# Kapurthala district

Kapurthala district is a district of Punjab state in northern India. The city of Kapurthala is the district headquarters.
Kapurthala District is one of the smallest districts of Punjab in terms of both area and population, with 815,168 people by the 2011 census. The district is divided into two noncontiguous parts, the main Kapurthala-Sultanpur Lodhi portion and the Phagwara tehsil or block.
The Kapurthala-Sultanpur Lodhi part lies between north latitude 31° 07' and 31° 22' and east longitude 75° 36'. In the north it is bound by Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, and Amritsar districts, in the west by the Beas River and Amritsar district, and in south by the Sutlej River, Jalandhar district, and Hoshiaripur district.
Phagwara tehsil lies between north latitude 31° 22' and east longitude 75° 40' and 75° 55'. Phagwara lies on the National Highway No 1, and the tehsil is much more industrially developed than the remainder of Kapurthala District. Phagwara is situated at a distance of 19 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Jalandhar, and the tehsil is bounded on two sides by Jalandhar District whereas north by Hoshiarpur district and east by S B S Nagar District.
The district has three subdivisions/tehsils: Kapurthala, Phagwara, and Sultanpur Lodhi. The total area of the district is 1,633 km (1,015 mi) of which 909.09 km$^2$ (351.00 sq mi) is in Kapurthala tehsil, 304.05 km$^2$ (117.39 sq mi) is in Phagwara tehsil and 451.0 km$^2$ (174.1 sq mi) is in Sultanpur Lodhi tehsil. The economy of the district is still predominantly agricultural.

## Demographics

According to the 2011 census Kapurthala district has a population of 815,168, roughly equal to the nation of Comoros or the US state of South Dakota. This gives it a ranking of 481st in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 501 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,300/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 8.37%. Kapurthala has a sex ratio of 912 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 80.2%. Scheduled Castes made up 33.94% of the population.

### Gender

The table below shows the sex ratio of Kapurthala district through decades.
Sex ratio of Kapurthala district :
| Census year | Ratio |
| 2011 | 912 |
| 2001 | 887 |
| 1991 | 896 |
| 1981 | 898 |
| 1971 | 889 |
| 1961 | 886 |
| 1951 | 880 |
The table below shows the child sex ratio of children below the age of 6 years in the rural and urban areas of Kapurthala district.
Child sex ratio of children below the age of 6 years in Kapurthala district :
| Year | Urban | Rural |
| 2011 | 896 | 859 |
| 2001 | 792 | 782 |

### Religions

Religion in Kapurthala district (2011) :
| Religion | Religion | Percent | Percent |
| Sikhism | Sikhism | 55.66% | 55.66% |
| Hinduism | Hinduism | 41.23% | 41.23% |
| Islam | Islam | 1.25% | 1.25% |
| Buddhism | Buddhism | 0.82% | 0.82% |
| Christianity | Christianity | 0.66% | 0.66% |
| Other or not stated | Other or not stated | 0.38% | 0.38% |
Sikhs are the majority in Kapurthala district, and dominate rural areas. Hindus are the majority in urban areas.
The table below shows the population of different religions in absolute numbers in the urban and rural areas of Kapurthala district.
Absolute numbers of different religious groups in Kapurthala district :
| Religion | Urban (2011) | Rural (2011) | Urban (2001) | Rural (2001) | Urban (1991) | Rural (1991) |
| Hindu | 183,623 | 152,501 | 150,751 | 135,687 | 106,614 | 104,987 |
| Sikh | 89,331 | 364,361 | 89,421 | 359,233 | 55,075 | 263,070 |
| Muslim | 3,965 | 6,225 | 2,461 | 3,947 | 573 | 2,156 |
| Christian | 1,900 | 3,545 | 1,406 | 2,947 | 566 | 1,302 |
| Other religions | 3,643 | 6,074 | 2,488 | 6,180 | 590 | 316 |
Religious groups in Kapurthala District (British Punjab province era) :
| Religious group | 1881 | 1881 | 1891 | 1891 | 1901 | 1901 | 1911 | 1911 | 1921 | 1921 | 1931 | 1931 | 1941 | 1941 |
| Religious group | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % |
| Islam | 142,974 | 56.6% | 170,557 | 56.91% | 178,326 | 56.73% | 152,117 | 56.73% | 160,457 | 56.44% | 179,251 | 56.59% | 213,754 | 56.49% |
| Hinduism | 82,900 | 32.82% | 89,463 | 29.85% | 93,652 | 29.79% | 61,426 | 22.91% | 58,412 | 20.55% | 64,319 | 20.31% | 61,546 | 16.27% |
| Sikhism | 26,493 | 10.49% | 39,493 | 13.18% | 42,101 | 13.39% | 54,275 | 20.24% | 64,074 | 22.54% | 72,177 | 22.79% | 88,350 | 23.35% |
| Jainism | 214 | 0.08% | 169 | 0.06% | 226 | 0.07% | 205 | 0.08% | 228 | 0.08% | 27 | 0.01% | 380 | 0.1% |
| Christianity | 35 | 0.01% | 8 | 0% | 39 | 0.01% | 107 | 0.04% | 1,100 | 0.39% | 983 | 0.31% | 1,667 | 0.44% |
| Buddhism | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Zoroastrianism | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 4 | 0% | 3 | 0% | 4 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 6 | 0% |
| Judaism | — | — | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Others | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 12,677 | 3.35% |
| Total population | 252,617 | 100% | 299,690 | 100% | 314,351 | 100% | 268,133 | 100% | 284,275 | 100% | 316,757 | 100% | 378,380 | 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: British Punjab province era figures are for Kapurthala State. |||||||||||||||

