The city of Karnal is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) and is the administrative headquarters of the district.

As it lies on National highway 44 (old NH-1), it has a well connected transport system to the nearby major cities like Delhi and Chandigarh.

The district is divided into 4 sub-divisions, each headed by a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM): Karnal, Indri, Assandh and Gharaunda.

The four sub-divisions are divided into five revenue tehsils, namely Karnal, Indri, Nilokheri, Gharaunda and Assandh, and three sub-tehsils, namely Nigdhu, Nissing and Kaimla.

According to the 2011 census Karnal district has a population of 1,505,324,[2] roughly equal to the nation of Gabon[3] or the US state of Hawaii.