Sargodha District (Punjabi and Urdu: ضلع سرگودھا), is a district of Punjab, Pakistan. The capital of the district is Sargodha. It is an agricultural district with wheat, rice, sugarcane and kinnow being its main crops. The Sargodha district and region is also famous for citrus fruit including Kinnow, orange and lemon. The district has an area of 5,864 km2.[3]

Sargodha District
ضلع سرگودھا
M-2 Motorway entering Sargodha District
M-2 Motorway entering Sargodha District
Flag of Sargodha District
Official seal of Sargodha District
Location of Sargodha District in Punjab
Location of Sargodha District in Punjab
Coordinates: 32°05′N 72°40′E / 32.08°N 72.67°E / 32.08; 72.67
Country Pakistan
ProvincePunjab, Pakistan Punjab
DivisionSargodha
Established1893 as Shahpur District
Headquarters relocation1914
Current name1960
Founded byBritish Colonial Government
HeadquartersSargodha
Tehsils7
Government
 • TypeDistrict Administration
 • BodyDistrict Council
 • NazimVacant
 • Deputy CommissionerCapt (Retd) Shoaib Ali (PAS)
Area
 • District of Punjab5,854 km2 (2,260 sq mi)
 • Rank14th in Punjab
Population
 • District of Punjab4,334,448
 • Rank9th in Punjab
 • Density740/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
  • Rank19th in Punjab
 • Urban
1,609,587
 • Rural
2,724,861
Literacy
 • Literacy rate
  • Total:
    (66.73%)
  • Male:
    (73.63%)
  • Female:
    (59.62%)
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
Postal Code
40100
Area code048
ConstituenciesNA-82, NA-83, NA-84, NA-85, NA-86
National Assembly Seats (2024)Total (5)
  •   Sunni Ittehad Council (3)
  •   PML(N) (2)
Punjab Assembly Seats (2024)Total (10)
Websitesargodha.punjab.gov.pk

Sargodha District is among the world's best citrus-producing regions. Sargodha District is well known for its kinnow, a citrus variety.[4]

Etymology

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It is believed that there was an old pond in the middle of the town where an old Hindu monk or sadhu (godha) used to live. The Sanskrit word for pond is "ser".[5] Since the town had a modest population, people would refer the place as 'ser godha', the place where that famous Sadhu resided next to the pond.[6] The Shahpur district was renamed when its headquarters were shifted to Sargodha in 1960.

Administration and tehsils

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Sargodha city is the administrative headquarter of Sargodha Division and handles the population of about 8.1 million.[7] Sargodha District is administratively divided into Seven Tehsils, which contain a total of 161 Union Councils.[8] Following are the seven tehsils of Sargodha district:

Demographics

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Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1951 893,269—    
1961 1,107,226+2.17%
1972 1,557,641+3.15%
1981 1,911,849+2.30%
1998 2,665,979+1.98%
2017 3,696,212+1.73%
2023 4,334,448+2.69%
Sources:[9]

At the time of the 2017 census, Sargodha had a sex ratio of 979 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 65.54% - 74.12% for males and 56.88% for females. 30.97% (1,144,535) lived in urban areas. 25.11% (928,166) were under 10 years of age.[10] In 2023, the district had 684,799 households and a population of 4,334,448.[1]

The list below shows the population of each of the seven tehsils of Sargodha district according to the 2023 Census of Pakistan along with area:

Tehsil Population (2023 Census)[11] Area
km2 (sqmi)
Sargodha 1,800,455 1,455 (561.8)
Kot Momin Tehsil 544,208 891 (344.0)
Bhalwal Tehsil 387,262 557 (215.1)
Shahpur 424,746 787 (303.9)
Silanwali 385,887 610 (235.5)
Sahiwal 407,487 759 (293.1)
Bhera Tehsil 384,403 722 (278.8)

Religion

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Religion in Sargodha district (2023) [12]
Religion Percent
Islam
98.03%
Christianity
1.86%
Other
0.11%

As per the 2023 census Muslims were the predominant religious community with 98.03% of the population while Christians were 1.86% of the population.[13]

Religious groups in Sargodha District
Religious
group
1941[14]: 42  2017 2023[13]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Islam   624,353 81.71% 3,625,339 98.08% 4,241,812 98.03%
Hinduism  [a] 84,697 11.09% 141 0% 456 0.01%
Sikhism   42,237 5.53% 113 0%
Christianity   12,682 1.66% 65,231 1.76% 80,411 1.86%
Ahmadi 5,427 0.15% 4,146 0.1%
Others 93 0.01% 74 0% 325 0.01%
Total Population 764,062 100% 3,696,212 100% 4,327,263 100%
Note: 1941 figures are for Shahpur, Bhalwal and Sargodha tehsils of the former Shahpur District, which roughly corresponds to present-day Sargodha district.
Religious groups in Sargodha District (British Punjab province era)
Religious
group
1901[15] 1911[16][17] 1921[18] 1931[19] 1941[20]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Islam   442,921 84.49% 572,565 83.3% 596,100 82.8% 679,546 82.72% 835,918 83.68%
Hinduism  [a] 68,489 13.06% 72,695 10.58% 82,182 11.42% 90,561 11.02% 102,172 10.23%
Sikhism   12,756 2.43% 33,456 4.87% 30,361 4.22% 40,074 4.88% 48,046 4.81%
Christianity   91 0.02% 8,616 1.25% 11,270 1.57% 11,294 1.37% 12,770 1.28%
Jainism   2 0% 5 0% 3 0% 14 0% 13 0%
Buddhism   0 0% 28 0% 2 0% 1 0% 2 0%
Zoroastrianism   0 0% 1 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Judaism   0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Others 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
Total population 524,259 100% 687,366 100% 719,918 100% 821,490 100% 998,921 100%
Note1: British Punjab province era district borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to district borders — which since created new districts — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.

