The chief rivers are the Indus and the Jhelum, and it is noted for its milder climate and abundant rainfall due to its proximity to the foothills.

[3] In ancient times the whole or the greater part of the area between the Indus and the Jhelum seems to have belonged to a Naga tribe called Takshakas, who gave their name to the city of Takshasila.

Known as Taxila by the Greek historians, the location of the ancient city has been identified to be in the ruins of Shahdheri in the north-west corner of the District.

The first mention of the Gakhars occurs in the memoirs of Babar, who gives an interesting account of the capture of their capital, Paralah.

It was strongly situated in the hills, and was defended with great bravery by its chief Hati Khan, who escaped from one gate as the Mughal army marched in at the other.

Hati Khan died by poison in 1525 ; his cousin and murderer Sultan Sarang then submitted to Babar, who conferred on him the area of Potwar.

[4] In 1849 Rawalpindi passed with the rest of the Sikh dominions under British rule; and though tranquillity was disturbed by an insurrection four years later, led by a Gakhar chief with the object of placing a pretended son of Ranjit Singh on the throne, its administration was generally peaceful until the outbreak of the Mutiny in 1857.

According to the 2023 census Muslims were the overwhelming majority religion in Rawalpindi district with 98.05%, while Christians were 1.86% of the population, mainly concentrated in urban areas.

3,434,400 spoke Punjabi, 1,007,836 Urdu, 623,084 Pashto, 140,837 Hindko, 86,817 Kashmiri, 39,482 Saraiki, 16,953 Sindhi, 9,733 Shina, 9,553 Kohistani, 7,538 Balti, 3,869 Balochi, 504 Mewati, 317 Brahui, 202 Kalasha & 307,925 Others.

[24][e] At the time of the 2017 Census of Pakistan, 67.15% of the population spoke Punjabi, 11.51% Pashto, 10.64% Urdu, 3.25% Hindko and 1.89% Kashmiri as their first language.

[14] According to the 2015 census, Rawalpindi was ranked number one district of Pakistan in terms of education and school infrastructure facilities.