Rawalpindi Division is an administrative division of the Pakistani province of Punjab. Rawalpindi serves as the headquarters of the division which consists of 5 districts: Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Murree, and Rawalpindi.

Rawalpindi Division
راولپنڈی ڈویژن
Country Pakistan
ProvincePunjab, Pakistan Punjab
CapitalRawalpindi
Government
 • TypeDivisional Administration
 • CommissionerEngineer Aamir Khattak (BPS-20 PAS)
 • Regional Police OfficerSyed Khurram Ali (BPS-20 PSP)
Area
 • Division
18,823 km2 (7,268 sq mi)
Population
 (2023)
 • Division
10,804,250
 • Density570/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
 • Urban
50.94%
 • Rural
49.06%
Literacy
 • Literacy rate
  • Total:
    (79.62%)
  • Male:
    (85.93%)
  • Female:
    (73.14%)
Websiterawalpindidivision.punjab.gov.pk

Divisions are the third tier of government below the federal and provincial levels. In 2000, local government reforms abolished administrative divisions and raised the districts to become the new third tier of government.[2] But in 2008, the division system was restored again.[3][4]

List of the Districts

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# District Headquarter Area

(km²)[5]

Pop.

(2023)[5]

Density

(ppl/km²)

(2023)[5]

Lit. rate

(2023)

1 Rawalpindi Rawalpindi 4,547 5,745,964 1,868.79 83.06%
2 Jhelum Jhelum 3,587 1,382,308 385.7 80.65%
3 Attock Attock 6,858 2,170,423 316.7 70.22%
4 Murree Murree 738 372,947 480 86.01%
5 Chakwal Chakwal 3,593 1,132,608 314.42 79.36%
Rawalpindi Division 18,823 10,804,250 574.50 79.9%

List of the Tehsils

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# Tehsil Area

(km²)[5]

Pop.

(2023)[5]

Density

(ppl/km²)

(2023)[5]

Lit. rate

(2023)

Districts
1 Attock 1,002 516,277 515.25 74.80% Attock District
2 Fateh Jang 1,249 374,726 300.02 66.94%
3 Hassan Abdal 350 253,670 724.77 70.22%
4 Hazro 348 386,544 1,110.76 66.45%
5 Jand 2,043 330,328 161.69 71.59%
6 Pindi Gheb 1,865 308,878 165.62 70.36%
7 Chakwal 2,167 768,622 354.69 79.63% Chakwal District
8 Choa Saidan Shah 473 167,537 354.20 79.28%
9 Kallar Kahar 953 196,449 206.14 79.23%
10 Dina 678 277,182 408.82 84.75% Jhelum District
11 Jhelum 586 507,788 866.53 83.45%
12 Pind Dadan Khan 1,176 371,971 316.30 73.98%
13 Sohawa 1,147 225,367 196.48 80.41%
14 Rawalpindi 1,682 3,744,590 2,226.27 83.97% Rawalpindi District
15 Gujar Khan 1,457 781,578 536.43 79.72%
16 Kahuta 637 237,843 373.38 84.05%
17 Kallar Syedan 459 242,709 528.78 82.23%
18 Taxila 312 739,244 2,369.37 81.98%
19 Daultala N/A N/A N/A N/A
20 Kotli Sattian 304 120,421 396.12 88.20% Murree District
21 Murree 434 252,526 581.86 84.79%

History

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British rule

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Following the British conquest of the region in 1849, the area around Rawalpindi became a division of the Punjab province of British India, primarily because of the strategic location of the city of Rawalpindi.

The Imperial Gazetteer of India describes the division as follows:

"North-western Division of the Punjab, lying between 31°35' and 34° 1' N. and 70° 37' and 74°29' E. The Commissioner's headquarters are at Rawalpindi and Murree. The total population of the Division increased from 2,520,508 in 1881 to 2,750,713 in 1891, and to 2,799,360 in 1901. Its total area was 25,000 Km Square (15,736) square miles, and the density of the population is 178 persons per square mile, compared with 209 for the Province as a whole"[6]

The division was composed of four districts:

District Area (sq mi) Population (1901)
Shahpur 4,840 524,259
Jhelum 2,813 501,424
Rawalpindi 2,010 558,699
Attock 4,022 464,430
Total 13685 2,048812

After independence

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On independence in 1947, the division was one of four divisions of the province of West Punjab but from 1955 to 1970, the divisions was one of twelve (later thirteen) divisions of West Pakistan province under the One Unit policy. On the dissolution of West Pakistan, the division was restored to the new Punjab province, but parts of the division were transferred with parts of Lahore Division to form the new Gujranwala Division.

Demographics

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According to 2023 census, Rawalpindi division had a population of 11,406,496.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Literacy rate, enrolments, and out-of-school population by sex and rural/urban, CENSUS-2023" (PDF).
  2. ^ Divisions/Districts of Pakistan Archived 2006-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
    Note: Although divisions as an administrative structure has been abolished, the election commission of Pakistan still groups districts under the division names
  3. ^ "Division and district wise facilities" (PDF). health.punjab.gov.pk. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Punjab Government Plans to Carve a New District from Lahore". 6 January 2009. Archived from the original on 3 June 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "TABLE 1 : AREA, POPULATION BY SEX, SEX RATIO, POPULATION DENSITY, URBAN POPULATION, HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE, CENSUS-2023, PUNJAB" (PDF).
  6. ^ Rāwalpindi Division - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 21, p. 262
  7. ^ https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/punjab/pcr/table_1.pdf [bare URL PDF]


33°10′N 73°00′E / 33.167°N 73.000°E / 33.167; 73.000

This article incorporates text from the Imperial Gazetteer of India, a publication now in the public domain.