The district was ceded by the Nawab of Awadh to the British East India Company in 1801.

It was earlier expanded to the north to the Nepal border but the northern part was carved out to form a new Maharajganj district in 1989.

The district covers an area of 3,483.8 square kilometres (1,345.1 sq mi).

[4] According to the 2011 census, Gorakhpur district has a population of 4,440,895,[3] roughly equal to the nation of Croatia[7] or the US state of Kentucky.

The district has a population density of 1,337 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,460/sq mi).