The annual population growth in the period 1971-81 for the areas now forming the district was 10.48 percent according to the 1981 population census. Sub-division wise it was 8.53 percent for Kakar Khurasan sub-division, 8.65 percent for Zhob sub-division, and 14.27 percent for Sherani sub-division. The population growth pattern in Sherani sub-division is one of the highest in Balochistan. The growth rate may have become even larger, as over the last decade a huge number of Afghan refugees having taken refuge into the district.

The total population of 223,220 as according to the 1981 census, can be divided into the following population composition. The age group from 1 to 14 years is 100,825; from 15 to 19 is 26,967; from 20 to 69 is 91,299 and the age group from 70 to 75 is 4,129 persons.

The ratio of dependent population in the district, according to the 1981 census, was 52.0 percent of the total population. The dependent population exists of age groups from year 1 to 14 and from 65 and older. Dependent people between the age of 15 and 64 are not included in the official figures.

The average household in the district is 9 persons according to the 1981 census. This dense household average is due to poverty, close-family marriages and no family planning. Family planning in the Zhob rural areas, because of religious rigidity, is abhorred, though those who are educated think family planning is necessary for better development. The tribal homogeneity and close family system account for the joint family system. Household size is largest in Sherani sub-division. The nucleus family system exists in Zhob city.

According to the 1981 census, in Zhob district, 85.6 percent (191,076 out of 223,220) of the population lives in rural areas. This percentage will be higher now, as a result of the influx of Afghan refugees and the fact that Killa Saifullah and Muslim Bagh (upper Zhob Division) have been separated from Zhob district to form Killa Saifullah district although the urban population of Zhob city has increased.

The spatial population distribution is not exactly known. In Kakar Khurasan sub-division the spatial population distribution is widest. The overall population density per sq. km is 21.

The principal ethnic group in the district is Pathan/Pashtoon. The historian Bartolad writes that the inhabitants of Zhob are Pashtoons, an Aryan tribe who have lived in the area from pre-historic times onwards. They have Afghan origins.

The predominant language in the district is Pashto. It is spoken by more than 98 percent of the population. There are however a number of dialects, the one most spoken is Kakari Pashto. The Kakar tribe is the largest of the tribes living in the district.

For many generations, Zhob area has known in-migration. The large migration into the district during 1892, when the Durand Line was drawn, mainly existed of people from Afghanistan moving to Kakar Khurasan, Zhob upper sub-division and Sherani area. Since 1947, many people from Punjab and NWFP have migrated to the district. Many Powandahs have bought property and settled down in the outskirts of the Zhob city and other areas. Since 1979, the district is marked with a huge influx of Afghan refugees in all three sub-divisions of the district. People from tribes living across the border in Afghanistan have moved to the district as well. The population of Kakar Khurasan has increased dramatically since then. The exact number of immigrants over the last decade and a half are not known. According to the 1981 census their number was 6,420 at the time, but unofficial reports indicated much higher figures. Out-migration exists of people who have gone abroad to other cities and Gulf countries for better livelihood. A large number of Sherani tribesmen have gone to Gulf countries. Many people from Zhob live as temporary immigrants in Lahore, Karachi, and Faisalabad, engaged in fruit and transportation business. Many Kakar tribesmen have migrated to India and are citizens of India now.

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