Shikarpur District

Shikarpur district (Sindhi: شڪارپور ضلعو, Urdu: ضلع شكارپور), is a district in Larkana Division of Sindh province in Pakistan.

Shikarpur District ضلع شكارپور شڪارپور ضلعو‎
District of Sindh
Shrine in Nim Shareef
Coordinates: 28°00′N 68°40′E
Country	Pakistan
Province	Sindh
Division	Larkana
Established	1977
Founded by	Sindh Government
Headquarters	Shikarpur
Government
• Type	District Administration
• Deputy Commissioner	N/A
• District Police Officer	N/A
• District Health Officer	N/A
Area
• District of Sindh	2,512 km2 (970 sq mi)
Population  (2023 Pakistani census)[1]
• District of Sindh	1,386,330
• Density	550/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
• Urban	318,738
• Rural	1,067,592
Literacy [2]
• Literacy rate	Total: 43.70% Male: 52.59% Female: 34.65%
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)
Website	District Government Shikarpur official website - Archived

The city of Shikarpur is the district headquarters. There are 4 talukas: Lakhi, Garhi Yasin, Khanpur Tehsil and Shikarpur Tehsil itself. It is spread over an area of 2,512 km².^[1][3]

Geography

An old building architecture of Shikarpur.

Shikarpur district borders Larkana, Jacobabad, Khairpur and Sukkur. Two National Highways (N-65 & N-55) intersect the city of Shikarpur making it the junction points of 4 provinces.

Administrative divisions

The district of Shikarpur is sub-divided into four Tehsils these are:^[4]

• Garhi Yasin^[1]
• Khanpur
• Lakhi
• Shikarpur^[1]

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1951	306,007	—
1961	314,780	+0.28%
1972	530,551	+4.86%
1981	596,409	+1.31%
1998	880,438	+2.32%
2017	1,233,760	+1.79%
2023	1,386,330	+1.96%
source:[5]

As of the 2023 census, Shikarpur district has 214,824 households and a population of 1,386,330.^[6] The district has a sex ratio of 102.20 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 43.70%: 52.59% for males and 34.65% for females.^[7][8] 514,189 (37.09% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age.^[9] 318,738 (22.99%) live in urban areas.^[7]

Religion

Religions in Shikarpur district (2023)[10]
Religion			Percent
Islam			98.21%
Hinduism			1.51%
Other or not state			0.28%

The majority religion is Islam, with 98.21% of the population. Hinduism (including those from Scheduled Castes) is practiced by 1.51% of the population, a majority of whom live in urban areas.^[10]

Religion in contemporary Shikarpur District

Religious group	1941		2017[1]		2023[10]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	167,163	72.27%	1,215,158	98.49%	1,361,515	98.21%
Hinduism	63,276	27.36%	17,246	1.40%	20,885	1.51%
Others [a]	868	0.37%	1,356	0.11%	3,930	0.28%
Total Population	231,307	100%	1,233,760	100%	1,386,330	100%
Note: 1941 census data is for Garbi Yasin and Shikarpur taluks of Sukkur District, which roughly corresponds to contemporary Shikarpur District.

Religious groups in Shikarpur District (British Sindh era)

Religious group	1872[11]		1881[12]		1891[13]		1901[14]		1911[15]		1921[16]		1931[17]		1941[18]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	628,662	80.99%	684,275	80.22%	728,661	79.59%	797,882	78.37%	414,671	72.25%	358,396	70.23%	440,148	70.56%	491,634	70.99%
Hinduism [b]	147,224	18.97%	167,896	19.68%	185,813	20.3%	218,829	21.49%	155,156	27.03%	148,188	29.04%	177,467	28.45%	195,458	28.22%
Christianity	238	0.03%	736	0.09%	522	0.06%	492	0.05%	585	0.1%	481	0.09%	827	0.13%	648	0.09%
Zoroastrianism	39	0.01%	64	0.01%	71	0.01%	66	0.01%	96	0.02%	123	0.02%	123	0.02%	59	0.01%
Judaism	1	0%	9	0%	27	0%	31	0%	5	0%	0	0%	10	0%	10	0%
Buddhism	—	—	6	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Jainism	—	—	0	0%	1	0%	0	0%	3	0%	16	0%	2	0%	0	0%
Sikhism	—	—	—	—	402	0.04%	—	—	3,295	0.57%	2,146	0.42%	5,180	0.83%	4,696	0.68%
Tribal	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	30	0.01%	942	0.18%	0	0%	51	0.01%
Others	63	0.01%	0	0%	0	0%	813	0.08%	72	0.01%	0	0%	22	0%	0	0%
Total population	776,227	100%	852,986	100%	915,497	100%	1,018,113	100%	573,913	100%	510,292	100%	623,779	100%	692,556	100%
Note1: British Sindh 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. Note2: District was renamed to Sukkur District in 1901, following district headquarter relocation from Shikarpur City to Sukkur City. Note3: District bifurcated in 1901 to create Larkana District.

Language

Languages of Shikarpur district (2023)^[19]

1. Sindhi (97.14%)
2. Brahui (1.29%)
3. Others (1.57%)

At the time of the 2023 census, 97.14% of the population spoke Sindhi and 1.29% Brahui as their first language.^[19]