Note2: Formerly known as Shahpur District, prior to district headquarters relocating to Sargodha in 1960.
Religion in the Tehsils of Sargodha District (1921)[18]
Tehsil Islam   Hinduism   Sikhism   Christianity   Jainism   Others[b] Total
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Shahpur Tehsil 117,894 85.49% 14,610 10.59% 5,014 3.64% 381 0.28% 0 0% 0 0% 137,899 100%
Khushab Tehsil 149,087 88.36% 14,307 8.48% 5,301 3.14% 23 0.01% 0 0% 0 0% 168,718 100%
Bhalwal Tehsil 190,194 86.08% 25,620 11.6% 4,152 1.88% 984 0.45% 0 0% 1 0% 220,951 100%
Sargodha Tehsil 138,925 72.23% 27,645 14.37% 15,894 8.26% 9,882 5.14% 3 0% 1 0% 192,350 100%
Note: British Punjab province era tehsil borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to tehsil borders — which since created new tehsils — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.
Religion in the Tehsils of Sargodha District (1941)[20]
Tehsil Islam   Hinduism  [a] Sikhism   Christianity   Jainism   Others[c] Total
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Shahpur Tehsil 161,337 87.91% 15,968 8.7% 6,037 3.29% 179 0.1% 5 0% 3 0% 183,529 100%
Khushab Tehsil 211,565 90.08% 17,474 7.44% 5,809 2.47% 8 0% 0 0% 3 0% 234,859 100%
Bhalwal Tehsil 263,691 87.22% 31,683 10.48% 6,484 2.14% 482 0.16% 1 0% 4 0% 302,345 100%
Sargodha Tehsil 199,325 71.65% 37,047 13.32% 29,716 10.68% 12,021 4.32% 7 0% 72 0.03% 278,188 100%
Note1: British Punjab province era tehsil borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to tehsil borders — which since created new tehsils — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.

Note2: Tehsil religious breakdown figures for Christianity only includes local Christians, labeled as "Indian Christians" on census. Does not include Anglo-Indian Christians or British Christians, who were classified under "Other" category.

Language

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Languages of Sargodha district (2023) [12]

  Punjabi (90.79%)
  Urdu (7.61%)
  Pashto (1.26%)
  Others (0.34%)

At the time of the 2023 census, 90.79% of the population spoke Punjabi, 7.61% Urdu and 1.26% Pashto as their first language.[21]

Villages

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Mari

Electricity supplier

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The electricity supply in Sargodha District is managed by the Faisalabad Electric Supply Company

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "TABLE 1 : HOUSEHOLDS, POPULATION, HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. 2023.
  2. ^ "Literacy rate, enrolments, and out-of-school population by sex and rural/urban, CENSUS-2023" (PDF).
  3. ^ "District Overview – Sargodha". Punjab Police, Government of the Punjab website. 4 January 2008. Archived from the original on 4 January 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  4. ^ Mahmood, Amjad (21 December 2020). "Sarghoda's citrus claim to fame". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  5. ^ Portrait of Pakistan. Ferozsons. 1994. ISBN 9789690101051. Retrieved 31 December 2007. The district derives its name for the headquarters town of Sargodha, which is a combination of "Sar" and "Godha". "Sar" is a Hindi word which denotes a water...
  6. ^ Pakistan tourism directory. Holiday Weekly. 1997. Retrieved 31 December 2007. Sargodha is a colony town established in 1903, but its origins are older. Sargodha is a combination of the words "Sar" meaning a pond and "Godha"...
  7. ^ "DISTRICT WISE CENSUS RESULTS CENSUS 2017" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Tehsils & Unions in the District of Sargodha". National Reconstruction Bureau, Government of Pakistan website. Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  9. ^ "Population by administrative units 1951-1998" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  10. ^ "District Wise Results / Tables (Census - 2017)". www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  11. ^ "Pakistan Census 2023" (PDF).
  12. ^ a b "District Wise Results / Tables (Census - 2023)" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Cite error: The named reference "2023 census" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  13. ^ a b "Pakistan Census 2023" (PDF).
  14. ^ "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1941 VOLUME VI PUNJAB PROVINCE". Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Census of India 1901. [Vol. 17A]. Imperial tables, I-VIII, X-XV, XVII and XVIII for the Punjab, with the native states under the political control of the Punjab Government, and for the North-west Frontier Province". 1901. p. 34. JSTOR saoa.crl.25363739. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Census of India 1911. Vol. 14, Punjab. Pt. 2, Tables". 1911. p. 27. JSTOR saoa.crl.25393788. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  17. ^ Kaul, Harikishan (1911). "Census Of India 1911 Punjab Vol XIV Part II". p. 27. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Census of India 1921. Vol. 15, Punjab and Delhi. Pt. 2, Tables". 1921. p. 29. JSTOR saoa.crl.25430165. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Census of India 1931. Vol. 17, Punjab. Pt. 2, Tables". 1931. p. 277. JSTOR saoa.crl.25793242. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  20. ^ a b India Census Commissioner (1941). "Census of India, 1941. Vol. 6, Punjab". p. 42. JSTOR saoa.crl.28215541. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  21. ^ "Pakistan Census 2023" (PDF).
  1. ^ a b c 1931-1941: Including Ad-Dharmis
  2. ^ Including Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Tribals, others, or not stated
  3. ^ Including Anglo-Indian Christians, British Christians, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Tribals, others, or not stated