Kohistan District, Pakistan

Kohistan ( "Land of Mountains"), also called Indus Kohistan, was an administrative district within the Hazara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. In 2014, it was bifurcated into two districts: Upper Kohistan and Lower Kohistan. In 2017, the Lower Kohistan District was further bifurcated and a district Kolai-Palas was established. It covered an area of 7,492 km2 and had a population of 472,570 according to the 1998 Census. Geographically, Kohistan stretched from Gilgit-Baltistan in the north to the Mansehra District in the east to the Battagram District and Shangla and Swat districts in the west.

Geography
The district lies between 34° 54′ and 35° 52′ north latitudes and 72° 43′ and 73° 57′ east longitudes. It was bounded by the Diamer District of Gilgit-Baltistan in the north, Manshera District in the southeast, Kaghan Valley of the Mansehra District in the southeast, Battagram District  in the south and Shangla and Swat Districts in the west. Kohistan is the point of convergence for the Hindukush, Karakorum, and Himalayan mountain ranges, acting as a natural boundary delineating distinct environmental regions within the expanse of the Himalayas, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush mountain chains. This uniqueness of the mountain system also results in rich flora and fauna, thus providing a habitat for unique species such as the Western Tragopan pheasant and the snow leopard.

Education
The literacy rate of the district among the population aged 10 years and older is 11.1%: male 17.23% and female 2.95%. The proportion of the working or employed population to the population aged 10 years and older is 26.47%, which is 70.53% of the total labour force. Out of the total employed population, 71.60% are self-employed, 10.68% work as employees, and 17.32% are unpaid family helpers.

Kohistan's literacy rate is among the lowest in Pakistan and hovers around 20%. It has the lowest Human Development Index of all districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Demographics
At the time of the 2017 census the district had a population of 784,711, of which 424,643 were males and 360,055 females. The rural population was 706,433 (97.95%) while the urban population was 72,654 (2.05%). The literacy rate was 76.20% - the male literacy rate was 86.40% while the female literacy rate was 65.76%. 3,172 (0.24%) people in the district were from religious minorities, mainly Christians.

At the time of the 2017 census, 91.96 of the population spoke Kohistani, 7.09% Pashto, 0.36% Urdu and 0.63% Punjabi as their first language. 2.07% of the population spoke languages classified as 'Others', mainly Kohistani languages.

The major language of the area is Kohistani, which in the 1981 census, was the mother tongue of % of households. The variety spoken in the District of Kohistan has formed the basis of a literary language. It is very close to the Dardic Language of Kohistan: the two share 86% of their basic vocabulary.

Other languages, such as Pashto, Urdu and Punjabi, are found more in urban than rural areas.