| Lower Chitral District | |
| Native Name: | {{script/Arabic|موڑی ݯھیترارو ضلع Urdu: {{nq|ضلع چترالِ زیریں |
| Native Name Lang: | ur |
| Settlement Type: | District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Pakistan |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Subdivision Type2: | Division |
| Subdivision Name2: | Malakand |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 2018 |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Chitral town |
| Government Type: | District Administration |
| Leader Title: | Deputy Commissioner |
| Leader Name: | Muhammad Ali Khan (BPS-20 PCS) |
| Leader Title1: | District Police Officer |
| Leader Name1: | Iftikhar Shah (PSP)[1] |
| Leader Title2: | District Health Officer |
| Leader Name2: | Doctor Muhammad Shamim |
| Area Total Km2: | 6,458 |
| Population As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Total: | 320407 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Literacy rate |
| Timezone1: | PST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5 |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Number of Tehsils |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | 2 |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Main language(s) |
| Demographics Type2: | Literacy |
| Demographics2 Footnotes: | [2] |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Urdu, English, Pashto Khowar and Kalash |
Lower Chitral District (khw|موڑی ݯھیترارو ضلع; ur|{{nq|ضلع چترال زیریں) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan.
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.[3]
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.[4] There are some speakers of the Madaklasht dialect, a Persian dialect which is considered a mix of Dari and Tajik.[5]
The main ethnic groups in the district are:
| Religion | 1998[10] | 2017[11] | 2023[12] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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% | |
| 50 | 0.03% | 165 | 0.06% | 509 | 0.16% | ||
| 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% | |
| Tehsil | Area(km²)[13] | Pop.(2023) | Density(ppl/km²) (2023) | Literacy rate(2023)[14] | Union Councils | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chitral Tehsil | 6,127 | 211,374 | 34.5 | 70.20% | ||
| Drosh Tehsil | 331 | 109,033 | 329.4 | 57.38% |
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.
The district is represented by one elected MPA (Member of Provincial Assembly) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. Its constituency is PK-2.
