District of Madhya Pradesh

Dhar District Population 2026

Q: What is the population of Dhar district in 2026?

Our estimate for 1 March 2026 is ≈27,83,000 (27.83 lakh). It is not an official figure: it applies Dhar's 2001–2011 trend, damped, to the official Madhya Pradesh projection (method M1). Census 2011 counted 21,85,793.

Q: What was the population of Dhar district in Census 2011?

21,85,793: 11,12,725 males and 10,73,068 females, of whom 4,13,221 lived in towns and 17,72,572 in villages.

Population · 1 March 2026

≈ 27.83 lakh Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection 1 March 2026 How this is made →

27,83,000 2.78 million 1 March 2026

Dhar district's population is estimated at ≈27.83 lakh (27,83,000) on 1 March 2026. This is our estimate, tied to the official Madhya Pradesh projection; Census 2011, the last count, recorded 21,85,793.

Estimate: method M1, constrained to the RGI projection for Madhya Pradesh. Census: ORGI.

Which number do you mean?

District totals include villages. Here is how the 2011 population splits between towns and villages.

District

Dhar district

Census 2011: 21,85,793
2026 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →: ≈ 27.83 lakh

Urban population

Towns (urban)

Census 2011: 4,13,221

Rural

Villages (rural)

Census 2011: 17,72,572

Key figures

Population 2026: ≈ 27.83 lakh 27,83,000 Estimate Our estimate, method M1, constrained to the official state projection How this is made →
Census 2011: 21.86 lakh 21,85,793 Census 2011 Final count, Census of India 2011 (ORGI) How this is made →
Density: 268per km² 2011
Sex ratio: 964 Madhya Pradesh: 931
Child sex ratio (0–6): 928 Madhya Pradesh: 918
Literacy rate: 59.0% Male 69.0% · Female 48.8%
Urban share: 18.9% Madhya Pradesh: 27.6%
Growth 2001–11: +25.6% Madhya Pradesh: +20.4%
Area: 8,153km² Census 2011
Households: 4.26 lakh 5.1 people per household
Villages: 1,535 Census 2011
Towns: 13 Census 2011

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Population over time

Census counts on 2011 boundaries, then our estimate to 2036.

Census
Estimate

31 L 2026

› Show the numbers as a table

Year	Population
1951	5,03,965
1961	6,43,774
1971	8,42,400
1981	10,57,469
1991	13,67,412
2001	17,40,329
2011	21,85,793
2016 *	23,97,000
2021 *	25,97,000
2026 *	27,83,000
2031 *	29,49,000
2036 *	30,97,000

* Estimate

How Dhar's 2011 population was spread

Sub-districts (tehsils, talukas, mandals or blocks) as they were in Census 2011. “Part” means only some of it now lies in this district.

How Dhar's 2011 population was spread
#
1	Dhar	5,78,423	26.5%	918	68.6%	41.4%
2	Kukshi	3,22,282	14.7%	997	51.4%	11.7%
3	Manawar	3,08,188	14.1%	980	59.1%	9.9%
4	Sardarpur	2,96,513	13.6%	968	53.2%	9.4%
5	Badnawar	2,26,440	10.4%	972	65.4%	9.2%
6	Dharampuri	1,83,659	8.4%	967	64.1%	26.4%
7	Gandhwani	1,56,046	7.1%	1009	43.3%	0.0%
8	Dahi	1,14,242	5.2%	986	46.0%	7.4%

Largest towns in Dhar (Census 2011)

Pithampur 1,26,200
Dhar 93,917
Dhamnod 32,093
Manawar 30,393
Kukshi 28,331
Badnawar 20,917
Rajgarh 20,668
Dharampuri 16,363
Mandav 10,657
Bagh CT 9,274

How people in Dhar worked (Census 2011)

Cultivators

37.5%

Agricultural labourers

42.6%

Household industry

1.5%

Other work

18.4%

Share of all workers, main and marginal. Work participation: 47.0%.

Age structure of Dhar

Population in five-year age groups, Census 2011. Men on the left, women on the right. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

MenWomen

80+
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
15-19
10-14
5-9
0-4

› Show the numbers as a table

Age	Men	Women
0-4	1,30,247	1,21,711
5-9	1,39,315	1,30,719
10-14	1,38,446	1,31,594
15-19	1,13,004	1,05,372
20-24	99,164	94,836
25-29	87,301	85,617
30-34	80,739	78,851
35-39	74,888	72,438
40-44	64,769	59,390
45-49	52,105	50,063
50-54	41,047	36,155
55-59	27,134	29,333
60-64	24,745	25,480
65-69	14,500	18,504
70-74	12,115	14,754
75-79	5,067	7,331
80+	7,018	9,867

Children (0–14): 36.3%; Madhya Pradesh 33.5%
Working age (15–59): 57.3%; Madhya Pradesh 58.6%
Older people (60+): 6.4%; Madhya Pradesh 7.9%
Median age: 22.1years; Madhya Pradesh 23.4
Dependency ratio: 67.7; children and 65+ per 100 aged 15–64; Madhya Pradesh 63.0

Languages spoken in Dhar

Share of people by mother tongue, grouped into languages as the Census does. 33 languages recorded. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

