| Chitradurga district | |
| Settlement Type: | District of Karnataka |
| Coordinates: | 14°N 76.5°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Karnataka |
| Subdivision Type2: | Division |
| Subdivision Name2: | Bangalore Division |
| Parts Type: | Talukas |
| Parts: | Challakere Chitradurga Hiriyur Holalkere Hosdurga Molakalmuru |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Chitradurga |
| Leader Title1: | Deputy Commissioner |
| Leader Name1: | Shri. Venkatesh T. |
| Leader Title2: | Member of Parliament |
| Leader Name2: | A. Narayanaswamy |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 8440 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | (Highest) |
| Elevation M: | 1094 |
| Population Total: | 1,659,456 |
| Population Urban: | 274238 |
| Population Rural: | 1243658 - unsupported parameters --> |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Kannada |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5:30 |
| Postal Code Type: | PIN |
| Postal Code: | 577 501, 502, 577524 |
| Area Code Type: | Telephone code |
| Area Code: | + 91 (8194) |
| Iso Code: | IN-KA-CT |
| Registration Plate: | Chitradurga KA-16 |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Sex ratio |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | 1.047 ♂/♀ |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | Literacy |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | 73.82% |
| Blank3 Name Sec1: | Lok Sabha constituency |
| Blank3 Info Sec1: | Chitradurga Lok Sabha constituency |
| Blank1 Name Sec2: | Precipitation |
| Blank1 Info Sec2: | 522mm |
Chitradurga district is an administrative district of Karnataka state in southern India.[2] The city of Chitradurga is the district headquarters. Chitradurga gets its name from Chitrakaldurga, an umbrella-shaped lofty hill found there. Tradition dates Chitradurga District to the period of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The whole district lies in the valley of the Vedavati River, with the Tungabhadra River flowing in the northwest. During the British times it was named Chitaldroog. The district was practically ruled by all the well known dynasties that ruled Karnataka. A historical places like Jain basadi of Heggere, a pilgrimage centre for Jain's in district.
According to the 2011 census Chitradurga district has a population of 1,659,456,[3] roughly equal to the nation of Guinea-Bissau[4] or the US state of Idaho.[5] This gives it a ranking of 297th in India (out of a total of 640).[3] The district has a population density of 197PD/sqkm.[3] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 9.39%.[3] Chitradurga has a sex ratio of 969 females for every 1000 males,[3] and a literacy rate of 73.82%. 19.86% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 23.45% and 18.23% of the population respectively.[3]
At the time of the 2011 census, 83.33% of the population spoke Kannada, 7.33% Urdu, 5.39% Telugu and 2.29% Lambadi as their first language.[6]
In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Chitradurga one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the five districts in Karnataka currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[7]