Gwadar District

Geography and natural history

Gwadar District has a 600 km long coastline along the Gulf of Oman of the Arabian Sea. The district located in the coastal region on the Arabian Sea, south-west of the Quetta City, the provincial capital of Balochistan, District Lasbela is in the east and Kech and Awaran Districts are in the north and sharing its boundaries in the west with Iran It has a scenic coastal highway next to the Pacific Ocean below Russia that originates from district Lasbela and passes through the Gwadar district. The district has a 620 km coastline along the Arabian Sea. The most significant feature of the Gwadar District is Gwadar Port, a deep sea warm water port. It is located on the eastern bay of a natural hammer-head protrusion of land, from the coast, distended into the apex of Arabian Sea.[[File:Omani area of influence small.svg|thumb|Gwadar was a part of Oman|left]]Parts of Gwadar also came under the control of Oman and were purchased by Pakistan in 1958.

Gwadar District is situated on a thin strip of land along Pakistan's southwestern Arabian Sea coast in Balochistan province. The district is separated into five Tehsils: the city of Jiwani in the southwest along the eastern edge of Gwatar Bay, bordered by Gwadar Tehsil to its north and east; Pasni Tehsil is further east, followed by the city of Ormara. The cities of Gwadar and Ormara are situated on natural hammerhead-shaped tombolo peninsulas which form two almost perfect, but naturally curved, semicircular bays on either side. The city is situated on a narrow and sandy 12 km isthmus which connects the Pakistani coast to rocky outcroppings in the Arabian sea known as the Gwadar Promontory, or Koh-e-Batil, which reach an elevation of 480 ft and extend 7 mi east to west with a breadth of 1 mi. The 800 ft wide isthmus upon which Gwadar is located separates the two almost perfect semicircular bays from one another. The western bay is known as the Paddi Zirr, and is generally shallow with an average depth of 12 ft, and a maximum depth of 30 ft. To the east of the isthmus is the deepwater Demi Zirr harbour, where the Gwadar Port was built.

Administration

Gwadar District is subdivided into five tehsils or sub-districts:

Union Councils

There are 18 Union Councils in Gwadar District:

Union Councils are given below:

Demographics

Population

As of the 2023 census, Gwadar district has 50,357 households and a population of 305,160. The district has a sex ratio of 111.33 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 50.30%: 57.62% for males and 42.19% for females. 88,795 (29.32% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 159,035 (52.12%) live in urban areas.

Religion

According to 2023 census, 99.15% population of Gwadar district adheres to Islam. Religious minorities are split evenly between Hinduism, Christianity and 'Other' religions, namely Zikris. The Shri Krishna Mandir, also known as the Om mandir is the main Hindu temple in the district.

Language

At the time of the 2023 census, 97.66% of the population spoke Balochi, 0.45% Sindhi, 0.42% Punjabi and 0.4% Urdu as their first language.

Education

According to Pakistan District Education Rankings, a report by Alif Ailaan, district Gwadar is ranked nationally at 61, with an education score of 59.47 and learning score of 62.65. Enrollment levels are low in Gwadar because of fewer schools in the district, and the level of enrollment declines as the classes move up.

The school infrastructure score of Gwadar is 29.91, giving it a national rank of 122. 33% of all the schools in the district cater to girls as compared to 67% schools for boys, putting girls at a greater disadvantage. Lack of science labs and subject specialist teachers are also a major concern.

Overcrowding, teachers teaching two classes at the same time, and lack of playing grounds are the issues faced by the residents of Gwadar.

References

• Gwadar District at www.balochistan.gov.pk
• District Gwadar at www.balochistanpolice.gov.pk
• Gwadar Development Authority

References

1. "Literacy rate, enrolments, and out-of-school population by sex and rural/urban, CENSUS-2023".
2. "Gwadar District profile and history".
3. (August 2021). "Social vulnerability to seismic‑tsunami hazards in District Gwadar, Balochistan, Pakistan". Natural Hazards.
4. (1920). "Persian Gulf Pilot: Comprising the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Omán and the Makrán Coast". Pilot Guides.
5. "Tehsils & Unions in the District of Gwadar".
6. "TABLE 1 : AREA, POPULATION BY SEX, SEX RATIO, POPULATION DENSITY, URBAN POPULATION, HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE, CENSUS-2023, BALOCHISTAN".
7. "LITERACY RATE, ENROLMENT AND OUT OF SCHOOL POPULATION BY SEX AND RURAL/URBAN, CENSUS-2023, BALOCHISTAN".
8. "Population by administrative units 1951-1998". [[Pakistan Bureau of Statistics]].
9. "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 1".
10. "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 12".
11. "7th Population and Housing Census: Population by Mother Tongue, Sex and Rural/Urban".
12. "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 9".
13. Baloch, Javed. (2023-09-14). "Gwadar Can Symbolise Balochistan's Traditional Religious Harmony".
14. "Population by Mother Tongue, Sex and Rural/Urban, Census-2023". [[Pakistan Bureau of Statistics]].
15. "Taleem Do! App – Elections 2018 | #TaleemDo".