title held by Mir Suleman Dawood Jan, and efforts have been made by the Pakistani government to reconcile with him; his son Mohammed, who is next in line to be the Khan of Kalat, is pro-Pakistan.
Administration
The district is administratively subdivided into the following
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 ...
s:
Demographics
Population
As of the
2023 census, Kalat district has 33,101 households and a population of 271,560. The district has a sex ratio of 104.26 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 39.70%: 49.54% for males and 29.41% for females.
100,643 (37.06% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age.
44,440 (16.36%) live in urban areas.
Religion
In the 2023 census, Islam was the predominant religion with 99.25% while
Hindus
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
were 0.39% of the population and Christians were 0.31% of the population.
Language
At the time of the 2023 census, 73.22% of the population spoke
Brahui, 25.52%
Balochi and 0.67%
Pashto
Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...
as their first language.
Education
According to the Pakistan District Education Rankings 2017, district Kalat is ranked at number 66 out of the 141 ranked districts in Pakistan on the education score index. This index considers learning, gender parity and retention in the district.
Literacy rate in 2014–15 of population 10 years and older in the district stood at 54% whereas for females it was only 45%.
[Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (2016). ''Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey 2014-15''. nlineIslamabad: Government of Pakistan, p.111. Available at: http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//pslm/publications/PSLM_2014-15_National-Provincial-District_report.pdf ccessed 6 Aug. 2018]
Post primary access is a major issue in the district with 83% schools being at primary level. In comparison with high schools which constitute only 9% of government schools in the district. This is also reflected in the enrollment figures for 2016–17 with 20,031 students enrolled in class 1 to 5 and only 658 students enrolled in class 9 and 10.
Gender disparity is another issue in the district. Only 34% schools in the district are girls schools. Access to education for girls is a major issue in the district and is also reflected in the low literacy rates for females.
Moreover, the schools in the district lack basic facilities. According to
Alif Ailaan Pakistan District Education Rankings 2017, the district is ranked at number 128 out of the 155 districts of Pakistan for primary school infrastructure. At the middle school level, it is ranked at number 136 out of the 155 districts. These rankings take into account the basic facilities available in schools including drinking water, working toilet, availability of electricity, existence of a boundary wall and general building condition. 4 out of 5 schools were reported to have no electricity in them. Approximately 1 out of 2 schools lacked toilet and a boundary wall. More than 1 out of 3 schools did not have clean drinking water.
See also
*
Kalat (princely state)
*
Districts of Pakistan
The districts of Pakistan () are the third-level administrative divisions of Pakistan, below administrative units of Pakistan, provinces and divisions of Pakistan, divisions, but forming the first-tier of local government in Pakistan, local ...
**
Districts of Balochistan
**
Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
**
Districts of Sindh, Pakistan
**
Districts of Punjab, Pakistan
**
Districts of Azad Kashmir
**
Districts of Gilgit-Baltistan
There are 14 districts in Gilgit–Baltistan, five in Baltistan Division, five in Gilgit Division and four in Diamer Division. The number rose from seven to ten in 2016 after the addition of 2 districts in Baltistan Valley and the bifurcation o ...
References
External links
{{Coord, 29.0257, N, 66.5893, E, type:adm2nd_source:itwiki, display=title
Districts of Balochistan, Pakistan