Lower Kohistan District
District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan
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Lower Kohistan District (Urdu: ضلع کوہستان زیریں) is a district in the Hazara Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan.[3][4][5][6] Pattan is the district headquarters of Lower Kohistan.[7]
Lower Kohistan District
ضلع کوہستان زیریں | |
|---|---|
View of Dubair Valley | |
 Lower Kohistan District (red) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province |  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Division | Hazara |
| Established | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Pattan |
| Government | |
| • Type | District Administration |
| • Deputy Commissioner | N/A |
| • District Police Officer | N/A |
| • District Health Officer | N/A |
| Area | |
| 642 km2 (248 sq mi) | |
| Population | |
| 340,017 | |
| • Density | 530/km2 (1,370/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 0 |
| • Rural | 340,017 |
| Literacy | |
| • Literacy rate |
|
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| Number of Tehsils | 2 |
| languages | Kohistani, Hindko & Urdu |
| Website | lowerkohistan |
History
Until 2014, this district was part of the larger Kohistan District. In 2014, the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bifurcated Kohistan District into the Upper Kohistan and Lower Kohistan districts. At that time, Lower Kohistan comprised two tehsils: Palas and Pattan.[8] However, the tehsil of Palas was separated from the district of Lower Kohistan as another district. It was named as Kolai-Palas.[9] On 31 May 2018, Ranovali Pinkhad, previously part of Pattan tehsil, was made a separate tehsil.[10]
Demographics
Population
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | ... | — |
| 1961 | ... | — |
| 1972 | ... | — |
| 1981 | 161,428 | — |
| 1998 | 122,211 | −1.62% |
| 2017 | 202,502 | +2.69% |
| 2023 | 340,017 | +9.02% |
| Sources:[11] | ||
As of the 2023 census, Lower Kohistan district has 47,347 households and a population of 340,017. The district has a sex ratio of 104.39 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 22.05%: 33.32% for males and 10.32% for females. 135,723 (44.75% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. The entire population lives in rural areas.[1]
Social groups
Kohistani people form majority in the district.[12]
Language
92.26% of the surveyed population speak one of the many Kohistani languages as their first language. 5.67% are Pashto speakers.[12]
Religion
According to 2023 census of Pakistan, 945 (0.31% of the surveyed population) people in the district are from religious minorities, mainly Christians.[13]
Administrative Units
Lower Kohistan comprises two Tehsils:[10]
| Tehsil | Name
(Urdu) |
Area
(km2)[14] |
Pop.
(2023) |
Density
(ppl/km2) (2023) |
Literacy rate
(2023)[15] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bankad Tehsil | (Urdu: تحصیل رنولیہ-بانخاد) | 331 | 205,851 | 621.91 | 20.14% |
| Pattan Tehsil | (Urdu: تحصیل پٹن) | 311 | 134,166 | 431.4 | 24.61% |
Provincial Assembly
| Member of Provincial Assembly | Party affiliation | Constituency | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abdul Ghafar | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | PK-26 Kohistan Lower | 2018 |