Lower Chitral District

Lower Chitral District
موڑی ݯھیترارو ضلع
ضلع چترال زیریں
Top: Chitral city with Tirich Mir in the background
Bottom: Chitral Gol National Park
Lower Chitral District (red) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Lower Chitral District (red) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
CountryPakistan
ProvinceKhyber Pakhtunkhwa
DivisionMalakand
Established2018
HeadquartersChitral
Government
 • TypeDistrict Administration
 • Deputy CommissionerMuhammad Ali Khan (BPS-20 PCS)
 • District Police OfficerIftikhar Shah (PSP)[1]
 • District Health OfficerDoctor Fayaz Roomi
Area
 • Total
6,458 km2 (2,493 sq mi)
Population
 • Total
320,407
 • Density50/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
Number of Tehsils2
Websitelowerchitral.kp.gov.pk

Lower Chitral District (Khowar: موڑی ݯھیترارو ضلع; Urdu: ضلع چترال زیریں) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It is mainly populated by the ethnic Kho people.[3]

Demographics

[edit]
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1961 54,844—    
1972 87,617+4.35%
1981 121,641+3.71%
1998 184,874+2.49%
2017 278,328+2.18%
2023 320,407+2.37%
Sources:[4]

As of the 2023 census, Lower Chitral district has 46,028 households and a population of 320,407. The district has a sex ratio of 104.31 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 66.10%: 76.81% for males and 54.77% for females. 87,378 (27.46% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 57,157 (17.84%) live in urban areas.[2]

Languages of Lower Chitral District (2023)

  'Other' languages (mainly Khowar) (87.76%)
  Pashto (9.36%)
  Kalasha (1.59%)
  Others (1.29%)

87.76% of the population spoke languages classifed as 'Others', namely Khowar (or Chitrali), the dominant language of Chitral as a whole. Pashto is spoken in the southeast of the district by 9.36% of the population, while Kalasha is spoken by 1.59% of the population.[5] There are some speakers of the Madaklasht dialect, a Persian dialect which is considered a mix of Dari and Tajik.[6]

Religion

[edit]
Religion 1998[7] 2017[8] 2023[9]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Islam 182,169 98.54% 274,426 98.60% 313,101 98.39%
Kalash 2,602 1.41% 3,725 1.34% 4,617 1.45%
Christianity 50 0.03% 165 0.06% 509 0.16%
Hinduism 2 0.00% 9 0.00% 4 0.00%
Ahmadi 51 0.03% 3 0.00% 2 0.00%
Total 184,874 100.00% 278,328 100.00% 318,234 100.00%

Administrative Divisions

[edit]
  1. Chitral Tehsil
  2. Drosh Tehsil
  3. Lotkhow Tehsil

National Assembly

[edit]

The district along with Upper Chitral District is represented by one elected MNA (Member of National Assembly) in Pakistan National Assembly. Its constituency is NA-1.

Member of National Assembly Party Affiliation Year
Abdul Latif PTI 2024

Provincial Assembly

[edit]

The district is represented by one elected MPA (Member of Provincial Assembly) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. Its constituency is PK-2.

Member of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Party Affiliation Year
Fateh-ul-Mulk Ali Nasir PTI 2024

References

[edit]
  1. ^ https://chitralpolice.gov.pk/ [bare URL]
  2. ^ a b "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 1" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  3. ^ "Upper Chitral gets status of separate district". dawn.com. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Population by administrative units 1951-1998" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  5. ^ "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 11" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  6. ^ "Madaklasht village of Ismaili Muslims sets an example of communal tolerance, harmony". 9 June 2014.
  7. ^ "1998 District Census Report of Chitral". Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Pakistan Census 2017 District-Wise Tables: Lower Chitral District". Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  9. ^ "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 9" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.