The population growth pattern for the district varied from sub-division to sub-division. the growth pattern in rural areas is higher than in urban areas. According to the 1981 census, the growth rate pattern in Nasirabad district was 6.3% for the period 1961-1972 and 13.6% for the period 1972-1981. According to NIPS, the present growth rate is 5.4%.

The possibility exists that young girls are not included in the 1981 census. It is difficult to get a clear impression of the population composition on the basis of the present statistics. The last census has been held in 1981 and the fluctuations in growth rates over the various intervening periods complicates any forecasting. But even in the 1981 census figures, the number of girls up to the age of 10 gives the impression that the figure is unrealistic.

The average household size is 6.6 on basis of the 1981 census. The average household size is bigger in Tamboo and Chattar area. The high household size is due to poverty, close-family marriages, and no family planning. Literate families and families with marriages outside the family have smaller households.

 The percentage of dependent population, based on the 1981 census, was 46.6 percent (59,826 out of the total population 128,302). It included the age group of year 1 to 14 and 70 and above.

The majority of the population in Nasirabad district lives in rural areas. According to the 1981 population census, the size of rural population then was 94,454 out of a total population of 128,302 (which is 73.6 percent). The percentage of people living in rural areas probably increased, as two towns Jat Pat and Usta Mohammad were separated from the district after the bifurcation into Jaffarabad district and Nasirabad district.

D.M Jamali is the only urban centre in Nasirabad district. The rest of the population is fairly equally distributed over the rural area.

Nasirabad district has an ethnically heterogeneous population. The major ethnic group is the Baloch. They are followed by the Jamoot (Jat), Brauhi, Sindhi and Saraiki. The leading Baloch tribe is the Umrani. Umrani tribesmen speak Sindhi and Balochi. The Umrani tribe, mostly living in the Tamboo area, is politically and financially best off. They enjoy political and feudal influence in the area. Because of their vote bank, supported by Jamoots in past, they have always retained the PB 23 seat. They speak Sindhi and Balochi.

 The Jamoot, sub-divided into a number of tribes, are Sindhi and Saraiki speaking. They have numerical strength, but are less distinct as an ethnic community, being poor and politically weak. Most of them are tenants and petty-tillers on the lands owned by Umrani and other landlords. Some say that the Jamoot are not Baloch, though they claim that they are. According to the District Gazetteer (1901) they "represent a congeries neither of Muhammadans, nor Afghans, Baloch, Brahuis or Syeds. They were good cultivators and less extravagant than their Baloch neighbour". However, all Jamoots claim to be Baloch.

 Many people from other parts of the country have settled in the district. They include Saraiki, Pashto and Punjabi speaking people. There is also a number of settlers from Sindh, that has claimed local status. Jamoots and Syeds are akin to Sindhi culture. They live in both provinces.

 Balochi and Sindhi are the major languages. Minor languages are Brauhi and Sairaki. Urdu is used as a medium of education and as a means of communication between people with different ethnic backgrounds. There is a small number of Pashtu speaking population engaged in petty jobs.

The number of migrants into the district since 1981 is not exactly known. Local resource persons estimate them about 50,000, slightly more men than women. They include people from Sindh, Bolan district and Afghan refugees.

 The nature and extent of migration within the area is limited. In winters, Powandas (nomads) and people from hill areas come to live along the canal, looking for pasture and shelter from cold snowy weather. They depart in April or May. Migration out of the district is recorded in the area around Chattar. Shortage of rain and drinking water forces the population to migrate to other areas for their livelihood. The rich and upper class persons/families move to their own or rented houses in Quetta, Kalat and Mastung during summer seasons. There is a popular Sindhi local saying that in the area their are two factors accountable for outside migration: for the poor the reason is lack of drinking water and for the rich it is the hot weather.

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