Lower Chitral District (; ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Kho people are the dominant ethnic group in the district, and almost 90% of the population speaks Khowar as their mother tongue.
Demographics
As of the 2023 census, Lower Chitral district has 46,028 households and a population of 320,407. The district has a sex ratio of 104.31 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 66.10%: 76.81% for males and 54.77% for females. 87,378 (27.46% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 57,157 (17.84%) live in urban areas.
87.76% of the population speaks languages classified as 'Others', namely Khowar (or Chitrali), the dominant language of Chitral as a whole. Pashto is spoken in the southeast of the district by 9.36% of the population, while Kalasha is spoken by 1.59% of the population. There are some speakers of the Madaklasht dialect, a Persian dialect which is considered a mix of Dari and Tajik. Ethnic groups The main ethnic groups in the district are: Kho people Gujjar Kalash
Religion Religion199820172023 Islam 182,16998.54%274,42698.60%313,10198.39%Kalash2,6021.41%3,7251.34%4,6171.45%Christianity 500.03%1650.06%5090.16%Hinduism 20.00%90.00%40.00%Ahmadi510.03%30.00%20.00%Total184,874100.00%278,328100.00%318,234100.00%
Administrative Divisions TehsilArea (km²)Pop. (2023)Density (ppl/km²)
(2023)Literacy rate (2023)Union CouncilsChitral Tehsil6,127211,37434.570.20%Drosh Tehsil331109,033329.457.38%
National Assembly The district, along with Upper Chitral District, is represented by one elected MNA (Member of National Assembly) in the Pakistan National Assembly. Its constituency is NA-1. Member of National AssemblyParty affiliationYearAbdul LatifPTI2024
Provincial Assembly The district is represented by one elected MPA (Member of Provincial Assembly) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. Its constituency is PK-2. Member of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa AssemblyParty affiliationYearFateh-ul-Mulk Ali NasirPTI2024
References