Spatial Population Distribution

In Kech, the human settlements are spread throughout the district. However, most of them are alongside the irrigated agricultural lands. Turbat town is the only urban area in Kech, while other important localities include Mand, Tump, Buleda, Balnigore, Nasirabad, Kalatuk, Pidarak, Hoshab, Niwano, and Menaz. In 1981, there were 343 (excluding 29 un-inhabited) mauzas/villages. The population of two individual mauzas was above 5,000 while 242 had a population less than 1,000. See chapter 7.3 for the spatial distribution of schools all over the district.

Ethnic Composition

The Balochs constitute an overwhelming proportion (about 99%) of the population in the district while the remaining include Brahvis, Pushtuns, Sindhis, Punjabis, and others. Balochi is the language spoken in almost all the homes in the district. This is a different dialect however from that of being spoken in Dera Bugti and Kohlu. Balochi spoken in Panjgur and Kech has more Persian words than the Balochi spoken in other areas of Balochistan. It has great variation as far as accent is concerned. Accent varies from village to village, even located in close vicinity of each other. Urdu is the second major language for communication in the area, mainly because of people’s links to Karachi.

Nature and Extent of Migration

Intra-district migration is minimal in Kech. The majority of the population is permanently resident in its villages. Seasonal migration is observed in the area to some extent when livestock farming communities of the district migrate to the date producing areas in the date harvesting season, from July to October. The considerable immigration is of the people who are coming home from Gulf after completing their service tenure and those of skilled workers from other parts of the country. International out-migration is of potential workers to Gulf states.

According to the 1981 census, the total number of in-migrants was 2,385 (0.6% of the total population). They were 18.2 percent in rural areas and the remaining in urban area. The male and female in-migrants were 67.6 and 32.4 percent respectively. The persons who had migrated into the district during the last 5 years before 1981, i.e., after March 1976, were 43.8 percent, while 26.3 percent had migrated before 5 years but after March 1971. The remaining 29.5 percent had migrated 10 years earlier. During the last ten years 1,030 persons had gone abroad – 348 from urban and 682 from rural areas and were still residing there at the time of census..