Bordering districts are Bhojpur, Tehrathum, Dhankuta, Solukhumbu and Taplejung in Koshi Province.

Tingri County of Shigatse Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China borders to the north.

At the 2021 Nepal census, Sankhuwasabha District had 39,118 households and a population of 158,041.

Sankhuawsabha had a literacy rate of 79.89% and a sex ratio of 986 females per 1,000 males.

The district has many Rai peoples such as the Kulung, Limbu, Yamphu and Yakkha.