# Shikarpur District

Shikarpur district (Sindhi: شڪارپور ضلعو, Urdu: ضلع شكارپور), is a district in Larkana Division of Sindh province in Pakistan.
The city of Shikarpur is the district headquarters. There are 4 talukas: Lakhi, Garhi Yasin, Khanpur Tehsil and Shikarpur Tehsil itself. It is spread over an area of 2,512 km$^2$.

## Geography

Shikarpur district borders Larkana, Jacobabad, Khairpur and Sukkur. Two National Highways (N-65 & N-55) intersect the city of Shikarpur making it the junction points of 4 provinces.

## Administrative divisions

The district of Shikarpur is sub-divided into four Tehsils these are:
* Garhi Yasin
* Khanpur
* Lakhi
* Shikarpur

## Demographics

As of the 2023 census, Shikarpur district has 214,824 households and a population of 1,386,330. The district has a sex ratio of 102.20 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 43.70%: 52.59% for males and 34.65% for females. 514,189 (37.09% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 318,738 (22.99%) live in urban areas.

### Religion

Religions in Shikarpur district (2023) :
| Religion | Religion | Percent | Percent |
| Islam | Islam | 98.21% | 98.21% |
| Hinduism | Hinduism | 1.51% | 1.51% |
| Other or not state | Other or not state | 0.28% | 0.28% |
The majority religion is Islam, with 98.21% of the population. Hinduism (including those from Scheduled Castes) is practiced by 1.51% of the population, a majority of whom live in urban areas.
Religion in contemporary Shikarpur District :
| Religious group | 1941 | 1941 | 2017 | 2017 | 2023 | 2023 |
| Religious group | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % |
| Islam | 167,163 | 72.27% | 1,215,158 | 98.49% | 1,361,515 | 98.21% |
| Hinduism | 63,276 | 27.36% | 17,246 | 1.40% | 20,885 | 1.51% |
| Others | 868 | 0.37% | 1,356 | 0.11% | 3,930 | 0.28% |
| Total Population | 231,307 | 100% | 1,233,760 | 100% | 1,386,330 | 100% |
| Note: 1941 census data is for Garbi Yasin and Shikarpur taluks of Sukkur District, which roughly corresponds to contemporary Shikarpur District. |||||||
Religious groups in Shikarpur District (British Sindh era) :
| Religious group | 1872 | 1872 | 1881 | 1881 | 1891 | 1891 | 1901 | 1901 | 1911 | 1911 | 1921 | 1921 | 1931 | 1931 | 1941 | 1941 |
| Religious group | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % |
| Islam | 628,662 | 80.99% | 684,275 | 80.22% | 728,661 | 79.59% | 797,882 | 78.37% | 414,671 | 72.25% | 358,396 | 70.23% | 440,148 | 70.56% | 491,634 | 70.99% |
| Hinduism | 147,224 | 18.97% | 167,896 | 19.68% | 185,813 | 20.3% | 218,829 | 21.49% | 155,156 | 27.03% | 148,188 | 29.04% | 177,467 | 28.45% | 195,458 | 28.22% |
| Christianity | 238 | 0.03% | 736 | 0.09% | 522 | 0.06% | 492 | 0.05% | 585 | 0.1% | 481 | 0.09% | 827 | 0.13% | 648 | 0.09% |
| Zoroastrianism | 39 | 0.01% | 64 | 0.01% | 71 | 0.01% | 66 | 0.01% | 96 | 0.02% | 123 | 0.02% | 123 | 0.02% | 59 | 0.01% |
| Judaism | 1 | 0% | 9 | 0% | 27 | 0% | 31 | 0% | 5 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 10 | 0% | 10 | 0% |
| Buddhism | — | — | 6 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Jainism | — | — | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 0% | 16 | 0% | 2 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Sikhism | — | — | — | — | 402 | 0.04% | — | — | 3,295 | 0.57% | 2,146 | 0.42% | 5,180 | 0.83% | 4,696 | 0.68% |
| Tribal | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 30 | 0.01% | 942 | 0.18% | 0 | 0% | 51 | 0.01% |
| Others | 63 | 0.01% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 813 | 0.08% | 72 | 0.01% | 0 | 0% | 22 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Total population | 776,227 | 100% | 852,986 | 100% | 915,497 | 100% | 1,018,113 | 100% | 573,913 | 100% | 510,292 | 100% | 623,779 | 100% | 692,556 | 100% |
| Note1: British Sindh 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 region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases. Note2: District was renamed to Sukkur District in 1901, following district headquarter relocation from Shikarpur City to Sukkur City. Note3: District bifurcated in 1901 to create Larkana District. |||||||||||||||||

### Language

* Sindhi (97.14%)
* Brahui (1.29%)
* Others (1.57%)
At the time of the 2023 census, 97.14% of the population spoke Sindhi and 1.29% Brahui as their first language.