### Language

* Punjabi (91.2%)
* Hindi (7.23%)
* Others (1.57%)
At the time of the 2011 census, 91.20% of the population spoke Punjabi and 7.23% Hindi as their first language.

## Economy

The income of Municipalities and Municipal corporations in Kapurthala district from municipal rates and taxes in the year 2018 was 459,777 thousand rupees.
In 2010–11, there were 4,305 registered Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) units in Kapurthala district, which provided employment to 22,678 people. There were 5 registered Medium and Large industrial units, which provided employment to 17,000 people. In February 2023, Kapurthala district was declared second best across Punjab in giving timely approval to new industries and promoting investment by creating good environment for the establishment of new commercial industrial units.

## Health

According to the National Blindness and Visual Survey India 2015-19, 11.53% people in Kapurthala district above the age of 50 were visually impaired. In April 2023, Parhar hospital in Phagwara became the first hospital in Punjab to get advanced technology for Robot Joint Replacement Surgeries.
The table below shows the data from the district nutrition profile of children below the age of 5 years, in Kapurthala, as of year 2020.
District nutrition profile of children under 5 years of age in Kapurthala, year 2020 :
| Indicators | Number of children (<5 years) | Percent (2020) | Percent (2016) |
| Stunted | 13,534 | 28% | 35% |
| Wasted | 4,931 | 10% | 23% |
| Severely wasted | 1,328 | 3% | 11% |
| Underweight | 9,973 | 21% | 27% |
| Overweight/obesity | 1,313 | 3% | 1% |
| Anemia | 32,889 | 76% | 61% |
| Total children | 48,111 | | |
The table below shows the district nutrition profile of Kapurthala of women between the ages of 15 and 49 years, as of year 2020.
District nutritional profile of Kapurthala of women of 15-49 years, in 2020 :
| Indicators | Number of women (15-49 years) | Percent (2020) | Percent (2016) |
| Underweight (BMI <18.5 kg/m^2) | 31,663 | 16% | 11% |
| Overweight/obesity | 76,581 | 39% | 24% |
| Hypertension | 50,788 | 26% | 12% |
| Diabetes | 29,369 | 15% | NA |
| Anemia (non-preg) | 123,249 | 63% | 43% |
| Anemia (preg) | 6,298 | 58% | 27% |
| Total women (preg) | 10,907 | | |
| Total women | 194,368 | | |
The table below shows the current use of family planning methods by currently married women between the ages of 15 and 49 years, in Kapurthala district.
Family planning methods used by women between the ages of 15 and 49 years, in Kapurthala district :
| Method | Total (2019–21) | Total (2015–16) | Urban (2015-16) | Rural (2015-16) |
| Female sterilization | 22.1% | 40.4% | 37.8% | 41.9% |
| Male sterilization | 0.8% | 0.7% | 1.4% | 0.3% |
| IUD/PPIUD | 1.6% | 4.3% | 6.0% | 3.4% |
| Pill | 1.6% | 1.9% | 1.9% | 1.9% |
| Condom | 20.5% | 17.6% | 20.6% | 15.9% |
| Any modern method | 47.2% | 65.0% | 67.6% | 63.5% |
| Any method | 61.0% | 70.0% | 71.7% | 69.1% |
| Total unmet need | 13.4% | 8.2% | 7.8% | 8.5% |
| Unmet need for spacing | 4.4% | 1.5% | 2.0% | 1.2% |
The table below shows the number of road accidents and people affected in Kapurthala district by year.
Road accidents and people affected in Kapurthala district by year :
| Year | Accidents | Killed | Injured | Vehicles Involved |
| 2022 | 136 | 118 | 62 | 185 |
| 2021 | 134 | 102 | 38 | 148 |
| 2020 | 144 | 121 | 65 | 122 |
| 2019 | 213 | 184 | 81 | 158 |

## Politics

| No. | Constituency | Name of MLA | Party | Bench |
| 26 | Bholath | Sukhpal Singh Khaira | Indian National Congress | Opposition |
| 27 | Kapurthala | Rana Gurjeet Singh | Indian National Congress | Opposition |
| 28 | Sultanpur Lodhi | Rana Inder Pratap Singh | Independent politician | Opposition |
| 29 | Phagwara (SC) | Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal | Indian National Congress | Opposition |

## Notable people

* Kartar Singh Thind, a botanist
* Purshottam Das Jalota, a classical and devotional music singer, best known for his bhajans and receiver of Padam Shri award