Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in India, has 75 districts. These districts, most of which have populations above 1.2 million, are grouped into 18 divisions for administrative convenience.

The Maha Kumbh area of Prayagraj had been declared as the 76th district of the state by the Uttar Pradesh Government as of 2 December 2024. It was a temporary district and now merged with original.

District administration The District Magistrate (DM), an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, is the head of district administration and performs multiple key roles: as Collector (for land revenue administration), District Magistrate (for maintenance of law and order), and District Election Officer (for conducting elections). The District Magistrate chairs various district-level committees and coordinates the activities of different departments within the district. The DM is supported by Additional District Magistrates (ADMs) and Sub Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) for administrative duties. A district is divided into sub-divisions headed by Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs), further into tehsils under tehsildars, and into villages for land revenue administration. Revenue Inspectors and Lekhpals assist the tehsildar in revenue related duties.

Other Key officers supporting district administration include: Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) or Superintendent of Police (SP) – an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer in charge of police administration and law enforcement. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) – an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer managing forests and wildlife. Chief Development Officer (CDO) – an IAS officer responsible for development programs. The CDO is assisted by Block Development Officers (BDOs) at the block level. Other District Level Officers includes various district heads of sectoral/development departments, eg:- Regional Transport Officer, Chief Medical Officer, District Social Welfare Officer, District Panchayati Raj Officer, District Social Welfare Officer, District Supply Officer, District Labour Officer, District Employment Officer, District Agriculture Officer, Chief Fire Officer, Chief Veterinary Officer, Superintendent/Executive Engineer of PWD, etc.

List of districts

Code District Headquarters Formed Population Area Density (/km2) Map AG Agra Agra 15 August 1947 4,418,797 4,041 1093 AL Aligarh Aligarh 15 August 1947 3,673,889 3,788 1007 AN Ambedkar Nagar Akbarpur29 September 1995 2,397,888 2,350 1020 AM Amethi Gauriganj 1 July 2010 2,050,133 2,329.11 773 AR Amroha Amroha 24 April 1997 1,840,221 2,249 818 AU Auraiya Auraiya 17 September 1997 1,379,545 2,016 684 AY Ayodhya Ayodhya 15 August 1947 2,470,996 2,522 1056 AZ Azamgarh Azamgarh 15 August 1947 4,613,913 4,054 1138 BD Budaun Budaun 15 August 1947 3,127,621 4,234 739 BG Bagpat Baghpat 17 September 1997 1,303,048 1,321 986 BH Bahraich Bahraich 15 August 1947 3,487,731 2,981 1170 BL Ballia Ballia 15 August 1947 3,239,774 3,349 967 BP Balrampur Balrampur 22 May 1997 2,148,665 4,408 487 BN Banda Banda 15 August 1947 1,799,410 4,402 409 BB Barabanki Barabanki 15 August 1947 3,260,699 4,120 791 BR Bareilly Bareilly 15 August 1947 4,448,359 2,688 1655 BS Basti Basti 15 August 1947 2,464,464 4,561 540 BH Bhadohi Bhadohi 30 June 1994 1,715,183 1,646 1042 BI Bijnor Bijnor 15 August 1947 3,682,713 4,262 864 BU Bulandshahr Bulandshahr 15 August 1947 3,499,171 4,441 776 CD Chandauli Chandauli 22 May 1997 1,952,756 2,541 768 CT Chitrakoot Chitrakoot 6 May 1997 991,730 3,216 308 DE Deoria Deoria 15 August 1947 3,100,946 2,540 1221 ET Etah Etah 15 August 1947 1,774,480 2,431 730 EW Etawah Etawah 15 August 1947 1,581,810 2,311 684 FR Farrukhabad Fatehgarh 15 August 1947 1,885,204 2,181 864 FT Fatehpur Fatehpur 15 August 1947 2,632,733 4,152 634 FI Firozabad Firozabad 5 February 1989 2,498,156 2,407 1038 GB Gautam Buddha Nagar Greater Noida 6 September 1997 1,648,115 720 2288 GZ Ghaziabad Ghaziabad 14 November 1976 3,343,334 1,179 2836 GP Ghazipur Ghazipur 15 August 1947 3,620,268 3,377 1072 GN Gonda Gonda 15 August 1947 3,433,919 4,003 858 GR Gorakhpur Gorakhpur 15 August 1947 4,440,895 3,321 1337 HM Hamirpur Hamirpur 15 August 1947 1,104,285 4,021 275 HA Hapur Hapur 28 September 2011 1,338,311 649 2061 HR Hardoi Hardoi 15 August 1947 4,092,845 5,986 684 HT Hathras Hathras 3 May 1997 1,564,708 1,840 850 JL Jalaun Orai 15 August 1947 1,689,974 4,565 370 JU Jaunpur Jaunpur 15 August 1947 4,494,204 4,038 1113 JH Jhansi Jhansi 15 August 1947 1,998,603 5,024 398 KJ Kannauj Kannauj 18 September 1997 1,656,616 2,093 792 KD Kanpur Dehat Akbarpur 23 April 1981 1,796,184 3,021 595 KN Kanpur Nagar Kanpur 15 August 1947 4,581,268 3,155 1452 KG Kasganj Kasganj 15 April 2008 1,436,719 1,955 735 KS Kaushambi Manjhanpur 4 April 1997 1,599,596 1,779 899 KU Kushinagar Padarauna 13 May 1994 4,021,243 2,905 1200 LK Lakhimpur Kheri Kheri 15 August 1947 3,564,544 7,680 520 LA Lalitpur Lalitpur 1 March 1974 1,221,592 5,039 242 LU Lucknow Lucknow 15 August 1947 4,589,838 2,528 1816 MG Maharajganj Maharajganj 2 October 1989 2,684,703 2,952 909 MH Mahoba Mahoba 11 February 1995 875,958 3,144 279 MP Mainpuri Mainpuri 15 August 1947 1,868,529 2,760 677 MT MathuraMathura 15 August 1947 2,547,184 3,340 763 MB Mau Mau 19 November 1988 2,205,968 1,713 1288 ME Meerut Meerut 15 August 1947 3,443,689 2,559 1346 MI Mirzapur Mirzapur 15 August 1947 2,496,970 4,405 567 MO Moradabad Moradabad 15 August 1947 3,126,507 2,233 1400 MU Muzaffarnagar Muzaffarnagar 15 August 1947 2,869,934 2,742 1047 PI Pilibhit Pilibhit 15 August 1947 2,031,007 3,686 551 PR Pratapgarh Pratapgarh 15 August 1947 3,209,141 3,717 863 PY Prayagraj Prayagraj 15 August 1947 5,954,391 5,482 1086 RB Rae Bareli Rae Bareli 15 August 1947 2,903,507 3,937 737 RA Rampur Rampur 1 December 1949 2,335,819 2,367 987 SA Saharanpur Saharanpur 15 August 1947 3,466,382 3,689 940 SK Sant Kabir Nagar Khalilabad 5 September 1997 2,199,774 2,390 920 SM Sambhal Bahjoi 3 May 2011 1,578,213 1,015 1555 SJ Shahjahanpur Shahjahanpur 15 August 1947 3,006,538 4,388 685 SH Shamli Shamli 3 May 2011 1,273,578 1,266 1006 SV Shravasti Bhinga 22 May 1997 1,117,361 1,640 681 SN Siddharthnagar Siddharthnagar 29 December 1988 2,559,297 2,895 884 SI Sitapur Sitapur 15 August 1947 4,483,992 5,743 781 SO Sonbhadra Robertsganj 4 March 1989 1,862,559 6,905 270 SU Sultanpur Sultanpur 15 August 1947 2,249,036 2,457 915 UN Unnao Unnao 15 August 1947 3,108,367 4,558 682 VA VaranasiVaranasi 15 August 1947 3,676,841 1,535 2395

