The province of Punjab, the most populous province of Pakistan and the second-largest province by area, is divided into 41 districts and 10 divisions(as of January 2023). Below, you will find an overview of the recent history of districts in Punjab, a map showing each district, the divisions of Punjab and their districts, and a list showing each district's name, the division the district belongs to, the district's area, the location of the district's headquarters, the district's population and population density (in 2017), the average annual population growth rate of each district (between 1998 and 2017), and a map showing each district's location.
History
Colonial Times
1868–1901
Districts and Divisions were both introduced in Punjab as administrative units by the British when Punjab became a part of British India, and ever since then, they have formed an integral part in the civil administration of the Punjab (this region today also covers parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the entire Islamabad Capital Territory, and parts of the Indian States of Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab). At the time of Punjab's second census, which took place in 1868, the Punjab was divided into 32 districts, under 10 divisions. The administrative setup of the region was as follows:
Division District Current status Ambalah Division Ambalah District Given to India during the Partition of India Ludhiana District Simla District Amritsar Division Amritsar District Gurdaspur District Sialkot District Exists in present day Pakistani PunjabDelhi Division Delhi District Given to India during the Partition of India Gurgaon District Karnal District Derajat Division Bannu District Exists in present day Pakistani Punjab Dera Ghazi Khan District Dera Ismail Khan District Hissar Division Hissar District Given to India during the Partition of India Rohtak District Sirsah District Jalandhar Division Hoshiarpur District Jalandhar District Kangra District Lahore Division Firozpur District Gujranwala District Exists in present day Pakistani Punjab Lahore District Multan Division Jhang District Montgomery District Multan District Muzaffargarh District Peshawar Division Hazara District Now in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Kohat District Peshawar District Rawalpindi Division Gujrat District Exists in present day Pakistani Punjab Jhelum District Rawalpindi District Shahpur District Located in present day Pakistani Punjab but no longer exists
The exact same setup was in use at the time of the 1881 and 1891 Census of Punjab as well.
By the 1901 census, the 10 revenue divisions that had been in place since 1868 had also been reorganized into only 5 larger divisions: Delhi, Jalandhar, Lahore, Multan, and Rawalpindi, and Sirsah District had been absorbed into Hissar District.
1901–1911
Between 1901 and 1911, many changes occurred to Punjab's administrative map. On 25 October 1901, after the 1901 census was taken, the Punjab province was divided into two separate entities: Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province. The North-West Frontier Province consisted of the three districts of Hazara, Kohat, and Peshawar, the Bannu and Marwat Tehsils of Bannu District (which then became Bannu District), and the Dera Ismail Khan, Kulachi, and Tank Tehsils of Dera Ismail Khan District (which then became Dera Ismail Khan District). The tehsils of Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu Districts which were not placed into the North-West Frontier Province became Mianwali District, placed in Multan. In 1904, Attock District was created out of parts of Rawalpindi District and Jhelum District, and Lyallpur District was created out of parts of Gujranwala, Jhang, and Montgomery Districts. In 1909, Mianwali District transferred from Multan Division to Rawalpindi Division. This all meant that at the time of Punjab's 1911 Census, Punjab had 29 districts split among 5 divisions. The administrative setup of the region was as follows:
Division District Current status Delhi Division Ambala District Given to India during the Partition of India Delhi District Gurgaon District Hissar District Karnal District Rohtak District Simla District Jalandhar Division Ferozpur District Hoshiarpur District Jalandhar District Kangra District Ludhiana District Lahore Division Amritsar District Gujranwala District Exists in present day Pakistani Punjab Gurdaspur District Given to India during the Partition of India Lahore District Exists in present day Pakistani Punjab Sialkot District Multan Division Dera Ghazi Khan District Jhang District Lyallpur District Montgomery District Multan District Muzaffargarh District Rawalpindi Division Attock District Gujrat District Jhelum District Mianwali District Rawalpindi District Shahpur District Located in present day Pakistani Punjab but no longer exists 1911–1947
In late 1911, the imperial capital of British India was moved from Calcutta (today Kolkata) to Delhi. The district was reorganized as its own province that year, decreasing the number of districts in Punjab to 28. After the creation of Delhi Province, Delhi Division went by the name "Ambala Division". In 1919, Sheikhupura District was created from parts of Gujranwala and Lahore Districts and placed in Lahore Division. This meant that the number of districts and divisions in the province was the same in 1921 as it was in 1911, except Ambala Division was one district smaller and Lahore Division was one district larger, although Lahore Division hadn't changed much in area and population. The administrative setup of Punjab was as follows:
Division District Current status Ambala Division Ambala District Given to India during the Partition of India Gurgaon District Hissar District Karnal District Rohtak District Simla District Jalandhar Division Ferozpur District Hoshiarpur District Jalandhar District Kangra District Ludhiana District Lahore Division Amritsar District Gujranwala District Exists in present day Pakistani Punjab Gurdaspur District Given to India during the Partition of India Lahore District Exists in present day Pakistani Punjab Sheikhupura District Sialkot District Multan Division Dera Ghazi Khan District Jhang District Lyallpur District Montgomery District Multan District Muzaffargarh District Rawalpindi Division Attock District Gujrat District Jhelum District Mianwali District Rawalpindi District Shahpur District Located in present day Pakistani Punjab but no longer exists
This exact setup existed in Punjab through the 1931 census, 1941 census, and all the way up to the partition of India and the independence of India and Pakistan.
