Divisions of Pakistan

Divisions of Pakistan
Divisions of Pakistan
	Map of divisions of Pakistan
Category	Second-level administrative division
Location	Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Number	38 (as of January 2023)
Government	Divisional government;
Subdivisions	Districts; Tehsils; Union councils;

The four provinces, capital territory, and two autonomous territories of Pakistan are subdivided into 38 administrative "divisions", which are further subdivided into districts, tehsils, and finally union councils. These divisions were abolished in 2000, but restored in 2008.

The divisions do not include the Islamabad Capital Territory or the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, which were counted at the same level as provinces, but in 2018, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas were subsumed into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and allocated to neighbouring divisions therein.

History

Division

Urdu: ڈویژن

Balochi: ڈِوࢩژن

Punjabi: ڈویزن

Pashto: څانګه‎

Sindhi: ڊويزن‎

Administrative divisions had formed an integral tier of government from colonial times. The Governor's provinces of British India were subdivided into divisions, which were themselves subdivided into districts. At independence in 1947, the new nation of Pakistan comprised two wings – eastern and western, separated by India. Three of the provinces of Pakistan were subdivided into ten administrative divisions. The single province in the eastern wing, East Bengal, had four divisions – Chittagong, Dacca, Khulna and Rajshahi. The province of West Punjab had four divisions – Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi and Sargodha. The North-West Frontier Province (as it was then called) had two divisions – Dera Ismail Khan and Peshawar. Most of the former Sind Province became Hyderabad Division. Most of the divisions were named after the divisional capitals, with some exceptions.

From 1955 to 1970, the One Unit policy meant that there were only two provinces – East and West Pakistan. East Pakistan had the same divisions as East Bengal had previously, but West Pakistan gradually gained seven new divisions to add to the original six. The Baluchistan States Union became Kalat Division, while the former Baluchistan Chief Commissioner's Province became Quetta Division. Princely State of Khairpur and with some parts of Hyderabad division were joining to form Khairpur Division. The former princely state of Bahawalpur became Bahawalpur Division, therefore joining West Punjab. The Federal Capital Territory was absorbed into West Pakistan in 1959 and in 1960 merged with the district of Las Bela to form the Karachi-Bela Division. In 1969, the princely states of Chitral, Dir and Swat were incorporated into West Pakistan as the division of Malakand with Saidu as the divisional headquarters. In 1975, Khairpur division abolished and replace it with Sukkur Division. In 1980, Sukkur division(Formally Khairpur division) was bifurcated to create Larkana division. In 1990, Mirpurkhas division created by bifurcation of Hyderabad division.

In 2000, Government abolished division system in the Sindh Province. On 11 July 2011, Sindh government restored division in the province.

New Divisions

When West Pakistan was dissolved, the divisions were regrouped into four new provinces. Gradually over the late 1970s, new divisions were formed; Hazara and Kohat divisions were split from Peshawar Division; Gujranwala Division was formed from parts of Lahore and Rawalpindi divisions; Dera Ghazi Khan Division was split from Multan Division; Faisalabad Division was split from Sargodha Division; Sibi Division was formed from parts of Kalat and Quetta divisions; Lasbela District was transferred from Karachi Division to Kalat Division; Makran Division split from Kalat Division. The name of Khairpur Division was changed to Sukkur Division and Headquarters of Khairpur Division shifted from khairpur to Sukkur. Shaheed Benazirabad is also a new division in Sindh.

During the military rule of General Zia-ul-Haq, the Advisory Council of Islamize Ideology (headed by Justice Tanzilur Rahman) was tasked with finding ways to Islamic the country. One of its recommendations was that the existing four provinces should be dissolved and the twenty administrative divisions should become new provinces in a federal structure with greater devolution of power, but this proposal was never implemented.

In the recent past (i.e. in last three decades), Naseerabad Division was split from Sibi Division; Zhob Division was split from Quetta Division; Bannu Division was split from Dera Ismail Khan Division; Mardan Division was split from Peshawar Division; Larkana Division were split from Sukkur Division and Shaheed Benazirabad Division^[1] Mirpur Khas Division was split from Hyderabad Division. Sahiwal Division was formed from parts of Lahore and Multan Divisions while Sheikhupura Division was formed from Lahore and Faisalabad Divisions. The capital of Kalat Division was moved from Kalat to Khuzdar. Rakhshan Division is recently added to Balochistan comprising parts of Quetta and Kalat Divisions with capital at Kharan.

Recently in June 2021, Loralai Division was added to Balochistan, by splitting off from Zhob Division. Recently on 17 August 2022 Gujrat Division was added to Punjab.^[2] On January 14, 2023, Mianwali Division was added to Punjab.

Abolition

In August 2000, local government reforms abolished the "Division" as an administrative tier and introduced a system of local government councils, with the first elections held in 2001. Following that there was radical restructuring of the local government system to implement "the principle of subsidiarity, whereby all functions that can be effectively performed at the local level are transferred to that level". This meant devolution of many functions, to districts and tehsils, which were previously handled at the provincial and divisional levels. At abolition, there were twenty-six divisions in Pakistan proper – five in Sindh, six in Balochistan, seven in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and eight in Punjab. Abolition did not affect the three divisions of Azad Kashmir, which form the second tier of government.

Restoration

In 2008, after the public elections, the new government decided to restore the divisions of all provinces.^[3]

In Sindh after the lapse of the Local Governments Bodies term in 2010 the Divisional Commissioners system was to be restored.^[4]^[5]^[6]

In July 2011, following excessive violence in the city of Karachi and after the political split between the ruling PPP and the majority party in Sindh, the MQM and after the resignation of the MQM Governor of Sindh, PPP and the Govt. of Sindh decided to restore the commissioner system in the province. As a consequence, the five divisions of Sindh have been restored namely, Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas and Larkana with their respective districts. One new division was added in Sindh, the Shaheed Benazirabad division.^[7]

Karachi district has been de-merged into its 5 original constituent districts namely Karachi East, Karachi West, Karachi Central, Karachi South and Malir. Korangi has been upgraded to the status of a sixth district of Karachi by splitting from Karachi East District. Recently Keamari District is formed by bifurcating Karachi West District. These seven districts form the Karachi Division now.^[8]

Current divisions by administrative units

The following tables show the current 32 divisions by province with their respective populations as of the 2023 Census of Pakistan,^[9] and the 6 divisions of Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Provinces

Divisions of Balochistan Province
Division	Area (km²)	Population 1998 Census	Population 2017 Census	Population 2023 Census^[10]	Capital
Kalat	91,767	1,443,727	2,509,230	2,721,018	Khuzdar
Loralai	17,260			870,000	Loralai
Makran	52,067	832,753	1,489,015	1,875,872	Turbat
Naseerabad	15,129	988,109	1,591,144	2,044,021	Dera Murad Jamali
Quetta	14,559	1,713,952	4,174,562	4,259,163	Quetta
Rakhshan	98,596	409,473	737,162	1,040,001	Kharan
Sibi	30,684	630,901	1,038,010	1,156,748	Sibi
Zhob	27,128	956,443	1,542,447	927,579	Zhob
Divisions of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province
Division	Area (km²)	Population 1998 Census	Population 2017 Census	Population 2023 Census^[11]	Capital
Bannu	9,975	1,165,692	2,044,074	3,092,078	Bannu
Dera Ismail Khan	18,854	1,091,211	2,019,017	3,188,779	Dera Ismail Khan
Hazara	17,064	3,505,581	5,325,121	6,188,736	Abbottabad
Kohat	12,377	1,307,969	2,218,971	3,752,436	Kohat
Malakand	31,162	4,262,700	7,514,694	9,959,399	Saidu Sharif
Mardan	3,175	2,486,904	3,997,677	4,639,498	Mardan
Peshawar	9,134	3,923,588	7,403,817	10,035,171	Peshawar
Divisions of Punjab Province
Division	Area (km²)	Population 1998 Census	Population 2017 Census	Population 2023 Census^[12]	Capital
Bahawalpur	45,588	7,635,591	11,464,031	13,400,009	Bahawalpur
Dera Ghazi Khan	38,778	6,503,590	11,014,398	12,892,465	Dera Ghazi Khan
Faisalabad	17,917	9,885,685	14,177,081	16,228,526	Faisalabad
Gujranwala	8,975	11,431,058	16,123,984	12,390,521	Gujranwala
Gujrat	8,232	N/A (Part of Gujranwala)	N/A (Part of Gujranwala)	6,337,678	Gujrat
Lahore	11,727	8,694,620	19,581,281	22,772,710	Lahore
Mianwali	16,925	N/A (Part of Sargodha)	N/A (Part of Sargodha)	4,357,984	Mianwali
Multan	15,211	8,447,557	12,265,161	14,085,102	Multan
Rawalpindi	22,255	6,659,528	10,007,821	10,804,250	Rawalpindi
Sahiwal	10,302	5,362,866	7,380,386	8,533,471	Sahiwal
Sargodha	12,365	5,679,766	8,181,499	9,591,275	Sargodha
Divisions of Sindh Province
Division	Area (km²)	Population 1998 Census	Population 2017 Census	Population 2023 Census^[13]	Capital
Hyderabad	48,670	4,610,071	10,596,049	11,659,246	Hyderabad
Karachi	3,528	9,856,318	16,051,521	20,382,881	Karachi
Larkana	15,213		6,192,380	7,093,706	Larkana
Mirpur Khas	28,171	2,585,417	4,228,683	4,619,624	Mirpur Khas
Shaheed Benazirabad	18,175	3,510,036	5,282,277	5,930,649	Nawabshah
Sukkur	27,158	3,447,935	5,538,555	6,010,041	Sukkur