Proposals for new districts

Demands for the creation of new administrative districts in Uttar Pradesh frequently arise due to the state's massive population density, expansive geographical area, and the strategic need for localized international border management along Nepal. In late 2025, political announcements highlighted the ongoing administrative reorganization with the proposed creation of a 76th district, Kalyan Singh Nagar. Alongside such official state-level considerations, several local sub-divisions maintain active regional demands for district status.

+ List of Proposed Districts in Uttar Pradesh Grouped by Region and Current District Proposed District Expected Area of Jurisdiction Rationale / Status Rohilkhand Region (Proposed from Bareilly) Baheri Northern tracts of Bareilly district, bordering Uttarakhand and Nepal. Proposed to manage international and interstate border administration and decentralize governance, as it is located 50 km north of Bareilly city. Aonla Southwestern blocks of Bareilly district. Backed by state cabinet ministers and local representatives to establish a separate administrative headquarters approximately 40 km from Bareilly to improve public service delivery. Terai Region (Proposed from Lakhimpur Kheri) Gola Gokarannath Northern blocks of Lakhimpur Kheri district along the India–Nepal border. Demanded by local residents to split Lakhimpur Kheri—currently the largest district in the state by geographical area—thereby reducing travel distances to the district headquarters. Terai Region (Proposed from Bahraich) Nanpara Northern border blocks of Bahraich district. Proposed to establish a dedicated administrative and security presence along the sensitive India-Nepal border zone. Purvanchal Region (Proposed from Gorakhpur and Maharajganj) Pharenda (Anand Nagar) Comprising three tehsils carved from the border areas of Gorakhpur and Maharajganj districts. Proposed to consolidate cross-district sub-divisions into a single border district to improve regional infrastructure and governance along the Nepal border. Purvanchal Region (Proposed from Jaunpur) Shahganj Northern blocks of Jaunpur district. Demanded to decentralize administration in the southeastern Purvanchal region, bringing civic resources closer to local populations situated 35 km north of Jaunpur city.

References

See also Divisions of Uttar Pradesh List of RTO districts in Uttar Pradesh List of urban local bodies in Uttar Pradesh

References