Post-Independence
1947–1954
At the time of the Partition of India, Punjab was split religiously. As of the 1941 census, Punjab had a population that was 53.22% Muslim (mostly concentrated in the Western regions of the province), 29.11% Hindu (mostly concentrated in the Eastern regions of the province), and 14.91% Sikh (mostly concentrated in the center of the province, around Amritsar and Lahore). Because of this divide, Punjab was split into East Punjab, which would have a Hindu/Sikh majority and would be placed in India, and West Punjab, which would have a Muslim majority and would be placed in Pakistan. The line dividing the two was placed by Cyrial Radcliffe, and the line he drew would come to be known as the Radcliffe line.
In the partition, Multan Division and Rawalpindi Division, which were 75.43% and 85.52% Muslim respectively, were entirely given to Pakistan. Each district and each tehsil in both of these divisions had a proportion of Muslims over 50%.
Ambala Division was given to India, being only 28.07% Muslim. Every district in Ambala Division had a non-Muslim majority, and all tehsils but two had non-Muslim majorities (Ferozpur Jhirka and Nuh Tehsils in Gurgaon District had Muslim proportions of 78.79% and 57.88% respectively, but they were very far from all the other Muslim majority districts and tehsils in the Punjab, being next to Delhi).
Jalandhar Division was entirely given to India as well, and each of its districts had a non-Muslim majority. Four Tehsils in this division, though, Ferozpur (55.25% Muslim) and Zira (65.26% Muslim) Tehsils in Ferozpur District, and Jalandhar (51.16% Muslim) and Nakodar (59.41% Muslim) Tehsils in Jalandhar District all had Muslim majorities and bordered Pakistan.
In Lahore Division, Gujranwala (70.45% Muslim), Sheikhupura (63.62% Muslim), and Sialkot (62.18% Muslim) Districts were all entirely given to Pakistan. In these three districts, each tehsil also had a Muslim majority. Amritsar District (46.52% Muslim) was entirely given to India, despite having one tehsil (Ajnala Tehsil at 59.46% Muslim) bordering other Muslim-majority tehsils and districts that was also Muslim-majority. Lahore District and Gurdaspur Districts, both Muslim majority (60.62% Muslim and 51.14% Muslim respectively) were the only two districts in Punjab that were split. In Gurdaspur District, which had four tehsils, three tehsils were majority Muslim (Batala, Gurdaspur, and Shakargarh Tehsils at 55.07%, 52.16%, and 51.32% Muslim respectively) and one tehsil was majority non-Muslim (Pathankot Tehsil at 38.89% Muslim). One tehsil in Gurdaspur District, Shakargarh Tehsil, was given to Pakistan and placed in Sialkot District, and the other three tehsils were all given to India despite forming a contiguous boundary. Lahore District had three tehsils, Chunian, Lahore and Qasur, all of which were Muslim majority (60.85%, 62.12%, and 57.19% Muslim respectively). While Chunian and Lahore Tehsils were entirely given to Pakistan, Qasur Tehsil was divided into two parts, which the larger part going to India. This was under the grounds of "protecting Amritsar city".
In the end, fifteen districts of Punjab went entirely to Pakistan, all of which were Muslim majority; twelve districts of Punjab went entirely to India, all of which were non-Muslim-majority, and the two districts of Gurdaspur and Lahore, both of which were Muslim majority, were split between India and Pakistan. At the tehsil level, though, eight Muslim-majority tehsils which were contiguous with Pakistan were given to India, while not a single non-Muslim-majority tehsil was given to Pakistan. This left sixteen districts in Pakistani Punjab, that were split up into three divisions. No changes to this setup had occurred up to the time of the 1951 census (except for Attock District being renamed Campbellpur District). The administrative setup of Pakistani Punjab in 1951 was as follows:
Lahore Division Gujranwala District Lahore District Sheikhupura District Sialkot District Multan Division Dera Ghazi Khan District Jhang District Lyallpur District Montgomery District Multan District Muzaffargarh District Rawalpindi Division Campbellpur District Gujrat District Jhelum District Mianwali District Rawalpindi District Shahpur District
1955–1972
In 1955, the One Unit policy that consolidated all of West Pakistan into one province began. From 1955 - 1970, the province of West Punjab ceased to exist, never to return. The death of the province brought the rise of divisions as the primary form of organizing Pakistan's districts, instead of provinces. The area covering former West Punjab, though, kept the same districts and divisions through 1961 (and the 1961 census) as it did in 1951.
The One Unit policy ended in 1970 and provinces returned once again, but when West Punjab was reorganized, it was renamed Punjab and the area which earlier housed the Princely State of Bahawalpur (which, during One Unit, was made into a division and split into the three districts of Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, and Rahim Yar Khan) was absorbed into the province.
By the time of the 1972 Census of Pakistan, many changes had been made to the administrative map: