Mandi Bahauddin (Punjabi and ) is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Located in central Punjab, the district is bordered on the northwest by the Jhelum River, on the southeast by the Chenab River (which separates it from Gujranwala and Gujrat districts), and on the southwest by Sargodha District. The district has an area of 2673 km2. Mandi district currently has a population of 1.5 million people. In 1998, it had a population of 1.16 million people.

Administration

Mandi Bahauddin is subdivided into three tehsils and 80 Union Councils:

Geography

The district forms a central portion of the Chaj Doab lying between the Jhelum and Chenab rivers. It lies from 30° 8' to 32° 40' N and 73° 36' to 73° 37' E. The tehsil headquarters towns of Phalia and Malikwal are 22.5 and 28.5 km from Mandi Bahauddin, respectively. It is bounded in the north by the Jhelum river, which separates it from Jhelum district; on the west by Sargodha district, on the south by the river Chenab (which separates it from the Gujranwala and Hafizabad districts); and on the east by Gujrat district. The total area of the district is 2,673 km2. The district comprises the Mandi Bahauddin, Phalia, and Malakwal tehsils.

Demographics

At the time of the 2017 census, Mandi Bahauddin district had 252,007 households and a population of 1,594,039. Mandi Bahauddin had a sex ratio of 1054 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 68.63% - 74.61% for males and 63.14% for females. 20.47% (326,358) of the population lived in urban areas. 24.88% (396,535) of the population were under 10 years of age. The overwhelming majority of the population, 99.40% is Muslim while 0.6% (10,964) of the population were from religious minorities, mainly Christians. In 2023, the district had 286,168 households and a population of 1,829,486. At the time of the 2023 census 93.2% of the population spoke Punjabi, 4.57% Urdu and 1.77% Pashto as their first language. The dialect of Punjabi spoken here is close to the standard language. According to the 1998 Pakistan census, the population of the district was 1,160,552, 14.93% of whom lived in urban environments.

Climate

This district has a moderate climate, hot in summer and cold in winter. During the peak of summer the temperature may rise to 48 °C during the day, but in the winter months the minimum temperature may fall below 3 °C. The average rainfall in the district is 388 mm. This mainly resonates with weather from Islamabad.

Notable people