Malir has been regarded in history as the countryside of Karachi City due to its open atmosphere and lush green farms, but now these are no more.[5]
Agriculture land
Malir was once famous for its fruit and vegetable farms; but, now due to severe scarcity of groundwater, these farmlands are being converted into residential areas, thus increasing urbanization and environmental degradation. The Society for Conservation and Protection of Environment (SCOPE) has been concerned about drought and desertification in Malir district and has launched a campaign against illegal sand and gravel mining in dry river beds of Malir and its tributaries. Because sand and gravel mining cause lowering of ground water, as rainwater can cannot percolate in the aquifer. SCOPE is developing rainwater reservoirs in drought affected rural areas.[6]
Administrative status
Malir District was established in 1996.
Malir District was abolished in 2000 and divided into three towns namely:
At the time of the 2017 census, Malir had a sex ratio of 870 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 63.69%: 69.85% for males and 56.43% for females. 1,066,712 (55.43%) lived in urban areas. 504,348 (26.21%) were under 10 years of age.[9] In 2023, the district had 416,512 households and a population of 2,403,959.[3]
The majority religion is Islam, with 96.45% of the population. Christianity is practiced by 1.82% and Hinduism (including Scheduled Castes) is practiced by 1.66% of the population.[10]
At the time of the 2023 census, 34.98% of the population spoke Sindhi, 17.71% Pashto, 15.79% Urdu, 9.94% Punjabi, 7.88% Balochi, 5.69% Hindko and 3.22% Saraiki as their first language.[11]
