Population: Overview

Population: Union Council wise

Area

          Murree, one of the seven towns/tehsils [sub-division ] of Rawalpindi district. Currently it is spread over an area of 434 Sq kilometer. Murree Tehsil was established a little while after the British conquest of Punjab in 1846. As stated in detail elsewhere Murree and other hill tracts of Rawalpindi district as well as Hazara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province part of territories of Kashmir sold to Maharaja Ghulab Singh by the British authorities under treaty of Amritsar of 1846.

Later under an agreement between British and Maharaja Ghulab Singh the Hazara region as well as Murree and other hilly tracks of Rawalpindi district were restored to Punjab Province and the Maharja was compensated else where. For details see History page of this site.

While re-demarcating the the district boundaries the British government ceded large Dond and Karral territories, including Khanpur, Rajoiya, Danna and Boi and put them into than Hazara district. These areas and which were historical part of Murree currently form eastern parts of Haripur and Abbottabad districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Later Murree tehsil continued to witness territorial changes. In 1959 certain parts of the tehsils were ceded to be included in Islamabad Capital Territory. In 1990s, a large part of the tehsil was ceded to establish Kotli Sattian Tehsil.

Population

          According to population census of 1998 Murree has a population of 176,426 persons of which 90,780 are male while 85,646 are female. 155,051 people live in the rural areas and 21,371 live in the urban areas. Within the urban areas 13,462 persons live in the civilian areas while 7400 inhabit different cantonments spread over various parts of the Murree Hills .
          In 1981 population of Murree was 157136. The annual growth rate in measured was 0.68 percent during the 1981-1998. Slow growth rate of population is not confined to Murree, the enumeration of Kotli Satian shows  reduction of population during the time. The population of the villages now comprising Kotli Sattian Town (tehsil) was 83255 in 1981 while the 1998 census shows the figure at 81,523, an increase of of minus 0 .12 percent.   
          According to population census of 1998, population of Pakistan, during 1981-98, grew at the rate of 2.69 percent. The same figures for Punjab and Rawalpindi District were 2.64 and 2.75 percent respectively. The negligible increase in population of Murree and sister town of Kotli Sattian can be explained by the fact that the enumeration was done during winter and early spring when the harsh weather in the hills forces a large number of inhabitants of the area to relocate in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and other areas in the plain.

A population count during any less harsh season would have shown more real picture. It is hoped that the authorities will take the peculiarities of Murree and other hilly areas of the country when time table of next population count is considered.
The under numeration cost Murree and Kotli Sattian less then fair share in political representation at National and Provincial level. Though number of seats in the National Assembly as well as Punjab Assembly were increased in 2002 but more areas were brought into National and Provincial Assembly constituencies of the area thus lowering the political weight available to Murree.
It is pertinent to mention mention that before 2002 Murree had an exclusive seat out of 240 directly elected seats in the Punjab Assembly but it has now to share the same with Kotli Sattian despite the fact that directly elected seats in the Provincial Assembly were increased to 297.

Murree is divided into cantonment areas, spread over  most of the hill tops, and fifteen Union Councils including the one representing the non cantonment urban areas of Murree city. .

           According to the 1998 census Murree has a literacy rate of 69.3 percent, among population of age 10 and above, which is slightly less then overall district Rawalpindi figure of 70.4 percent. It however is a a lot higher then figures for Punjab province as well as Pakistan as a whole.
           The literacy figures look more impressive if we take into account the fact that Murree is mostly a rural area where 87.88 percent population lives in rural areas. Such impressive education figures are not confined to Murree as most of the areas in Rawalpindi district boast a literacy rate well above national average. All most every union council in Rawalpindi district Rawalpindi district have better literacy rate then the national average of 42.92 percent

Population by Union Council [UC]
Name of Union
Council/ Area 		 Total Population Male Female Population above 18 Literacy rate in %
Murree Hill cant. 1 5282 4010 1272 3874 83.6
Murree Hill cant. 2 2118 1510 608 1447 84.2
Murree UC 13975 7942 6033 7761 73.6
Angoori UC 17928 8879 9049 9165 68.0
Charhan UC 11792 5795 5997 6095 73.8
Daryagali UC 11414 5650 67.0 6233 67.0
Dewal UC 11042 5431 5611 5907 78.5
Ghel UC 9488 4307 5181 4363 63.9
Ghoragali UC 14410 7254 7156 7883 60.9
Mosyari UC 9945 5004 4941 5281 73.3
Nambal UC 11547 5776 5771 5953 61.8
Phagwari UC 13060 6596 6464 6979 67.5
Potha Sharif 10190 5067 5123 5614 68.4
Rawat UC 9172 4594 4578 5176 74.1
Sehrbagla UC 10879 5430 5449 6015 69.7
Tret UC 14184 7535 6649 7620 63.6
Total 176426 90780 85646 95366 69.3
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** All figures are from population census of 1998.