Swat has a total area of 5,337 sq.kms with a population size of 2,309,570 which comprises of 50.8%male and 49.2% female population. The area has seen a population growth of approximately 84% in the last 19 years.
Swat District, once dubbed by Queen Elizabeth as ‘Switzerland of the East’ because of its mesmerizing landscape, is the pearl of Northern Areas of Pakistan. It is relatively developed district of Malakand Division, with considerably better educational, communication and transport infrastructure than its neighboring district. Not surprisingly nearly 37% of Swat’s economy relies on tourism, while the sectors of agriculture, forestry, handicraft,woven products,mining and gemstone make the rest of the contribution. As of now the crudeness of these above mentioned sectors remain intact, and there is immense potential to extract the maximum output from them for the overall socio-economic development of the district. Swat can yet become the ‘Hub of Archeological Tourism’, particularly for Buddhists as large number of foreign tourists visited Butkara site in 2016 as compared to previous years. The granite, marble and limestone mines can become one of the principle suppliers in the region with advent of CPEC. Trout and other fishes, apples and honey of Swat can become quality exportable products, along with local handicrafts, rugs and shawls. One of the largest reserves of forests of Pakistan is in the region, could provide millions in revenue to the district and the local people through carbon marketing.The Swat river and its tributaries are a potential source of power production as well as irrigation and present ample opportunity for private sector investment
