Layyah District

Layyah District (Saraiki: ضلع ليّہ, Urdu: ضلع ليہ), is a district in the Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the southern part of the province. The city of Layyah is the administrative headquarters of Layyah district. Layyah has a hot, semi-arid climate.^[3][4]

Layyah District ضلع لیّہ
District of Punjab
Layyah
Top: Old Layyah City Shrine in Karor Lal Esan
Map of Layyah District (highlighted in red)
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
Division	Dera Ghazi Khan
Headquarters	Layyah
Government
• Type	District Administration
• Deputy Commissioner	Ameera Baidar
• District Health Officer	N/A
• District Naib Nazim نائب ناظم	N/A
Area
• District of Punjab	6,289 km2 (2,428 sq mi)
Population  (2023)[1]
• District of Punjab	2,102,386
• Density	330/km2 (870/sq mi)
• Urban	386,282
• Rural	1,716,104
Literacy [2]
• Literacy rate	Total: (61.83%) Male: (70.91%) Female: (52.21%)
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)
Area code	0606
Number of Tehsils	3
Website	layyah.punjab.gov.pk

Geography

It lies between 30–45 to 31–24 degree north latitudes and 70–44 to 71–50 degree east longitudes. The area consists of a semi-rectangular block of sandy land between the Indus River and the Chenab River in Sindh Sagar Doab. The total area covered by the district is 6,291 km^2, with a width from east to west of 88 kilometres (55 mi) and a length from north to south of 72 kilometres (45 mi).

History

This administrative status of Layyah was short-lived and the British reduced it to the level of Tehsil headquarters, making it a part of Dera Ismail Khan. In 1901, Layyah was transferred to the new District of Mianwali. Later on, it was made part of the Muzaffargarh District. In 1982, Layyah Tehsil was upgraded to District headquarters comprising three Tehsils: Layyah, Karor and Chaubara. The municipality was created in 1875.^[3]

Administrative divisions

The district of Layyah is made up of three tehsils:^[5][6]

Tehsil[7]	Area (km²)[8]	Pop. (2023)	Density (ppl/km²) (2023)	Literacy rate (2023)[2]	Union Councils
Karor Lal Esan[3]	1,823	684,729	375.61	62.43%
Chaubara[3]	2,754	299,082	108.60	58.42%
Layyah	1,712	1,118,575	653.37	62.34%

Villages

• Chak 90 ML
• Choubara
• Lashari wala
• Metlawala
• Sobha Singhwala
• Udhowala

Education

According to Pakistan District Education Ranking, a report released by Alif Ailaan, Layyah is ranked at number 38 out of 155 districts nationally with an education score of 66.76. The learning score of Layyah is 70.8.^[9] The readiness score of Layyah is 65.13, ranking the district at number 31. Furthermore, the school infrastructure score of Layyah is 94.38, placing it a national rank of 18.^[9] The score reflects that most schools in Layyah have all basic facilities e.g. electricity, drinking water and functional toilets.

The issues reported in TaleemDo! App by the residents of Layyah suggest that students of government schools have low confidence as compared to private schools, but the students are unable to attend private schools because of high fees. Complaints about quality of teachers and a few basic facilities are also the issues reported in the app.

Higher Education

Public Sector Colleges

There are 20 colleges available for the education of males and females of Layyah.^[10]

1. Boys 06
2. Girls 09
3. Commerce 05

Total 20

Private Sector Colleges

1. Boys 08
2. Girls 03
3. Commerce & Business 03

Total 14

Public Sector Universities

1. University of Layyah

Departments

• Department of Business Administration
• Department of English
• Department of Economics
• Department of Psychology
• Department of Sociology
• Department of Education
• Department of Information Technology
• Department of Computer Science

Colleges

• College of Veterinary Sciences
• College of Agriculture

Private Sector Universities

1. Govt. College University Faisalabad (Layyah Campus)
2. University of Education, Lahore (Layyah Campus)
3. Govt. College University, Lahore (Layyah Campus)
4. National College of Business Administration & Economics Lahore (Layyah Campus)

Floods

Sehar village residents of flood-prone Layyah district, had seen their homes repeatedly inundated and they finally took matters into their own hands and rebuilt their homes on raised dirt platforms five to six feet high, shored up with eucalyptus trees planted around the edges.^[11][12][13]

Demography

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1951	162,202	—
1961	273,224	+5.35%
1972	495,537	+5.56%
1981	666,517	+3.35%
1998	1,120,951	+3.11%
2017	1,823,995	+2.60%
2023	2,102,386	+2.40%
Sources:[14]

As of the 2023 census, Layyah district has 341,131 households and a population of 2,102,386. The district has a sex ratio of 106.23 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 61.83%: 70.91% for males and 52.21% for females.^[1][2] 604,722 (28.76% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age.^[15] 386,282 (18.37%) live in urban areas.^[1]

Religion in Layyah district (2023)[16]
Religion			Percent
Islam			99.23%
Christianity			0.69%
Other or not stated			0.08%

Religion in contemporary Layyah District

Religious group	1941[17]: 62–63		2017[18]		2023[16]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	138,201	85.8%	1,812,173	99.35%	2,086,076	99.23%
Hinduism [a]	21,882	13.59%	553	0.03%	242	0.01%
Sikhism	882	0.55%	—	—	27	0%
Christianity	4	0%	9,673	0.53%	14,427	0.69%
Ahmadi	—	—	1,481	0.08%	1,393	0.07%
Others [b]	101	0.06%	115	0.01%	186	0.01%
Total Population	161,070	100%	1,823,995	100%	2,102,361	100%
Note: 1941 census data is for Layyah tehsil of Muzaffargarh District, which roughly corresponds to contemporary Layyah district. District and tehsil borders have changed since 1941.

Languages of Layyah district (2023)^[19]

1. Saraiki (66.9%)
2. Punjabi (27.6%)
3. Urdu (2.75%)
4. Pashto (2.26%)
5. Others (0.53%)

At the time of the 2023 census, 66.89% of the population spoke Saraiki, 27.57% Punjabi, 2.75% Urdu and 2.26% Pashto as their first language.^[19] The dialect spoken here is Thali, which blends into Multani in the south.

Gallery

• 
  Railway Station ریلوے اسٹیشن Layyah
• 
  Sadar Bazaar صدر بازار Layyah
• 
  Vegetable and Fruit Market سبزی منڈی of Layyah at twilight
• 
  D.H.Q Hospital Layyah, By: Ashiq Hussian Saggu Kot Sultan

Notes

1. 1941 census: Including Ad-Dharmis
2. Including Jainism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, or not stated