Samastipur is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar in India. The district headquarters are located at Samastipur. The district occupies an area of 2904 km² and has a population of 4,261,566.
History
Samastipur became a district in 1972 when it was split from Darbhanga district.
Geography
Samastipur district occupies an area of 2,904 square kilometres (1,121 sq mi), comparatively equivalent to Indonesia’s Muna Island. Samastipur is bounded on the north by the Bagmati River which separates it from Darbhanga district. On the west it is bordered by Vaishali and some part of Muzaffarpur district, on the south by the Ganges, while on its east it has Begusarai and some part of Khagaria district. The district headquarters is located at Samastipur.
Economy
In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Samastipur one of the country’s 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the 36 districts in Bihar receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).
Demographics
According to the 2011 census Samastipur district has a population of 4,261,566, roughly equal to the Republic of the Congo or the US state of Kentucky. This gives it a ranking of 45th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 1,467 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,800/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 25.53%. Samastipur has a sex ratio of 911 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 61.86%.
At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 60.74% of the population in the district spoke Hindi, 30.79% Maithili and 8.40% Urdu as their first language.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 971,443 | — |
| 1911 | 977,137 | +0.06% |
| 1921 | 971,750 | −0.06% |
| 1931 | 1,055,988 | +0.83% |
| 1941 | 1,153,037 | +0.88% |
| 1951 | 1,257,253 | +0.87% |
| 1961 | 1,474,177 | +1.60% |
| 1971 | 1,719,053 | +1.55% |
| 1981 | 2,116,876 | +2.10% |
| 1991 | 2,716,929 | +2.53% |
| 2001 | 3,394,793 | +2.25% |
| 2011 | 4,261,566 | +2.30% |
| source: | ||