The divisions of Punjab (), are the first-order administrative bodies of the Punjab Province of Pakistan. In total, there are 10 divisions, which are further divided into districts ranging from three to six per division, depending upon area. Divisions are governed by Commissioners while districts are governed by Deputy Commissioners.
History Administrative divisions had formed an integral tier of government from the times of Mughal Empire and latterly British Raj. The Lahore and Multan Subahs (combinedly Punjab) during Mughal era while Punjab Province during British era were subdivided into divisions, which were themselves subdivided into districts.
After independence, The province of West Punjab had four divisions – Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi and Sargodha. From 1955 to 1970, during One Unit policy the Princely State of Bahawalpur was joined with West Punjab and made part of Bahawalpur Division. In the late 1970s new divisions were formed; Gujranwala Division was formed from parts of Lahore and Rawalpindi divisions; Dera Ghazi Khan Division was split from Multan Division; Faisalabad Division was split from Sargodha Division and, with the passage of time, the number of these divisions increased and now there are nine divisions.
On 17 August 2022, Gujrat comprising districts of Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Wazirabad and Hafizabad, was notified as a new division in Punjab Province. However, it was de-notified later in February 2023. It again got divisional status in December 2024.
Administration Every division of province is divided into many districts and then further into tehsils. Each division is administrated by a commissioner. He is assisted by different deputy commissioners of all districts of his division. The duties of commissioner according to Punjab Government Act 2013 (XVIII of 2013) are as follows:
He is the officer-in-charge of general administration and principal representative of the government in the division. He monitors the discharge of duties by the deputy commissioners in the division. He is also responsible to facilitate and coordinate any work which concerns two or more districts in the division.
List of divisions
Name Headquarters Districts Area (km2)Population (2023)Population Density (2023)Literacy rate (2023) MapBahawalpurBahawalpur Bahawalpur Bahawalnagar Rahim Yar Khan 45,588 13,400,009 293.94/km252.13%Dera Ghazi KhanDera Ghazi Khan Dera Ghazi Khan Layyah Muzaffargarh Rajanpur Taunsa Kot Addu 38,77812,892,465 332.47/km248.00%FaisalabadFaisalabad Faisalabad Chiniot Toba Tek Singh Jhang 17,91816,228,526 905.71/km268.80%GujranwalaGujranwala Gujranwala Narowal Sialkot 7,77911,416,686 937.11/km276.41%GujratGujrat Gujrat Hafizabad Mandi Bahauddin Wazirabad 9,4387,362,182670/km276.41%LahoreLahore Lahore Kasur Nankana Sahib Sheikhupura 11,72722,772,710 1941.90/km273.63%MultanMultan Multan Lodhran Khanewal Vehari 15,21114,085,102 925.98/km259.43%RawalpindiRawalpindi Rawalpindi Jhelum Chakwal Attock Murree Talagang 18,82310,804,250 574.50/km279.9%SahiwalSahiwal Sahiwal Pakpattan Okara 10,3028,533,471 828.33/km261.02%SargodhaSargodha Sargodha Bhakkar Khushab Mianwali 26,3609,591,275 263.86/km263.19%
Proposed Divisions of Punjab Province
Mianwali Division Muzaffargarh Division Jhelum Division Jhang Division Sheikhupura Division
List of divisions by population over the years
+DivisionPopulation (2023)Population (2017)Population (1998)Population (1981)Population (1972)Population (1961)Population (1951)Lahore22,772,71019,581,2818,694,620––––Faisalabad16,228,52614,177,0819,885,685––––Multan14,085,10212,265,1618,447,557––––Bahawalpur13,400,00911,464,0317,635,591––––Dera Ghazi Khan12,892,46511,014,3986,503,590––––Gujranwala11,416,6869,783,1836,101,0523,934,8613,218,8732,587,0611,835,178Rawalpindi10,804,25010,007,8216,659,528––––Sargodha9,591,2758,181,4995,679,766––––Sahiwal8,533,4717,380,3865,362,866––––Gujrat7,362,1826,340,8015,330,006––––
See also Divisions of Pakistan Districts of Punjab, Pakistan List of tehsils of Punjab, Pakistan
References