Administered territories

Divisions of Azad Kashmir
Division	Area (km²)	Population 1998 Census	Population 2017 Census	Population 2023 Census	Capital
Mirpur	4,388	1,198,249	1,651,018	N/A	Mirpur
Muzaffarabad	6,117	745,733	1,072,150	N/A	Muzaffarabad
Poonch	2,792	1,028,541	1,322,198	N/A	Rawalakot
Divisions of Gilgit-Baltistan
Division	Area (km²)	Population 1998 Census	Population 2017 Census	Population 2023 Census	Capital
Gilgit	-	N/A	N/A	N/A	Gilgit
Baltistan	-	N/A	N/A	N/A	Skardu
Diamer	-	N/A	N/A	N/A	Chilas

List of all divisions by population over the years

Data from 2023, 2017, 1998, 1981, 1972 censuses^[14]^[15]
Division	Pop. 2023	Pop. 2017	Pop. 1998	Pop. 1981	Capital	Province
Islamabad	2,363,863	2,006,572	805,235	340,286	Islamabad	Islamabad
F.A.T.A.	N/A (Merged with KPK)	5,001,676	3,176,331	2,198,547	Islamabad	F.A.T.A.
Bahawalpur	13,400,009	11,464,031	7,635,591	4,068,636	Bahawalpur	Punjab
Lahore	22,772,710	19,398,081	12,015,649	7,183,097	Lahore
Dera Ghazi Khan	12,892,465	11,014,398	6,503,590	3,746,837	Dera Ghazi Khan
Faisalabad	16,228,526	14,177,081	9,885,685	6,667,425	Faisalabad
Multan	14,085,102	12,265,161	8,447,557	5,408,561	Multan
Rawalpindi	10,804,250	10,007,821	6,659,528	4,432,729	Rawalpindi
Sargodha	9,591,275	8,181,499	5,679,766	3,930,628	Sargodha
Mianwali	4,357,984	N/A (Part of Sargodha)	N/A (Part of Sargodha)	N/A (Part of Sargodha)	Mianwali
Sahiwal	8,533,471	5,362,866	4,271,247	N/A	Sahiwal
Gujranwala	12,390,521	16,123,984	11,431,058	7,642,118	Gujranwala
Gujrat	6,337,678	N/A (Part of Gujranwala)	N/A (Part of Gujranwala)	N/A (Part of Gujranwala)	Gujrat
Mirpur Khas	4,619,624	4,228,683	2,585,417	1,501,882	Mirpur Khas	Sindh
Hyderabad	11,659,246	10,592,635	6,829,537	4,678,290	Hyderabad
Karachi	20,382,881	16,051,521	9,856,318	5,437,984	Karachi
Larkana	7,093,706	6,192,380	4,210,650	2,746,201	Larkana
Shaheed Benazirabad	5,930,649	5,282,277	3,510,036	2,560,448	Shaheed Benazirabad
Sukkur	6,010,041	5,538,555	3,447,935	2,103,861	Sukkur
Dera Ismail Khan	3,188,779	2,019,017	1,091,211	635,494	Dera Ismail Khan	KPK
Bannu	3,092,078	2,044,074	1,165,692	710,786	Bannu
Kohat	3,752,436	2,218,971	1,307,969	758,772	Kohat
Hazara	6,188,736	5,325,121	3,505,581	2,701,257	Abbottabad
Malakand	9,959,399	7,514,694	4,262,700	2,466,767	Saidu
Mardan	4,639,498	3,997,677	2,486,904	1,506,500	Mardan
Peshawar	10,035,171	7,403,817	3,923,588	2,281,752	Peshawar
Kalat	2,721,018	2,509,230	1,457,722	1,044,174	Khuzdar	Balochistan
Nasirabad	2,044,021	591,144	1,076,708	699,669	Dera Murad Jamali
Makran	1,875,872	1,489,015	832,753	652,602	Turbat
Quetta	4,259,163	4,174,562	1,699,957	880,618	Quetta
Sibi	1,156,748	1,038,010	630,901	305,768	Sibi
Zhob	927,579	1,542,447	956,443	749,545	Zhob
Loralai	870,000	N/A	N/A	N/A	Loralai
Rakhshan	1,040,001	737,162	409,473	N/A	Kharan
Azad Kashmir	N/A	4,045,366	2,972,523	1,980,000	Muzaffarabad	Azad Kashmir
Mirpur	N/A	1,651,018	1,198,249	N/A	Mirpur	Azad Kashmir
Muzaffarabad	N/A	1,072,150	745,733	N/A	Muzaffarabad
Poonch	N/A	1,322,198	1,028,541	N/A	Rawalakot
Gilgit-Baltistan	N/A	N/A	910,000	562,000	Gilgit	Gilgit-Baltistan
Gilgit	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Gilgit	Gilgit-Baltistan
Baltistan	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Skardu
Diamer	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Chilas

