Lower Chitral District

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Lower Chitral District
ضلع چترال زیریں
موڑی ݯھیترارو ضلع
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 OfficerQamar Hayat (PSP)[1]
 • District Health OfficerDoctor Fayaz Roomi
Area
 • Total6,458 km2 (2,493 sq mi)
Population
 • Total278,328
 • Density43/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
Number of Tehsils2
Websitelowerchitral.kp.gov.pk

Lower Chitral District (Urdu: ضلع چترال زیریں, Khowar: موڑی ݯھیترارو ضلع) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan.[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]

At the time of the 2017 census the district had 38,337 households and a population of 278,328. Lower Chitral had a sex ratio of 937 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 63.00% - 75.71% for males and 49.37% for females. 49,780 (17.89%) lived in urban areas. 27.10% of the population was under 10 years of age. 3,902 (1.40%) were from religious minorities, almost all of whom are followers of the indigenous animistic Kalash faith that was once the dominant faith in the district before the spread of Islam.[2]

Languages of Kolai-Palas district (2017)

  'Other' languages (89.48%)
  Pashto (9.11%)
  Others (1.41%)

89.48% of the population spoke languages recorded as 'Other' on the census. Most of these spoke Khowar (or Chitrali), the dominant language of Chitral as a whole. A minority spoke Chitral Kalasha and Wakhi, with the Kalasha dominating several valleys and the Wakhis spread throughout the north of the district near the Afghan border. Pashto is spoken in the southeast of the district by 9.11% of the population.[2] There are some speakers of the Madaklasht dialect, a Persian dialect which is considered a mix of Dari and Tajik.[5]

Administrative Divisions[edit]

  1. Chitral Tehsil
  2. Drosh Tehsil
  3. Lotkhow Tehsil

Religious Demographics[edit]

Religion 1998 Census[6] 1998 Perc 2017 Census[7] 2017 Perc
Total 184,874 100.00% 278,328 100.00%
Muslim 182,169 98.54% 274,426 98.60%
Kalash 2,602 1.41% 3,725 1.34%
Christian 50 0.03% 165 0.06%
Hindu 2 0.00% 9 0.00%
Ahmadi 51 0.03% 3 0.00%

References[edit]

  1. ^ https://chitralpolice.gov.pk/
  2. ^ a b c "District Wise Results / Tables (Census - 2017)". www.pbscensus.gov.pk. 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. ^ "Madaklasht village of Ismaili Muslims sets an example of communal tolerance, harmony". 9 June 2014.
  6. ^ "1998 District Census Report of Chitral". Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  7. ^ Census data 2017 pbs.gov.pk