# Sheikhupura District

Sheikhupura District (Punjabi: ضلع شیخوپورا; Urdu: ضلع شيخوپورہ), is a district located in Lahore Division of Punjab Province, Pakistan. Sheikhupura is the headquarters of Sheikhupura district. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the district had a population of 3,321,029 of which 25.45% were urban. In 2005 one of its subdivisions was split off to form the new Nankana Sahib District.
According to the 2017 Census of Pakistan, most populous cities of the district are Sheikhupura, Muridke, Kot Abdul Malik and Ferozewala. All these four cities are listed in the List of most populous cities in Pakistan.

## Administration

The district comprises five tehsils:
| Tehsil | Area (km²) | Pop. (2023) | Density (ppl/km²) (2023) | Literacy rate (2023) | Union Councils |
| Muridke | 1,028 | 721,192 | 701.55 | 69.10% | ... |
| Ferozewala | 511 | 997,246 | 1,951.56 | 66.55% | ... |
| Safdarabad | 461 | 320,851 | 695.99 | 67.55 % | ... |
| Sheikhupura | 1,369 | 1,780,837 | 1,300.83 | 70.72% | ... |
| Sharak Pur | 375 | 229,292 | 611.45 | 65.05% | ... |

### Committees

List of Municipal Committees in District Sheikhupura
* Sheikhupura Municipal Committee
* Farooq abad Municipal Committee
* Mananwala Municipal Committee
* Safdar abad Municipal Committee
* Khanqah dogran Municipal Committee
* Ferozwala Municipal Committee
* Kot Abdulmalik Municipal Committee
* Muridke Municipal Committee
* Narang Mandi Municipal Committee
* Sharaqpur Municipal Committee

## Demographics
### Population

As of the 2023 census, Sheikhupura district has 593,260 households and a population of 4,049,418. The district has a sex ratio of 105.58 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 68.88%: 72.09% for males and 65.46% for females. 1,087,191 (26.85% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 1,550,793 (38.30%) live in urban areas.

### Religion

Religion in Sheikhupura district (2023) :
| Religion | Religion | Percent | Percent |
| Islam | Islam | 96.23% | 96.23% |
| Christianity | Christianity | 3.67% | 3.67% |
| Other | Other | 0.1% | 0.1% |
Religion in Sheikhupura District :
| Religious group | 1941 | 1941 | 2017 | 2017 | 2023 | 2023 |
| Religious group | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % |
| Islam | 326,042 | 60.54% | 3,325,148 | 96.30% | 3,896,801 | 96.23% |
| Sikhism | 109,276 | 20.29% | — | — | 85 | ~0% |
| Hinduism | 56,378 | 10.47% | 323 | 0.01% | 820 | 0.02% |
| Christianity | 46,737 | 8.68% | 130,405 | 3.77% | 148,784 | 3.67% |
| Ahmadiyya | — | — | 3,656 | 0.11% | 2,638 | 0.07% |
| Others | 151 | 0.02% | 472 | 0.01% | 334 | 0.01% |
| Total Population | 538,584 | 100% | 3,460,004 | 100% | 4,049,377 | 100% |
Religious groups in Sheikhupura District (British Punjab province era) :
| Religious group | 1921 | 1921 | 1931 | 1931 | 1941 | 1941 |
| Religious group | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % |
| Islam | 330,880 | 63.25% | 445,996 | 64.01% | 542,344 | 63.62% |
| Hinduism | 85,781 | 16.4% | 81,887 | 11.75% | 89,182 | 10.46% |
| Sikhism | 82,965 | 15.86% | 119,477 | 17.15% | 160,706 | 18.85% |
| Christianity | 23,431 | 4.48% | 49,266 | 7.07% | 60,054 | 7.04% |
| Jainism | 78 | 0.01% | 100 | 0.01% | 221 | 0.03% |
| Zoroastrianism | 0 | 0% | 6 | 0% | 1 | 0% |
| Judaism | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Buddhism | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Others | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Total population | 523,135 | 100% | 696,732 | 100% | 852,508 | 100% |
| Note1: British Punjab province era district borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to district borders — which since created new districts — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases. Note2:District created between Gujranwala District, Sialkot District, Amritsar District, Lahore District, Montgomery District, and Lyallpur District in 1920 to account for the large population increase in the region, primarily due to the Chenab Canal Colony. |||||||
Religion in the Tehsils of Sheikhupura District (1921) :
| Tehsil | Islam | Islam | Hinduism | Hinduism | Sikhism | Sikhism | Christianity | Christianity | Jainism | Jainism | Others | Others | Total | Total |
| Tehsil | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % |
| Khangah Dogran Tehsil | 149,478 | 55.84% | 47,291 | 17.67% | 52,581 | 19.64% | 18,262 | 6.82% | 62 | 0.02% | 0 | 0% | 267,674 | 100% |
| Sharakpur Tehsil | 181,402 | 71.01% | 38,490 | 15.07% | 30,384 | 11.89% | 5,169 | 2.02% | 16 | 0.01% | 0 | 0% | 255,461 | 100% |
| Note: British Punjab province era tehsil borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to tehsil borders — which since created new tehsils — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases. |||||||||||||||
Religion in the Tehsils of Sheikhupura District (1941) :
| Tehsil | Islam | Islam | Hinduism | Hinduism | Sikhism | Sikhism | Christianity | Christianity | Jainism | Jainism | Others | Others | Total | Total |
| Tehsil | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % |
| Sheikhupura Tehsil | 201,401 | 53.48% | 45,690 | 12.13% | 94,882 | 25.2% | 34,359 | 9.12% | 211 | 0.06% | 46 | 0.01% | 376,589 | 100% |
| Nankana Sahib Tehsil | 174,787 | 74.33% | 22,631 | 9.62% | 31,562 | 13.42% | 6,157 | 2.62% | 8 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 235,145 | 100% |
| Shahdara Tehsil | 166,156 | 69.01% | 20,861 | 8.66% | 34,262 | 14.23% | 19,469 | 8.09% | 2 | 0% | 24 | 0.01% | 240,774 | 100% |
| Note1: British Punjab province era tehsil borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to tehsil borders — which since created new tehsils — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases. Note2: Tehsil religious breakdown figures for Christianity only includes local Christians, labeled as "Indian Christians" on census. Does not include Anglo-Indian Christians or British Christians, who were classified under "Other" category. |||||||||||||||

### Language

Languages of Sheikhupura district (2023)
At the time of the 2023 census, 93.40% of the population spoke Punjabi, 4.89% Urdu and 0.95% Pashto as their first language. The Majhi dialect is the predominant dialect here. In 1998, 98.1% of the population spoke Punjabi.

## Notable people

* Dhani Ram Chatrik, an influential punjabi poet
* Ganga Ram, civil engineer and architect
* Kulwant Singh Virk, an author in Punjabi and English language