Battagram is a tribal district in Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The headquarter is Battagram, which is about 75 km from Mansehra city. It was part of historic Yaghistan (Independent Territory) before 1955. Later in 1955, It was merged into Pakistan and made part of neighboring Mansehra District with the status of Tehsil. It was officially separated from Mansehra District in July 1993 and was given the status of district. Battagram District was ruled by many different Khans, all belonging to the Swati tribe.

Overview and history

The district of Battagram is located at a latitude of 34.41 and longitude of 73.1. It is surrounded by Kohistan District to the north, Mansehra District to the east, (Torghar District) to the south, and Shangla District to the west. It has a land area of 1301 km2. Battagram obtained the status of a district in July 1993, when it was upgraded from a Tehsil and separated from Mansehra District.

Location and Altitude

Climate

Education

Historical Significance

2005 Earthquake

District Status

Demographics

As of the 2023 census, Batagram district has 86,196 households and a population of 554,133. The district has a sex ratio of 103.11 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 39.09%: 54.69% for males and 23.34% for females. 176,715 (31.94% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. The entire population lives in rural areas. 1,235 (0.22%) people in the district are from religious minorities, mainly Christians. At the time of the 2023 census, 81.94% of the population spoke Pashto, 3.85% Hindko and 2.11% Kohistani as their first language. 11.88% of the population spoke languages classified as 'Others', mainly other Kohistani languages.

Administration

The district has geographical borders with the districts of Kohistan to the north, Mansehra to the east and southeast, Torghar to the south and Shangla to the west. The district consists of only one sub-division or Tehsil, containing 12 in total. Union Councils: In 2022, Allai Tehsil was separated and upgraded to District status.

Provincial Assembly

2005 earthquake

Battagram was one of the areas affected by the Pakistan earthquake of October 8, 2005 when more than 4,500 people were killed and approximately 35,000 were injured. Many residents of the area were rendered homeless and without shelter. Since October 8, 2005, the NGOs and the governmental organization Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority have been engaged in reconstruction work but as of 2009, the reconstruction work is not completed. In some cases residents have rebuilt houses themselves.