Quetta District

Template:Short description Template:Use Pakistani English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Template other Quetta (Template:Langx) is a district in the northwestern part of the Balochistan province of Pakistan. According to 2023 Pakistani census population of Quetta District is 2,272,290 (2.2 million).

It is part of Quetta Division. The district is famous for its agriculture produce, most notably fruit orchards, including apples and grapes. The Hanna Valley is an area where almonds are grown. The population counted in the 1998 census was Template:Sigfig, while in 2010 it was estimated at Template:Sigfig,Template:Sfn and in 2017 at 2,275,699.

History

The ancient name of Quetta was Shalkot, a term by which it is still known among the people of the country. The district was held in turns by the Ghaznavids, Ghurids, and Mongols, and towards the end of the fifteenth century was conferred by the ruler of Herat on Shah Beg Arghun, who, however, had shortly to give way before the rising power of the Mughals. The Ain-i-Akbari mentions both Shal and Pishin as supplying military service and revenue to Akbar, however these areas passed with Kandahar to the Safavids. On the rise of the Khilji power in Kandahar at the beginning of the eighteenth century, simultaneously with that of the Baloch in Kalat, Quetta and Pishin became i to the hand of British with the treaty of durand.

British Era

During the 19th century Quetta (Shalkot) was captured by the British troops during the Second Anglo-Afghan War of 1879.

On the advance of the British Army of the Indus in 1839, Captain Bean was appointed the first Political Agent in Shalkot, and the country was managed by him on behalf of Shah Shuja-ul-mulk. After Sir Robert Sandeman's mission to Kalat in 1876, the Quetta Fort was occupied by his escort and the country was managed on behalf of the Khan of Kalat up to 1883, when it was leased to the British Government for an annual rent of Rs. 25,000 through a treaty between Khan and the British Empire. It was formed, with Pishin and Shorarud, into a single administrative charge in 1883. Up to 1888 Old Chaman was the most advanced post on the frontier; but, on the extension of the railroad across the Khwaja Amran, the terminus was fixed at its present site, from that place. The boundary with Afghanistan was finally demarcated in 1895–1896.

The city area of Shalkot was inhabited by the Kasi tribe and the surroundings were occupied by the Bazai tribe with a few other nomads including the tribes of Sulaimankhail, Kharoti, Nasar, and Baitanai. Being on the outskirts of Kandahar, it was not much developed. With the arrival of British troops, doors of development were opened. Very soon, people saw roads, trains and schools in the area.

Administrative divisions

In 1975, Quetta and Pishin were made separate districts. Quetta District today consists of two towns and one sub-tehsil. Quetta District was designated as a City District in 2001, having two tehsils and one sub-tehsil with a total of 67 union councils. Template:Static row numbers

Tehsil	Area (km2)	Pop. (2023)	Density (ppl/km2) (2023)	Literacy rate (2023)	Union Councils
Chiltan	558	1,360,600	2,438.35	63.97%	...
Zarghoon	...	...	...	...	...
Panjpai	1,205	21,371	17.74	37.67%	...
Quetta Sadar	1,283	330,421	257.54	56.66%	...
Kuchlak	180	310,246	1,723.59	50.59%	...
Sariab	221	572,854	2,592.10	42.99%	...

Demographics

Population

As of the 2023 census, Quetta district has 288,459 households and a population of 2,595,492. The district has a sex ratio of 103.48 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 56.29%: 65.06% for males and 46.96% for females. 720,934 (31.74% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 1,565,546 (60.32%) live in urban areas.

Religion

Religions in Quetta district (2023)
Religion			Percent
Islam			98.59%
Christianity			1.1%
Other			0.31%

In the 2023 census, Islam was the predominant religion at 98.59% of the population, while Christians were 1.1% of the population.

Language

At the time of the 2023 census, 59.95% of the population spoke Pashto, 15.51% Brahui, 7.38% Balochi, 2.95% Punjabi, 2.56% Urdu, 1.34% Sindhi, 1.09% Saraiki and 0.82% Hindko as their first language. Around 200,000 speakers of 'Other' languages were recorded in the census, mainly Hazaragi. Hazaras, who speak Dari, are one of the other main ethnic groups in Quetta, having fled there as refugees since the 1990s.

In 1998, Template:Sigfig% of the population resided in urban areas.Template:Sfn The major religion was Islam (Template:Sigfig%), but there were also Christian (Template:Sigfig%) and Hindu (0.5%) communities.Template:Sfn The most common first languages according to the 1998 census were Pashto (Template:Sigfig%), Balochi (Template:Sigfig%) and Punjabi (Template:Sigfig%).Template:Sfn The number for Balochi speakers also included speakers of Brahui, who are normally bilingual with Balochi. The figures for urban population were: Pashto (Template:Sigfig%), Balochi (Template:Sigfig%) and Punjabi (Template:Sigfig%).Template:Sfn Languages in the 1981 census were counted at the level of the household: Pashto was the language of Template:Sigfig% of households, Punjabi at Template:Sigfig%, Brahui at Template:Sigfig%, Urdu at Template:Sigfig% and Balochi at Template:Sigfig%.Template:Sfn There is also a population of Hazaras.Template:Sfn In the 1951 census, the first census in Pakistan, the share of languages in the Quetta-Pishin District was as follows: Pashto (60%), Punjabi (18%) and Balochi (2%).

Religious groups in Quetta–Pishin District (British Baluchistan era)

Religious group	1901		1911		1921		1931		1941
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam File:Star and Crescent.svg	96,600		106,702		103,456		107,945		113,288
Hinduism File:Om.svg	11,752		13,746		22,300		26,718		28,629
Christianity File:Christian cross.svg	3,743		4,564		6,139		7,370		5,441
Sikhism File:Khanda.svg	1,798		2,430		4,848		5,255		8,787
Zoroastrianism File:Faravahar.svg	151		137		151		161		73
Judaism File:Star of David.svg	43		47		16		15		11
Jainism File:Jain Prateek Chihna.svg	0		9		8		32		7
Buddhism File:Dharma Wheel (2).svg	—	—	12		159		40		42
Tribal	—	—	—	—	—	—	0		0
Others	0		1		5		5		11
Total population	114,087		127,648		137,082		147,541		156,289
Note: British Baluchistan 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 region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.

External links

• Quetta District at
• Quetta District Template:Webarchive at