Lower Chitral District

Lower Chitral District (Khowar: موڑی ݯھیترارو ضلع; Urdu: ضلع چترال زیریں) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It is mainly populated by the ethnic Kho people.^[4]

Lower Chitral District موڑی ݯھیترارو ضلع‎ ضلع چترالِ زیریں
District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Top: Chitral city with Tirich Mir in the background Bottom: Bumburet, one of the Kalasha Valleys
Lower Chitral District (red) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Country	Pakistan
Province	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Division	Malakand
Established	2018
Headquarters	Chitral
Government
• Type	District Administration
• Deputy Commissioner	Muhammad Ali Khan (BPS-20 PCS)
• District Police Officer	Iftikhar Shah (PSP)[1]
• District Health Officer	Doctor Muhammad Shamim
Area
• Total	6,458 km2 (2,493 sq mi)
Population  (2023)[2]
• Total	320,407
• Density	50/km2 (130/sq mi)
Literacy [3]
• Literacy rate	Total: 66.10% Male: 76.81% Female: 54.77%
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)
Number of Tehsils	2
Website	lowerchitral.kp.gov.pk

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1961	54,844	—
1972	87,617	+4.35%
1981	121,641	+3.71%
1998	184,874	+2.49%
2017	278,328	+2.18%
2023	320,407	+2.37%
Sources:[5]

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.^[2]

Languages of Lower Chitral District (2023)

1. 'Other' languages (mainly Khowar) (87.76%)
2. Pashto (9.36%)
3. Kalasha (1.59%)
4. Others (1.29%)

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.^[6] There are some speakers of the Madaklasht dialect, a Persian dialect which is considered a mix of Dari and Tajik.^[7]

Religion

Religion	1998[8]		2017[9]		2023[10]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	182,169	98.54%	274,426	98.60%	313,101	98.39%
Kalash	2,602	1.41%	3,725	1.34%	4,617	1.45%
Christianity	50	0.03%	165	0.06%	509	0.16%
Hinduism	2	0.00%	9	0.00%	4	0.00%
Ahmadi	51	0.03%	3	0.00%	2	0.00%
Total	184,874	100.00%	278,328	100.00%	318,234	100.00%

Administrative Divisions

Tehsil	Area (km²)[11]	Pop. (2023)	Density (ppl/km²) (2023)	Literacy rate (2023)[12]	Union Councils
Chitral Tehsil	6,127	211,374	34.5	70.20%
Drosh Tehsil	331	109,033	329.4	57.38%

National Assembly

The district along with Upper Chitral District is represented by one elected MNA (Member of National Assembly) in Pakistan National Assembly. Its constituency is NA-1.

Member of National Assembly	Party Affiliation	Year
Abdul Latif	PTI	2024

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 Assembly	Party Affiliation	Year
Fateh-ul-Mulk Ali Nasir	PTI	2024