Dera Bugti District
District in Balochistan, Pakistan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dera Bugti (Balochi: ڈئره بگٹیءِ دمگ, Urdu: ضلع ڈیرہ بگٹی) is a district within the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It was established as a separate district in 1983.[2] It is home to most members of the namesake Bugti tribe.[3]
Dera Bugti District
ضلع ڈیرہ بگٹی ڈئره بگٹیءِ دمگ | |
|---|---|
Canyon in Dera Bugti district | |
 Map of Balochistan with Dera Bugti District highlighted | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province |  Balochistan |
| Division | Sibi |
| Established | July 1983 |
| Headquarters | Dera Bugti |
| Government | |
| • Type | District Administration |
| • Deputy Commissioner | Azhar Ali |
| • District Police Officer | Essa Jan Rind |
| • District Health Officer | Dr. Muhammad Azam |
| Area | |
| 10,160 km2 (3,920 sq mi) | |
| Population | |
| 355,274 | |
| • Density | 34.97/km2 (90.57/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 108,447 |
| • Rural | 246,827 |
| Literacy | |
| • Literacy rate |
|
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| Number of Tehsils | 4 |
Administration
The district is administratively divided into the following five tehsils (subdivisions)
| Tehsil[4] | Area
(km²)[5] |
Pop.
(2023) |
Density
(ppl/km²) (2023) |
Literacy rate
(2023)[6] |
Union Councils |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dera Bugti | 927 | 50,943 | 54.95 | 33.75% | ... |
| Phelawagh[7] | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Sui[7] | 3,858 | 126,725 | 32.85 | ... | |
| Baiker Tehsil | 258 | 33,410 | 129.50 | 15.62% | ... |
| Pirkoh[7] | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
Demography
Population
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | ... | — |
| 1961 | 32,049 | — |
| 1972 | 52,718 | +4.63% |
| 1981 | 103,821 | +7.82% |
| 1998 | 181,310 | +3.33% |
| 2017 | 313,110 | +2.92% |
| 2023 | 355,274 | +2.13% |
| Sources:[8] | ||
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | N/A | — |
| 1961 | N/A | — |
| 1972 | N/A | — |
| 1981 | N/A | — |
| 1998 | 181,310 | — |
| 2017 | 313,110 | +2.92% |
| 2023 | 355,274 | +2.13% |
| Sources:[9] | ||
As of the 2023 census, Dera Bugti district has 62,267 households and a population of 355,274. The district has a sex ratio of 121.10 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 24.07%: 34.40% for males and 11.88% for females.[10][11] 152,457 (42.91% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age.[12] 108,447 (30.52%) live in urban areas.[10] 1,843 (0.52%) were from religious minorities, around 1,100 Hindus and 700 Christians.[13]
Religion
| Religious group |
1901[14] | 1911[15] | 1921[16] | 1931[17] | 1941[18] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |||||
Islam  |
38,507 | 98.94% | 34,395 | 98.93% | 36,730 | 99.21% | 54,903 | 99.42% | 57,831 | 99.52% | ||||
Hinduism  |
412 | 1.06% | 371 | 1.07% | 294 | 0.79% | 321 | 0.58% | 281 | 0.48% | ||||
Sikhism  |
0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | ||||
Christianity  |
0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | ||||
Zoroastrianism  |
0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | ||||
Judaism  |
0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | ||||
Jainism  |
0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | ||||
Buddhism .svg){kind=small} |
N/a | N/a | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | ||||
| Tribal | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | ||||
| Others | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | ||||
| Total population | 38,919 | 100% | 34,766 | 100% | 37,024 | 100% | 55,224 | 100% | 58,112 | 100% | ||||
| Note: British Baluchistan era figures are for Marri-Bugti Country, which roughly corresponds to present-day Dera Bugti District. Marri-Bugti Country formed part of Sibi District during the British Baluchistan era. | ||||||||||||||
Language
At the time of the 2023 census, 98.94% of the population spoke Balochi as their first language.[19]
Political Organization
The Bugti Youth Organization is a left-leaning youth political organization from Dera Bugti, Balochistan. Established in November 2025, it developed from the Bugti Progressive Student Society formed in 2023. The organization works on issues related to democratic representation, social welfare, and equitable resource governance in the region.
Notable people
- Akbar Bugti (born 12 July 1926 in Dera Bugti; died 26 August 2006) was the Tumandar (tribal chief) of the Bugti tribe, a seasoned politician, former Governor and Chief Minister of Balochistan, and founder of the Jamhoori Wattan Party.
- Brahumdagh Bugti, born in Dera Bugti, is the founder and leader of the Baloch Republican Party, a Baloch nationalist political organisation formed following his departure from the Jamhoori Wattan Party in 2008. He campaigns for Baloch rights and has been living in self-imposed exile in Switzerland
- Shahzain Bugti (born 14 April 1970 in Dera Bugti) is a Pakistani politician who served as Member of the National Assembly from August 2018 to August 2023 and held positions including Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Reconciliation and Harmony in Balochistan (2021–2022) and Federal Minister for Narcotics Control (2022–2023). He is the grandson of Akbar Bugti and leads the Jamhoori Wattan Party.
- Sarfraz Bugti, born in a village of Dera Bugti in Balochistan, is a Pakistani politician whose early education includes Lawrence College, Murree, and studies in Defence and Strategic Studies at Quaid-i-Azam University. His father was a tribal elder and political dissident, and Sarfraz himself has been involved in politics, including periods of arrest amid election activities.
- Abdul Ghaffar Bugti (born 12 December 2002 in Dera Bugti) is a Pakistani Journalist and Human rights activist. He writes for The Friday Times, the Express Turbine, and Humsub Urdu. He mostly covers gender, education, and human rights issues. He was nominated to serve as a Trust Coordinator for UN Women [citation needed].