List of all divisions by population, area, density, literacy rate etc.

List of the divisions by population, area, density, literacy rate etc.
Division	Population (2023)	Area (km²)	Density/ (km²) (2017)	Literacy rate (2023) ^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]	Capital	Province
Islamabad	2,363,863	906	2214.76	83.97%	Islamabad	Islamabad
F.A.T.A.	N/A (Merged with KPK)	27,220	183.75	...	Islamabad	F.A.T.A.
Dera Ismail Khan	3,188,779	9,005	224.21	41.73%	Dera Ismail Khan	KPK
Bannu	3,092,078	4,391	465.51	42.11%	Bannu
Kohat	3,752,436	7,012	316.45	50.89%	Kohat
Hazara	6,188,736	17,194	309.7	60.95%	Abbottabad
Malakand	9,959,399	29,872	251.56	47.51%	Saidu
Mardan	4,639,498	3,046	1312.43	56.90%	Mardan
Peshawar	10,035,171	4,001	1850.49	51.32%	Peshawar
Dera Ghazi Khan	12,892,465	38,778	284.04	48.00%	Dera Ghazi Khan	Punjab
Lahore	22,772,710	11,727	1654.14	73.63%	Lahore
Faisalabad	16,228,526	17,917	791.26	68.80%	Faisalabad
Bahawalpur	13,400,009	45,588	251.47	52.13%	Bahawalpur
Gujranwala	12,390,521	8,975	937.11	76.41%	Gujranwala
Gujrat	6,337,678	8,232	...	76.41%	Gujrat
Multan	14,085,102	17,935	683.87	59.43%	Multan
Rawalpindi	10,804,250	18,823	574.5	79.90%	Rawalpindi
Sargodha	9,591,275	26,360	310.38	63.19%	Sargodha
Mianwali	4,357,984	16,925	257.36	N/A	Mianwali
Sahiwal	8,533,471	10,302	520.57	61.02%	Sahiwal
Karachi	20,382,881	3,528	4549.75	75.11%	Karachi	Sindh
Mirpur Khas	4,619,624	28,171	150.11	40.41%	Mirpur Khas
Hyderabad	11,659,246	64,963	163.06	45.38%	Hyderabad
Larkana	7,093,706	15,543	398.4	44.53%	Larkana
Shaheed Benazirabad	5,930,649	18,175	290.63	49.91%	Shaheed Benazirabad
Sukkur	6,010,041	34,752	159.37	49.72%	Sukkur
Makran	1,875,872	52,067	28.6	47.69%	Turbat	Balochistan
Nasirabad	2,044,021	16,946	34.88	32.59%	Dera Murad Jamali
Quetta	4,259,163	64,310	64.91	51.68%	Quetta
Kalat	2,721,018	91,767	17.85	38.72%	Khuzdar
Zhob	927,579	27,128	33.39	32.33%	Zhob
Loralai	870,000	17,260	...	39.89%	Loralai
Sibi	1,156,748	27,055	38.37	34.70%	Sibi
Rakhshan	1,040,001	98,596	...	36.84%	Kharan
Azad Kashmir	...	13,297	304.23	...	Muzaffarabad	Azad Kashmir
Mirpur	...	4,388	...	...	Mirpur	Azad Kashmir
Muzaffarabad	...	6,117	...	...	Muzaffarabad
Poonch	...	2,792	...	...	Rawalakot
Gilgit-Baltistan	...	72,520	...	...	Gilgit	Gilgit-Baltistan
Gilgit	...	...	...	...	Gilgit	Gilgit-Baltistan
Baltistan	...	...	...	...	Skardu
Diamer	...	...	...	...	Chilas

