Awaran District (Balochi and Urdu: آواران), is a district in the south of the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It was created as a separate district in November 1992; but previously it was a sub-division of Khuzdar District.[3] The old name of Awaran was Kolwa. It is considered the poorest district in the province.It is located in the south of the Balochistan province, Awaran district is bordered by Gwadar to its south and south west, Lasbela to its east and south, Kech and Panjgur to its west, Khuzdar to its north east and Kharan to its north.

Administrative divisions

The district is administratively subdivided into the following three tehsils,which are sub-divided into eight union councils

1. Awaran
2. Gishkaur
3. Teertage
4. Jhal Jhao
5. Camp Jahoo
6. Korak
7. Mashkai
8. Gajjar
9. Nokjo
10. Parwar

Demographics

The population of the district was as follows:

1981 census: 110,353

1998 census: 118,173

2017 census: 121,680

At the time of the 2017 census the district had a population of 121,821, of which 63,063 were males and 58,749 females. Rural population was 87,584 (71.90%) while the urban population was 34,237 (28.10%). The literacy rate was 25.47% – the male literacy rate was 34.34% while the female literacy rate was 15.90%. 160 people in the district were from religious minorities.

Apart from the Muslims there is a small Zikri minority. The major tribes are the Bizenjo, Muhammad Hassani, Sajidi, Siapad, Mirwani, Rakhshani, Sumalani and Qambrani.

Languages

Languages of Awaran district (2017)

 Balochi (94.61%)

  Brahui (4.15%)

  Others (1.24%).

Agriculture

Awaran is known as oasis of dates. Annual production of dates is approx 15,000 ton. Beside dates, onion is grown on large scale; estimated annual production is 53,000 tons. Wheat and barley are the other major Rabi crop. Kharif crops are fruits and pulses.

Education

According to Pakistan District Education Ranking 2017, a report by Alif Ailaan, district Awaran is ranked at number 137 nationally, with an education score of 37.65. The learning score of Awaran is 42.13 and gender parity is at 43.37.The national rank according to Readiness is 148, with a readiness score of 26.47 and primary ratio of 22.17 and gender parity of 30.77. The school infrastructure score is at 20.09 giving district Awaraan a national ranking of 146. Availability of electricity and functional toilets in schools are a major issue in Awaran.