Bhakkar District
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Bhakkar District (Urdu: ضِلع بھكّر), is a district in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. The district was created out of parts of Mianwali in 1982, and has the city of Bhakkar as its headquarters. Part of its area consists of a riverine tract along the Indus, called Kaccha, while most of the district area lies in the desolate plain of the Thal Desert.
Located in the west of the Punjab province, Bhakkar district is bordered by Layyah to the south, Jhang to the southeast, Dera Ismail Khan to the west, Khushab to the northeast, and Mianwali to the north.
Administration
The district is administratively divided into four Tehsils and 64 Union Councils. The Tehsils are:
| Tehsil | Area (km²) | Pop. (2023) | Density (ppl/km²)(2023) | Literacy rate (2023) | Union Councils |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bhakkar | 2,427 | 809,789 | 333.66 | 58.56% | ... |
| Darya Khan | 1,719 | 421,309 | 245.09 | 51.09% | ... |
| Kaloorkot | 2,239 | 415,708 | 185.67 | 55.43% | ... |
| Mankera | 1,768 | 310,664 | 175.71 | 54.83% | ... |
Khansar Union Council is one of the major Union Councils in Bhakkar. Mari Shah Sakhira Union Council is very close to Bhakkar District boundary.
Demographics
Population
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 233,733 | — |
| 1961 | 332,882 | +3.60% |
| 1972 | 500,498 | +3.78% |
| 1981 | 665,884 | +3.22% |
| 1998 | 1,051,456 | +2.72% |
| 2017 | 1,647,852 | +2.39% |
| 2023 | 1,957,470 | +2.91% |
| Sources: |
As of the 2023 census, Bhakkar district has 313,311 households and a population of 1,957,470. The district has a sex ratio of 108.00 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 55.68%: 66.81% for males and 43.87% for females. 593,924 (30.35% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 352,434 (18.00%) live in urban areas.
Religion
| Religious group | 1941 | 2017 | 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
| Islam | 169,276 | 82.16% | 1,646,014 | 99.89% | 1,950,820 | 99.69% |
| Hinduism | 32,740 | 15.89% | 13 | 0% | 17 | 0% |
| Sikhism | 3,996 | 1.94% | —N/a | —N/a | 30 | 0% |
| Christianity | 23 | 0.01% | 1,661 | 0.1% | 5,913 | 0.3% |
| Ahmadi | —N/a | —N/a | 112 | 0.01% | 124 | 0.01% |
| Others | 0 | 0% | 52 | 0% | 59 | 0% |
| Total Population | 206,035 | 100% | 1,647,852 | 100% | 1,956,971 | 100% |
| Note: 1941 census data is for Bhakkar tehsil of the then Mianwali District, which roughly corresponds to contemporary Bhakkar district. District and tehsil borders have changed since 1941. |
Languages
At the time of the 2023 census, 79.42% of the population spoke Saraiki, 9.73% Punjabi, 7.5% Urdu and 2.41% Pashto as their first language.
Education
According to the 2017 census, the literacy rate of Bhakkar is about 55%. There are 19 colleges, and 1300 primary, elementary, secondary, and higher secondary schools.
Notable people
- Rasheed Akbar Khan Nawani, member of Pakistan's National Assembly
- P. C. Gupta, writer and professor of English
- Amjad Qureshi, cricket umpire
- Sanaullah Khan Mastikhel, member of Pakistan's National Assembly
- Inamullah Niazi, former member of Pakistan's National Assembly
- Lekh Raj Batra, a distinguished mycologist and linguist
- Asghar Khan Nawani, former policeman and MNA
- Amir Inayat Khan Shahani, MPA from Bhakkar
See also
- Bhakkar
- Sargodha Division
- Bhakkar railway station
- North Western State Railway
- Districts of Pakistan
- Punjab, Pakistan
- Kotri–Attock Line
- Mianwali Division