Mansehra District ضلع مانسہرہ | |
|---|---|
  | |
 Mansehra District (red) inKhyber Pakhtunkhwa | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province |  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Division | Hazara |
| Region | Pakhli |
| Headquarters | Mansehra |
| Government | |
| • Type | District administration |
| • Deputy Commissioner | Bilal Shahid Rao(BPS-18 PAS) |
| • District Police Officer | Zahoor Babar Afridi(BPS-19 PSP) |
| Area | |
| 4,579 km2 (1,768 sq mi) | |
| Population | |
| 1,797,177 | |
| • Density | 392.5/km2 (1,017/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 154,834 (8.62%) |
| • Rural | 1,642,343 |
| Literacy | |
| • Literacy rate |
|
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| Area code | 0997 |
| Number ofunion councils | 59 |
| Number oftehsils | 5[3] |
| Website | mansehra |
Mansehra District (Urdu,Hindko:ضلع مانسہرہ) is adistrict in theHazara Division,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,northernPakistan. The city ofMansehra serves as the headquarters of the district.
Mansehra was established as an independent district in 1976. It was previously a tehsil within the broader Hazara District.[4] In 1993, a former subdivision of Mansehra, Battagram, was separated as an independent district.[5] Similarly, in 2011, another subdivision of Mansehra, Kala Dhaka, was separated which is now known asTorghar District.
The area comprising present-day Mansehra District historically consisted of two regions: Pakhal, known as the country of theSwati tribe, and Tanawal, the territory of the Tanoli tribe. According to revenue records, historical accounts, and British gazetteers, following the conquest of Pakhal from the Turks in 1703, Swati clans settled across the region, establishing ownership of nearly all villages in the district.[6]
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 260,631 | — |
| 1961 | 373,975 | +3.68% |
| 1972 | 552,842 | +3.62% |
| 1981 | 686,308 | +2.43% |
| 1998 | 978,157 | +2.11% |
| 2017 | 1,555,742 | +2.47% |
| 2023 | 1,797,177 | +2.43% |
| Sources:[7] | ||
As of the2023 census, Mansehra district has 294,052 households and a population of 1,797,177. The district has a sex ratio of 103.08 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 63.79%: 75.33% for males and 52.02% for females. 478,985 (26.76% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 154,834 (8.62%) live in urban areas.[1]
The major ethnic groups in Mansehra district are:
At the time of the 2023 census, 66.22% of the population spokeHindko, 17.97%Pashto, 2.51%Kohistani and 1.16%Urdu as their first language.[10]
Many of these, especially in the upperKaghan Valley, are speakers of the Kohistani dialects. There are also speakers of the widely dispersedGujari language, particularly in theKaghan Valley.[11] The local variety is intermediate between the eastern dialects ofGujari (spoken inAzad Kashmir) and the western group (fromChitral,Swat andGilgit).[12] There is also a small community in the village ofDana inOghi Tehsil who speak the endangeredMankiyali language.[13]
| Religious group | 1941[14]: 22 | 2017[15] | 2023[16] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
Islam | 293,231 | 97.79% | 1,555,315 | 99.97% | 1,785,071 | 99.75% |
Hinduism | 5,431 | 1.81% | 28 | ~0% | 39 | ~0% |
Sikhism | 1,174 | 0.39% | N/a | N/a | 31 | ~0% |
Christianity | 22 | 0.01% | 163 | 0.01% | 3,986 | 0.22% |
| Other | 0 | ~0% | 236 | 0.02% | 497 | 0.03% |
| Total Population | 299,858 | 100% | 1,555,742 | 100% | 1,789,624[a] | 100% |
| Note: 1941 census data is for Mansehra, Amb and Phulra tehsils of erstwhile Hazara district, which roughly corresponds to contemporary Mansehra district. District and tehsil borders have changed since 1941. | ||||||
The district is represented in theKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly by elected MPAs who represent the following constituencies:[17]
Constituency and current member :
The district is represented in theNational Assembly of Pakistan by two elected MNAs who represent the following constituencies:
Mansehra District consists of sixtehsils, with Tanawal Tehsil separated from the other five in December 2022.[18]
| Tehsil | Name (Urdu) | Area (km²)[19] | Pop. (2023) | Density (ppl/km²) (2023) | Literacy rate (2023)[20] | Union Councils |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baffa Pakhal | (Urdu:تحصیل بفہ پکھل)[21] | 640 | 460,090 | 718.89 | 60.85% | |
| Bala Kot Tehsil | (Urdu:تحصیل بالاکوٹ) | 2,376 | 310,339 | 130.61 | 67.50% | |
| Darband | (Urdu:تحصیل دربند)[22] | 102 | 51,702 | 506.88 | 50.47% | |
| Mansehra Tehsil | (Urdu:تحصیل مانسہرہ) | 700 | 723,325 | 1,033.32 | 68.70% | |
| Oghi Tehsil | (Urdu:تحصیل اوگی) | 307 | 251,721 | 819.94 | 52.85% | |
| Tanawal Tehsil | (Urdu:تحصیل تناول) | ... | ... | ... | ... |
The Kala Dhaka tehsil was separated asTorghar District in 2011.
| Member of Provincial Assembly | Party affiliation | Constituency | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Munir Lughmani Swati | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | PK-36 Mansehra-I | 2024 |
| Babar Saleem Khan Swati | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | PK-37 Mansehra-II | 2024 |
| Zahid Chanzeb Swati | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | PK-38 Mansehra-III | 2024 |
| Ikram Ghazi Khan Tanoli | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | PK-39 Mansehra-IV | 2024 |
| Sardar Shah Jahan Yousaf | Pakistan Muslim League (N) | PK-40 Mansehra-V | 2024 |
Many tribes inhabit the District Mansehra, broadly divisible into the ancient peoples like Gujars and Kohistanis and the recent migrants like Pathans of the area. Awans, Gujars, Swatis, Syeds and Tanolis are the most prominent ethnic groups of the district.
In addition the Akhun Khels, Dhunds, Hassanzais, Mughals, Nusrat Khels, Qureshis, Rajputs, Turks and Utmanzais are commonly mentioned ethnic groups of Mansehra (Ghulam, 2003).
Media related toMansehra District at Wikimedia Commons
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