The entire district was a part of the Bahawalpur State. Rahim Yar Khan has had the status of a separate district since 1943. The district derives its name from its headquarters, the city of Rahim Yar Khan, which was known as "Naushehra" until 1881. To avoid confusion with the similarly named city of Nowshera, the ruler of Bahawalpur, Nawab Sadiq Khan IV, renamed it after his first son, Rahim Yar Khan.
Geography
The district lies between 27°40'-29°16' north latitudes and 60°45'-70°01' east longitudes. The riverain area of the district lies close to eastern bank of the river Indus and Panjnad. The Rahim Yar Khan District is bounded on the north by Muzaffargarh District, on the east by Bahawalpur District, on the south by Jaisalmer district (India) and Ghotki District of Sindh province, and on the west by Rajanpur District. It also has two enclaves within Sindh, bordered by Ghotki District and Kashmore District.
This district is divided into three main physical features: (a) Riverside area, b) canal-irrigated area, and (c) desert area which is called Cholistan. The Riverside area of the district lies close on the southern side of the Indus river mainly falling in the river bed. The canal-irrigated area lies on the south and is separated by main Minchan Bund. The approximate height of the irrigated area is 150 to 200 meters (490 to 655 ft) above sea level. The third part of the area, called Cholistan, lies in the south of the irrigated tract up to the Indo-Pak border. The surface of the desert consists of a succession of sand dunes rising at places to a height of 150 meters (492 ft) and covered with the vegetation peculiar to sandy tracts.
At the time of the 2017 census, Rahim Yar Khan district had 700,183 households and a population of 4,807,762. Rahim Yar Khan had a sex ratio of 953 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 46.62% - 55.30% for males and 37.60% for females. 1,030,983 (21.44%) lived in urban areas. 1,449,813 (30.16%) were under 10 years of age.[5] In 2023, the district had 827,525 households and a population of 5,564,703.[2]
Muslims were the predominant religious community with 96.50% of the population while Hindus (including Scheduled Castes) were 3.12% of the population. The Bhagwan Shri Krishna Mandir in Sadiqabad is one of the main Hindu temple in Rahim Yar Khan district.[6] Other minorities like Christians, Ahmadi etc. are very small in number. The proportion of population of Muslims is higher in urban than rural areas.
At the time of the 2017 census, 44.91% of the population spoke Saraiki, 29.89% Punjabi, 17.99% Urdu, 1.85% Sindhi and 1.49% Balochi as their first language. 2.01% of the population recorded their language under 'Others'.[5]
The local dialect (see Riasti) belongs to the southern dialect group of Saraiki.[7] Other languages spoken are Bagri/Cholistani and Haryanvi.
Education
The literacy rate in the district is 98% total for the 1st grade level school, locally known as 'graduating the MA full Examination'.[8] Regarding medical education, There is Sheikh Zaid medical college affiliated with Sheikh Zaid hospital.
The top ranked universities in Punjab, Khawaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology and Islamia University of Bahawalpur Rahim Yar Khan Campus are also located in Rahim Yar Khan District.
Sugarcane
Rahim Yar Khan District has recently embraced growing sugarcane. The area under cultivation of sugarcane increased to 430,000 acres in 2020 from 310,000 acres in 2014-15. Six sugar mills are located in the district.[9]
Khusro Bakhtiar, Member Profile, National Assembly of Pakistan, politician who currently serves as the Federal Minister of National Food Security and Research since 19 November 2019. He has also been the Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms.[10]
Pakistan
Punjab
