Tehsils of Balochistan, Pakistan, Literacy Levels, From Most to Least Literate

How literate are Balochistan tehsils

Tehsils Literacy
Level
Karezat Tehsil74.18%
Darug Tehsil65.37%
Turbat Tehsil63.65%
Pasni Tehsil59.71%
Nushki Tehsil59.04%
Quetta Sadar Tehsil56.66%
Ziarat Tehsil54.20%
Mand Tehsil54.19%
Mastung Tehsil53.70%
Kan Mehtarzai53.65%
Moola Tehsil52.68%
Pishin Tehsil52.50%
Sibi Tehsil52.40%
Gwadar Tehsil51.60%
Chaman Tehsil51.36%
Kuchlak Tehsil50.59%
Duki Tehsil50.48%
Shahrig Tehsil50.12%
Kohlu Tehsil49.76%
Zehri Tehsil49.38%
Ormara Tehsil49.08%
Kharan Tehsil48.63%
Gadani Tehsil48.57%
Nok Kundi Tehsil48.57%
Saranan Tehsil48.33%
Barshore Tehsil47.61%
Nal Tehsil47.26%
Tump Tehsil47.17%
Bori Tehsil46.82%
Panjgur Tehsil46.19%
Saeed Muhammad Kanrani Tehsil45.90%
Kingri Tehseel45.37%
Muslim Bagh Tehsil45.36%
Bostan Tehsil45.19%
Dhadar Tehsil45.10%
Hub Tehsil44.35%
Kalat Tehsil44.19%
Qilla Abdullah Tehsil44.00%
Khuzdar Tehsil43.85%
Manjipur Tehsil43.85%
Sariab Tehsil42.99%
Awaran Tehsil42.90%
Shaheed meharabad zehri42.85%
Kardigap Tehsil42.71%
Hayrvi Tehsil42.60%
Sohbatpur Tehsil42.30%
Khattan41.86%
Zhob Tehsil41.27%
Mashkay Tehsil41.21%
Faridabad Tehsil41.09%
Bela Tehsil40.98%
Lehri tehsil40.79%
Khost Tehsil40.35%
Hurramzai Tehsil39.67%
Dalbandin Tehsil39.10%
Dasht e Goran38.85%
Machh Tehsil38.80%
Balnigor Tehsil38.77%
Paroom Tehsil38.64%
Kallag Tehsil38.40%
Usta Muhammad Tehsil38.17%
Thal Chutyali Tehsil38.10%
Panjpai Tehsil37.67%
Dasht Tehsil37.25%
Dasht Tehsil36.79%
Sar-Kharan Tehsil36.70%
Jhatpat Tehsil36.70%
Gandavah Tehsil36.35%
Gishkaur Tehsil36.34%
Gidder36.31%
Dak Tehsil36.29%
Harnai Tehsil36.28%
Gulistan Tehsil36.12%
Sinjawi Tehsil35.88%
Sonmiani Tehsil35.80%
Panhwar Tehsil35.38%
Buleda Tehsil35.36%
Jiwani Tehsil35.28%
Bhag Tehsil35.24%
Mangocher Tehsil35.22%
Chaman Saddar Tehsil35.18%
Patkain Tehsil35.06%
Dera Murad Jamali34.93%
Tohumulk Tehsil34.81%
Musakhel Tehsil34.51%
Grisani Tehsil34.40%
Surab Tehsil34.34%
Uthal Tehsil33.95%
Luni Tehsil33.80%
Dera Bugti Tehsil33.75%
Barkhan Tehsil33.62%
Khad Koocha Tehsil33.22%
Balanari Tehsil32.21%
Karkh Tehsil32.14%
Wadh Tehsil31.83%
Besima Tehsil31.83%
Suntsar Tehsil31.69%
Killa Saifullah Tehsil30.77%
Hoshab Tehsil30.71%
Sui Tehsil30.59%
Tamboo Tehsil29.32%
Zamuran Tehsil28.97%
Tamboo Tehsil28.80%
Gowargo Tehsil27.57%
Johan Tehsil27.49%
Jhal Magsi Tehsil26.82%
Korak Jhao Tehsil26.71%
Jhal Jhao Tehsil26.62%
Toisar Tehsil26.06%
Loiband Tehsil25.81%
Maiwand Tehsil25.75%
Mirpur Tehsil24.86%
Tiyar Essot Tehsil24.71%
Gandakha Tehsil24.59%
Mekhtar Tehsil24.55%
Yakmach24.36%
Saroona Tehsil24.22%
Sherani Tehsil23.86%
Chagai Tehsil23.77%
Shahgori Tehsil23.55%
Meer Hassan Tesil22.99%
Sangan Tehsil22.67%
Gresha Tehsil22.10%
Sambaza Tehsil21.65%
Ornach Tehsil21.58%
Talao Tehsil21.41%
Kanraj Tehsil20.32%
Gichk Tehsil20.15%
Kahan Tehsil19.87%
Taftan Tehsil19.70%
Badini Tehsil19.15%
Gazg Tehsil18.75%
Washuk Tehsil18.10%
Dobandi Tehsil18.10%
Nag Tehsil18.02%
Landhi Tehsil17.60%
Chattar Tehsil17.21%
Mashkel Tehsil16.33%
Liari Tehsil16.09%
Baiker Tehsil15.62%
Dureji Tehsil15.58%
Sani Tehsil15.58%
Baba Kot Tehsil15.41%
Lakhra Tehsil15.31%
Zimri Plaseen Tehsil15.02%
Shinki Tehsil14.93%
Ashwat Tehsil14.51%
Aranji Tehsil12.11%
Kashatu Tehsil9.64%
Kutmandai Tehsil8.93%
Sakran Tehsil
Baghbana Tehsil
Amuri tehsil
Chilgazi tehsil
Shaheed Jahangir Abad
Phelawagh Tehsil
Gayab Tehsil
Solband Tehsil
Jaffarabad Tehsil
Chiltan Tehsil
Zarghoon Tehsil
Khanozai Tehsil
Qamar Din Karez Tehsil

