Carved out of Rohtak district on 15 July 1997 and with its headquarters in Jhajjar, it lies 29 kilometres (18 mi) from Delhi and had developed into an important industrial center.

The district occupies an area of 1,834 square kilometres (708 sq mi) and as of 2001[update] its population was 709,000.

The total irrigated agricultural land area is about 670 square kilometres (260 sq mi).

Alternatively, it may be derived from Jharnaghar, meaning a natural fountain or Jhajjar, a water vessel, because the surface drainage of the country for miles around runs into the town as into a sink.

As of the 2011 census[update] Jhajjar district had a population of 958,405,[2] roughly equal to the nation of Fiji[3] or the US state of Montana.

In the 2011 National Census, it was found that Jhajjar district has the lowest sex ratio in India of the 0–6 group, with just 782 girls to 1,000 boys.

There are four Haryana Vidhan Sabha constituencies in this district: Bahadurgarh, Badli, Jhajjar and Beri.

In Jhajjar District, there are 1818 SSI (Small Scale Industries) units registered as of 31 December 2000.