| Bhakkar | |
| Settlement Type: | District of Punjab |
| Coordinates: | 31.623°N 71.0626°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Pakistan |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Type2: | Division |
| Subdivision Name2: | Mianwali |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1981 |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Bhakkar |
| Parts Type: | Tehsils (4) |
| Parts Style: | list |
| P1: | Bhakkar |
| Government Type: | District Administration |
| Leader Title: | Deputy Commissioner |
| Leader Name: | Muhammad Ashraf |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 8153 |
| Population Total: | 1957470 |
| Population As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Urban: | 352434 |
| Population Rural: | 1,605,036 |
| Demographics Type1: | Literacy |
| Demographics1 Footnotes: | [2] |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Literacy rate |
| Timezone1: | PKT |
| Utc Offset1: | +5 |
| Area Code: | 0453 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Languages |
| Blank Info Sec1: | Saraiki, Punjabi Urdu |
| P2: | Darya Khan |
| P3: | Kaloorkot |
| P4: | Mankera |
Bhakkar District (ur|{{Nastaliq|ضِلع بهكّر), is a district in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. The district was created out of parts of Mianwali in 1982,[3] and has the city of Bhakkar as its headquarters. Part of its area consists of a riverine tract along the Indus, called Kaccha, while most of the district area lies in the desolate plain of the Thal Desert.[4]
Located in the west of the Punjab province, Bhakkar district is bordered by Layyah to the south, Jhang to the southeast, Dera Ismail Khan to the west, Khushab to the northeast, and Mianwali to the north.
The district is administratively divided into four Tehsils and 64 Union Councils. The Tehsils are:[5]
| Tehsil[6] | Area(km²)[7] | Pop.(2023) | Density(ppl/km²) (2023) | Literacy rate(2023)[8] | Union Councils | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bhakkar | 2,427 | 809,789 | 333.66 | 58.56% | ... | |
| Darya Khan | 1,719 | 421,309 | 245.09 | 51.09% | ... | |
| Kaloorkot | 2,239 | 415,708 | 185.67 | 55.43% | ... | |
| Mankera | 1,768 | 310,664 | 175.71 | 54.83% | ... |
In 2023, the district had 313,559 households and a population of 1,957,470.[9]
| Religion | Population (1941)[10] | Percentage (1941) | Population (2017)[11] | Percentage (2017) | Population (2023) | Percentage (2023) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 169,276 | 1,646,014 | 1,950,820 | 99.69% | ||||
| 32,740 | 13 | 17 | ~0% | ||||
| 3,996 | 30 | ~0% | |||||
| 23 | 1,661 | 5,913 | 0.3% | ||||
| Ahmadi | 112 | 124 | 0.01% | ||||
| Others | 0 | 52 | 59 | ~0% | |||
| Total Population | 206,035 | 1,647,852 | 1,956,971 | 100% |
At the time of the 2023 census, 79.42% of the population spoke Saraiki, 9.73% Punjabi, 7.5% Urdu and 2.41% Pashto as their first language.[12]
According to the census held in 2017, the literacy rate of Bhakkar is about 55%. There are 19 colleges, and 1300 primary, elementary, secondary, and higher secondary schools.