References

^ "Shaheed Benazirabad made division". 25 May 2014.
^ "New division, two districts created in Balochistan". DAWN.COM. 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
^ "Commissionerate system restored". 26 October 2008. Archived from the original on 2010-01-09. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
^ "502 Bad Gateway". www.emoiz.com. Archived from the original on 2018-12-26. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
^ "Commissioner system to be restored soon: Durrani". Archived from the original on 2012-07-31.
^ "Sindh: Commissioner system may be revived today". Archived from the original on 2019-01-06. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
^ "Commissioners, DCs posted in Sindh". 12 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2011-07-13.
^ anjum (11 July 2011). "Sindh back to 5 divisions after 11 years | Pakistan Today". Retrieved 2022-05-05.
^ "District wise census results census 2017" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-29.
^ https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/balochistan/pcr/table_1.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/kp/pcr/table_1.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/punjab/pcr/table_1.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/sindh/pcr/table_1.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ "Info" (PDF). www.pbs.gov.pk.
^ "Pakistan Divisions". www.statoids.com.
^ "Population of the districts of KPK" (PDF).
^ "Population of the districts of Punjab" (PDF).
^ "Population of the districts of Balochistan" (PDF).
^ "Population of the districts of Sindh" (PDF).

External links

Media related to Divisions of Pakistan at Wikimedia Commons
Decentralisation Programme
National Reconstruction Bureau
Devolution Trust of Pakistan

[1] "Shaheed Benazirabad made division". 25 May 2014.

[2] "New division, two districts created in Balochistan". DAWN.COM. 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2022-05-05.

[3] "Commissionerate system restored". 26 October 2008. Archived from the original on 2010-01-09. Retrieved 2010-04-26.

[4] "502 Bad Gateway". www.emoiz.com. Archived from the original on 2018-12-26. Retrieved 2010-04-26.

[5] "Commissioner system to be restored soon: Durrani". Archived from the original on 2012-07-31.

[6] "Sindh: Commissioner system may be revived today". Archived from the original on 2019-01-06. Retrieved 2010-04-26.

[7] "Commissioners, DCs posted in Sindh". 12 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2011-07-13.

[8] um (11 July 2011). "Sindh back to 5 divisions after 11 years | Pakistan Today". Retrieved 2022-05-05.

[DISTRICT_WISE_CENSUS_RESULTS_CENSUS_2017-9] "District wise census results census 2017" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-29.

[10] ttps://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/balochistan/pcr/table_1.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[11] ttps://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/kp/pcr/table_1.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[12] ttps://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/punjab/pcr/table_1.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[13] ttps://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/sindh/pcr/table_1.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[14] "Info" (PDF). www.pbs.gov.pk.

[15] "Pakistan Divisions". www.statoids.com.

[16] "Population of the districts of KPK" (PDF).

[17] "Population of the districts of Punjab" (PDF).

[18] "Population of the districts of Balochistan" (PDF).

[19] "Population of the districts of Sindh" (PDF).

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v t e Divisions of Pakistan
Balochistan	Kalat Makran Nasirabad Quetta Rakhshan Sibi Zhob Loralai
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	Bannu Dera Ismail Khan Hazara Kohat Malakand Mardan Peshawar
Punjab	Bahawalpur Dera Ghazi Khan Faisalabad Gujranwala Gujrat Lahore Mianwali Multan Rawalpindi Sahiwal Sargodha
Sindh	Hyderabad Karachi Larkana Mirpur Khas Sukkur Shaheed Benazirabad
Islamabad Capital Territory	None
Azad Jammu & Kashmir	Mirpur Muzaffarabad Poonch
Gilgit Baltistan	Gilgit Baltistan Diamer