Balochistan: What Tehsil Literacy Rates Tells

Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province by area and one of its least densely populated. Averages for a place this size hide enormous differences. Look at literacy at the tehsil level, the administrative tier between a district and its villages, and the picture changes sharply from one valley or coastline to the next.

The content above ranks the province’s tehsils by literacy rate using figures from the 2023 census. This post explains how to read it, what stands out, and what to be careful about before drawing conclusions.

What the ranking shows

The range is enormous. The most literate tehsil, Karezat, sits at 74.18%. The lowest figure in the table, Kutmandai, is 8.93%. That is a gap of more than 65 percentage points inside a single province.

Only a minority of tehsils clear the halfway mark. Just 18 tehsils report literacy above 50%, ending with Shahrig at 50.12%. Most of the table sits well below that line, and a long tail falls under 25%.

The top 10

RankTehsilLiteracy
1Karezat74.18%
2Darug65.37%
3Turbat63.65%
4Pasni59.71%
5Nushki59.04%
6Quetta Sadar56.66%
7Ziarat54.20%
8Mand54.19%
9Mastung53.70%
10Kan Mehtarzai53.65%

A few patterns are worth noting.

  • Karezat leads by a wide margin. Its lead over second-placed Darug is almost nine points, which is larger than the gap between Darug and the tehsil in ninth place.
  • The Makran coast and its hinterland do well. Turbat and Pasni are in the top four, and Gwadar (51.60%) and Ormara (49.08%) are not far behind. Coastal and market towns tend to have more schools, more commerce and more reasons to read and write.
  • Quetta Sadar is high but not first. At 56.66% the provincial capital’s core tehsil ranks sixth. Being the capital helps, but it does not put Quetta at the top.
  • Several tehsils in the central and northern belt appear. Nushki, Ziarat, Mastung, Pishin (52.50%) and Chaman (51.36%) all sit in the upper tier.

The bottom of the table

The lowest rates are:

TehsilLiteracy
Kutmandai8.93%
Kashatu9.64%
Aranji12.11%
Ashwat14.51%
Shinki14.93%
Zimri Plaseen15.02%
Lakhra15.31%
Baba Kot15.41%
Sani and Dureji (tied)15.58%

In these tehsils, fewer than one in six people can read and write. Several tehsils known for very large land areas also appear low in the table, including Washuk (18.10%), Mashkel (16.33%) and Gichk (20.15%). That fits a familiar problem: when settlements are sparse and far apart, schools are hard to build, staff and keep running.

Why the gaps are so wide

The content measures outcomes, not causes, so the following are reasons to consider rather than conclusions the data proves.

  1. Distance and density. Balochistan has vast areas with small, scattered populations. Getting a school within reach of every child is far more expensive than in a compact district.
  2. Urban versus rural. Towns and market centres generally have more schools and more teachers, and more daily use for literacy.
  3. Access for girls. Female literacy is typically much lower than male literacy in rural Pakistan, which pulls down the overall rate.
  4. Infrastructure and security. Roads, electricity, teacher attendance and local conditions all affect whether schools stay open.
  5. Economic pressure. Where children work with livestock, farms or family trades from an early age, school attendance falls.
Tehsils of Balochistan, Pakistan, Literacy Levels, From Most to Least Literate
  • A tehsil is not a district. Tehsils vary hugely in size and population. A high rate in a small tehsil rests on far fewer people than the same rate in a large one.
  • Literacy is a basic measure. It records whether people can read and write, not how well they do it or the quality of the education behind it.

Why this matters

A single provincial figure can suggest a uniform problem with a uniform solution. This ranking shows otherwise. Some tehsils already look like the rest of urban Pakistan, while others are far behind. Planning for schools, teachers and adult literacy programmes works better when it is aimed at the places that need it most, and a tehsil-level table is a practical starting point for that.

Source: CENSUS 2023, BALOCHISTAN: AREA, POPULATION BY SEX, SEX RATIO, POPULATION DENSITY, URBAN POPULATION, HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE