Zhob District (Pashto: ږوب ولسوالۍ, Urdu: ضلع ژوب) is a district in the northwestern part of Balochistan province of Pakistan. The population of Zhob District was estimated at 355,692 in 2023. Water from Zhob River is used for irrigation in the district.

The 1998 census report lists two sub-divisions: Lower Zhob (comprising Zhob tehsil and Sambaza sub-tehsil) and Kakar Khurasan (encompassing the tehsil of Qamar Din Karez and the subtehsil of Ashewat). A government webpage lists these as Ashwat, Qamar Din Karez, Sambaza and Zhob, without indicating if any of them are sub-tehsils.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1961	39,755	—
1972	74,519	+5.88%
1981	134,660	+6.80%
1998	193,458	+2.15%
2017	310,354	+2.52%
2023	355,692	+2.30%
Sources:

As of the 2023 census, Zhob district has 47,901 households and a population of 355,692. The district has a sex ratio of 117.57 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 36.62%: 45.24% for males and 26.81% for females. 159,100 (44.75% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 46,976 (13.21%) live in urban areas. 1,732 (0.49% of the surveyed population) are religious minorities, mainly Christians and some Hindus.

At the time of the 2023 census, 97.65% of the population spoke Pashto and 1.49% Saraiki as their first language.

The majority of the population of Zhob district is Pashtun. The tribes of Zhob district include the Mandokhail, Khosti, Sherani, Kakar, Sulaimankhel, Harifal, Lawoon and Babar. A large number of IDPs were settled within the confines of the district as part of the evacuation from Operation Zarb-e-Azb that took place to the north of Zhob.

Religious groups in Zhob District (British Baluchistan era)

Religious group	1901		1911		1921		1931		1941
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	99,599	96.3%	68,088	96.76%	52,302	92.3%	53,844	92.89%	55,987	91.04%
Hinduism	3,086	2.98%	1,391	1.98%	3,398	6%	2,839	4.9%	4,286	6.97%
Sikhism	610	0.59%	715	1.02%	826	1.46%	1,134	1.96%	1,076	1.75%
Christianity	133	0.13%	168	0.24%	141	0.25%	115	0.2%	146	0.24%
Judaism	1	0%	1	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Jainism	0	0%	1	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Zoroastrianism	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	1	0%
Buddhism	—	—	2	0%	1	0%	27	0.05%	0	0%
Tribal	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0%	3	0%
Others	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	4	0.01%	0	0%
Total population	103,429	100%	70,366	100%	56,668	100%	57,963	100%	61,499	100%
Note: British Baluchistan era district borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to district borders — which since created new districts — throughout the region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.

• 1998 District Census report of Zhob. Census publication. Vol. 107. Islamabad: Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 2000.

• Zhob District at www.balochistan.gov.pk
• Zhob District at www.balochistanpolice.gov.pk

31°10′N 68°50′E / 31.167°N 68.833°E / 31.167; 68.833