Gorakhpur district is one of the 75 districts of Uttar Pradeshstate in northern India. This district is a part of the Gorakhpur division. The city of Gorakhpur, or Gorakhpur is the administrative headquarters of this district and Gorakhpur division. It borders Sant Kabir Nagar district to the west, Kushinagar and Deoria districts to the east, and Maharajganj and Azamgarh districts to the north and south.
Gorakhpur district lies between latitude 26°46'N and longitude 83°2'E. The district covers an area of 3,483.8 square kilometres (1,345.1 sq mi). The district lies in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh. The district is situated about 270 kilometres east of Lucknow and about 102 kilometres from Nepal Border. It is situated on the banks of the Rapti River. The district is part of Gorakhpur division.[4]
According to the 2011 census, Gorakhpur district has a population of 4,440,895,[3] roughly equal to the nation of Croatia[7] or the US state of Kentucky.[8] This gives it a ranking of 40th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 1,337 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,460/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 17.81%. Gorakhpur has a sex ratio of 944 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 70.83%. 18.83% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 21.08% and 0.41% of the population respectively.[3]
The official language of the district is Hindi and additional official language is Urdu.[10]
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 51.31% of the population in the district identified as Bhojpuri speakers, 46.48% as Hindi speakers and 2.02% Urdu speakers.[9]
Bhojpuri is the local language of Gorakhpur. The Bhojpuri variant of Kaithi is the indigenous script of Bhojpuri language.[11]
Economy
The economy of the district in early 2000s was comparatively low to other major districts in the state, but since 2014 Gorakhpur district is developing on a good rate and its economy is also increased. The Gorakhpur Development Authority (GDA) handles all the development projects in this District.[12][13]
