An important characteristic of Jaffarabad district is its small size combined with its relatively high density of population.

A number of development issues is related to that characteristic.

Another feature of the district is its agricultural production. It sets itself apart from most other districts in the province by the ample availability of surface irrigation water and its tropical climate. The command area, irrigated with canal water, produces a.o. wheat, rice, oilseed and cotton. It gives the Jaffarabad the largest agricultural production among the districts in Balochistan.

Livestock is a much smaller sector, but the impression exists that the sector can be economically more important through the expansion by more intensive methods of production, with a priority for cattle farming.

Forestry is a sector worthwhile giving more attention to. The available soils and climate and the presence of the canals, make an environment which is suitable for forestry. Government and NGO's, which as yet do not play a significant role, would consider promoting social forestry.

The district is hardly industrialised. The industrial estate in Nasirabad, which also meant to serve Jaffarabad, is until now not very successful. The wealthy people in the district, much of them big landowners, apparently lack an industrial culture. There are certainly possibilities for agro-based industry as for instance the processing of sugarcane and cotton.

The district has a relatively well developed, economic infrastructure. It has a high density of metalled roads, including the national highway from Quetta to Sindh and on to Punjab. This makes Jaffarabad well connected to large markets.

There is also a rail link with those markets.

In terms of services for its population, the government should take measures to address the problem of human waste disposal. With the prevailing density attention for sanitation has a high priority. Although the district has many canals, the availability of potable water is another matter. Purification of water is a priority as important as sanitation.

The health issues are more or less the same as in other provinces: complaints about the quality of services, the lack of staff, especially female, and the more difficult access to health care for women.

Also in the educational sector a gender imbalance can be observed, at all levels of education.

Living conditions of a large part of the population could be improved by providing them access to electricity. Despite the fact that account three quarter of the district has electricity, a much smaller proportion of the population can actually avail of that energy source.

The society in the district is tribally heterogeneous. An indication is the number of languages that are being spoken: Sindhi, Balochi, Saraiki and also Brahvi.

The society is male dominated with a negligible public role for women, despite their contribution in a.o. economic life.

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