Rahim Yar Khan District (Urdu, Saraiki: ضلع رحیم یار خان) is a district in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Its headquarters is the city of Rahim Yar Khan. Administrative The district of Rahim Yar Khan is subdivided into four tehsils: Khanpur Liaqatpur Rahim Yar Khan Sadiqabad History Rahim Yar Khan has had the status of a separate district since 1943. The district derives its name from its headquarters, the city of Rahim Yar Khan, which was known as "Naushehra" until 1881. To avoid confusion with the similarly named city of Nowshera, the ruler of Bahawalpur, Nawab Sadiq Khan IV, renamed it after his first son, Rahim Yar Khan. Geography The district lies between 27°40'-29°16' north latitudes and 60°45'-70°01' east longitudes. The riverain area of the district lies close to eastern bank of the river Indus and Panjnad. The Rahim Yar Khan District is bounded on the north by Muzaffargarh District, on the east by Bahawalpur District, on the south by Jaisalmer district (India) and Ghotki District of Sindh province, and on the west by Rajanpur District. This district is divided into three main physical features: (a) Riverside area, b) canal-irrigated area, and (c) desert area which is called Cholistan. The Riverside area of the district lies close on the southern side of the Indus river mainly falling in the river bed. The canal-irrigated area lies on the south and is separated by main Minchan Bund. The approximate height of the irrigated area is above sea level. The third part of the area, called Cholistan, lies in the south of the irrigated tract up to the Indo-Pak border. The surface of the desert consists of a succession of sand dunes rising at places to a height of and covered with the vegetation peculiar to sandy tracts. Demographics At the time of the 2017 census the district had a population of 4,807,762, of which 2,461,780 were males and 2,345,413 females. Rural population is 3,776,779 while the urban population is 1,030,983. The literacy rate was 46.62%. Religion Muslims were the predominant religious community with 96.50% of the population while Hindus (including Scheduled Castes) were 3.12% of the population. The Bhagwan Shri Krishna Mandir in Sadiqabad is one of the main Hindu temple in Rahim Yar Khan district. While other minorities like Christians, Ahmadi etc. are very small in number. The proportion of population of Muslims is higher in urban than rural areas. Languages