Redraw the map. Test the assumptions.
Explore a first-pass, district-based administrative scenario using existing geographic units as building blocks. Every boundary below is illustrative and editable; it is not an enacted map or a claim about current government policy.
What is included in the first-pass model?
The primary layer uses district/division building blocks. Federal-territory concepts are visualized separately where they overlap the primary layer.
Primary territorial layer
West Punjab · South Punjab · Bahawalpur · Potohar · Urban Sindh · Rural Sindh · Mehran · Balochistan · Makran · Khyber · South KPK · Hazara · Kohistan.
Federal overlays
Islamabad · Gilgit-Baltistan · Azad Kashmir · Karachi · Gwadar. These are treated as overlays in this scenario so the model can test a federal-status concept without double-counting geography.
Explore Detailed Profiles for All 13 Subnational Units
Jump directly to the constitutional, demographic, and economic baseline profile of each proposed administrative unit in the PPRI-01 model:
Why district-based?
It makes every proposed boundary traceable to existing administrative units instead of drawing arbitrary polygons. Later versions can move from a first-pass model to formally reviewed district assignments.
What the tool does not claim
It does not establish constitutional validity, fiscal viability, public support, legal status or an official PPRI position. Those require separate research.
Next analytical layer
Population, area, fiscal exposure, service access, infrastructure, water systems, representation and transition costs can be added once district-level datasets are verified.
Cartographic Scenario Modeling: Pakistan Administrative Scale & Reorganization
Executive Overview: The PPRI Cartographic Scenario Lab provides interactive spatial modeling tools to examine sub-national administrative restructuring in Pakistan. Based on 2023 Census micro-data across Pakistan's 146 districts and 574 tehsils, the primary illustrative scenario (PPRI-01) evaluates a polycentric 13-unit administrative model designed to optimize citizen proximity, equalize demographic weight, and streamline public expenditure.
Under the baseline 4-province model, average provincial population exceeds 60.3 million citizens—an extreme global outlier compared to India (average 36M), Nigeria (5.8M), the United States (6.7M), or Germany (5.2M). Reorganizing Pakistan into 13 autonomous provincial units reduces average provincial population to 18.5 million citizens, eliminates multi-day travel distances to provincial secretariats, and establishes a balanced Senate and NFC divisible pool distribution without altering external federal borders.
| Administrative Model | Number of Provincial Units | Average Population / Unit | Largest Unit Population | Smallest Unit Population | NFC Divisible Pool Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Constitutional Baseline | 4 Provinces (+ICT) | 60,374,857 | Punjab (127.69M) | Balochistan (14.89M) | Single province holds 51.7% share |
| PPRI-01 13-Unit Model | 13 Autonomous Units | 18,576,879 | Central Punjab (26.8M) | Makran & Kalat (4.2M) | No unit holds >15% of pool |
| Divisional Baseline Model | 33 Divisional Units | 7,318,164 | Lahore Div (13.0M) | Zhob Division (1.8M) | Direct district-cluster funding |
Data Benchmark: Official verified public figures from PBS Census 2023, HIES 2024–25, PES 2025–26, and 7th NFC Award documents. Fully crawlable static reference data.