Hindi 82.8%
Bhili/Bhilodi 15.5%
Urdu 0.5%
Marathi 0.4%
Gujarati 0.3%
Others 0.1%
Odia 0.0%
Bengali 0.0%
All other languages 0.2%

Largest mother tongues

Hindi51.3%
Malvi15.6%
Nimadi15.3%
Bhili/Bhilodi11.5%
Bhilali3.9%
Urdu0.5%
Marathi0.4%
Gujarati0.3%

Housing and amenities in Dhar

Share of households, Houselisting Census 2011. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

Basic services

Electricity for lighting 83.3%

Madhya Pradesh 67.3%
Tap water 29.2%

Madhya Pradesh 23.6%
Water source within premises 21.3%

Madhya Pradesh 24.1%
Toilet within premises 30.1%

Madhya Pradesh 29.1%
Open defecation (no latrine) (Lower is better for this one.) 68.9%

Madhya Pradesh 69.7%
Bathing area within premises 47.4%

Madhya Pradesh 47.5%
Closed drainage 8.0%

Madhya Pradesh 10.0%
Cooking with LPG/PNG 18.0%

Madhya Pradesh 18.4%
Cooking with wood, crop waste or dung (Lower is better for this one.) 79.3%

Madhya Pradesh 79.4%

What households own

Mobile phone 42.1%

Madhya Pradesh 43.8%
Television 29.5%

Madhya Pradesh 32.4%
Scooter or motorcycle 20.4%

Madhya Pradesh 19.0%
Computer or laptop 4.5%

Madhya Pradesh 6.0%
Car, jeep or van 1.9%

Madhya Pradesh 2.7%
Use banking services 42.7%

Madhya Pradesh 46.7%
None of the listed assets (Lower is better for this one.) 41.0%

Madhya Pradesh 32.5%

The home itself

Own their home 90.1%

Madhya Pradesh 90.8%
Rent their home 7.9%

Madhya Pradesh 6.8%
Permanent (pucca) house 45.9%

Madhya Pradesh 44.4%
House in good condition 44.0%

Madhya Pradesh 52.4%
Concrete roof 17.8%

Madhya Pradesh 17.0%
Cement or tiled floor 24.2%

Madhya Pradesh 24.9%
One room or less (Lower is better for this one.) 50.2%

Madhya Pradesh 42.0%

Madhya Pradesh

What the numbers say

Dhar district held 3.0% of Madhya Pradesh's population in 2011, 5th of 55 districts.
Literacy is 59.0%, 10.3 points below the Madhya Pradesh average of 69.3%.
The gender gap in literacy is wide: 69.0% of men but only 48.8% of women could read and write in 2011.
The sex ratio of 964 females per 1,000 males is higher than the state's 931.
18.9% of residents lived in towns in 2011, more rural than Madhya Pradesh as a whole (27.6%).
The population grew 25.6% in 2001–11, faster than Madhya Pradesh's 20.4%.
Our 2026 estimate, ≈27.83 lakh, implies growth of about 27% since 2011; it is tied to the official Madhya Pradesh projection.
Its largest town, Pithampur, had 1.26 lakh people in 2011, 5.8% of the district.

Compare with

All districts of Madhya Pradesh →

Census 2027 status

Results pending

Phase I: houselisting

Done (1 May 2026 – 30 May 2026)
Phase II: counting people

February 2027 (reference date 1 March 2027)
Results

Not yet released. In 2011, first figures came about a month after counting ended.

When the Registrar General publishes Census 2027 figures for Dhar, they will appear on this page, at this address. Census 2027 explained →

Population by religion in Dhar (Census 2011)

Official figures as published by the Office of the Registrar General. Shown without commentary. Census 2011 Census 2011, as published. How this is made →

Population by religion in Dhar (Census 2011)
Religion	Persons	Share	Madhya Pradesh
Hindu	20,51,219	93.8%	90.9%
Muslim	1,16,202	5.3%	6.6%
Christian	2,261	0.1%	0.3%
Sikh	1,607	0.1%	0.2%
Buddhist	328	0.0%	0.3%
Jain	12,199	0.6%	0.8%
Other religions and persuasions	88	0.0%	0.8%
Religion not stated	1,889	0.1%	0.1%
Total	21,85,793	100%

Frequently asked questions

What is the population of Dhar district in 2026?

Our estimate for 1 March 2026 is ≈27,83,000 (27.83 lakh). It is not an official figure: it applies Dhar's 2001–2011 trend, damped, to the official Madhya Pradesh projection (method M1). Census 2011 counted 21,85,793.

What was the population of Dhar district in Census 2011?

21,85,793: 11,12,725 males and 10,73,068 females, of whom 4,13,221 lived in towns and 17,72,572 in villages.

What is the literacy rate and sex ratio of Dhar?

Literacy was 59.0% in 2011 (men 69.0%, women 48.8%). The sex ratio was 964 females per 1,000 males, and 928 among children aged 0–6.

Which is the largest town in Dhar district?

Pithampur, with 1,26,200 people in Census 2011.

How many villages and towns are in Dhar district?

On today's boundaries the district contains 1,535 Census 2011 villages and 13 towns.

⤓ Download Madhya Pradesh district data (CSV)

Sources and method

Data updated: 4 October 2026 · Report a correction