The district lies in the southwestern corner of Madhya Pradesh; the Narmada River forms its northern boundary.

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Barwani one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).

[2] Barwani district's agriculture is predominantly focused on crops like cotton, soybeans, wheat, and maize, owing to its fertile soil and favorable climate.

[citation needed] Sendhwa Tehsil is a centre for the cotton ginning industry.

Other places of note include: [8] According to the 2011 census Barwani District has a population of 1,385,881,[11] roughly equal to the nation of Eswatini[12] or the US state of Hawaii.