Sabarkantha district is one of the 33 administrative districts of the Indian state of Gujarat, situated in the northeastern part of the state. The district headquarters is in Himatnagar, and it is traversed by National Highway 48. According to recent demographic projections, the district has an estimated population of around 2.5 million as of January 2025.
Geography and climate
thumb|Harnav dam|left|181x181pxSabarkantha District is bounded by Rajasthan to the north and northeast, the Banaskantha district and the Mehsana district to the west, the Gandhinagar district to the south and the Aravalli district to the southeast. It is spread across an area of 5390 km and its geographical location: 23.030 to 24.30 N latitude and 72.43 to 73.39 E. longitude.
The district has a climate of a minimum temperature of 9<sup>o</sup> C in the winter and a maximum temperature of 49<sup>o</sup> C in the summer. The region also includes a number of rivers which include Sabarmati, Khari, Meshvo, Hathmati, Harnao, Vatrak and Mazam. There is a variety of soil and flat available around these rivers.
With all these factors, the district has given rise to a number types of agriculture. Crops include paddy, millet, cotton, wheat, sorghum, tobacco, groundnut, castor, mustard, vegetables, tomatoes and cauliflower.
History
During the Western Satrap rule, the region was known as Shwabhra (). The region was under the rule of Satrap Rudradama in 150 A.D. as indicated in Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts at Junagadh. The river of the region was originally named Shwabhravati and is now known as the Sabarmati River. The region is also named in the auxiliary text Gaṇapāṭha of Pāṇini's grammar work, Aṣṭādhyāyī.
During the British Raj, Vijaynagar in the Sabarkantha district was the capital of Vijaynagar State or Pol State, one of the princely states of the Mahi Kantha Agency.thumb|[[Himatnagar Public Library|left|239x239px]]The present-day district of Sabarkantha was formed in 1949 through the merger of 29 princely states and some parts of the British-governed Ahmedabad district. When the former Bombay state was bifurcated in 1960, Sabarkantha became a part of the newly-formed Gujarat.
Agriculture is the backbone of Sabarkantha district's economy, with approximately 62.8% of the workforce engaged in farming and related activities. The region primarily cultivates wheat, cotton, pulses, and groundnut, which are among its most significant crops.
Sub-Divisions
Sabarkantha district has eight talukas:
- Himatnagar
- Idar
- Prantij
- Talod
- Khedbrahma
- Poshina
- Vadali
- Vijaynagar
Demographics
According to the 2011 census, the Sabarkantha district has a population of 2,428,589, roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait or the U.S. state of New Mexico. This gives it a ranking of 183rd in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 16.56%. Sabarkantha has a sex ratio of 950 females for every 1000 males and a literacy rate of 76.6%.
The residual district had a population of 1,388,671, of which 237,158 (17.08%) lived in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 125,462 (9.03%) and 328,243 (23.64%) of the population, respectively.
Languages
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 97.85% of the population in the district spoke Gujarati and 1.63% spoke Hindi as their first language.