[5] Rohtas district occupies an area of 3,851 square kilometres (1,487 sq mi).
It covers parts of Nauhatta, Rohtas, Sheosagar, Sasaram, and Chenari Blocks.
Several streams flow toward the north, including the Durgawati, the Bajari, the Koel, and the Sura.
The Rohtas Plateau is less well suited for agriculture due to the uneven, rocky and gravelly soils as well as the forest cover.
[4] Throughout Rohtas district, the soils are generally classified as ustalfs, ochrepts, orthents, fluvents, and psamments.
[8] In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Rohtas one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).
[9] According to the 2011 census Rohtas district has a population of 2,959,918,[15] roughly equal to the nation of Armenia[16] or the US state of Mississippi.
The lowest literacy rate was in the entirely rural CD block of Nauhatta, where 63.07% of the population could read and write.
[18] In 1982 Rohtas district became home to the Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary, which has an area of 1,342 km2 (518.1 sq mi).
The district has got 2072 villages under 226 Gram Panchayats, 34 territorial police stations[20] Rohtas district comprises three tehsils or Sub-divisions, each headed by a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM): These Tehsils are further divided into 19 Blocks, each headed by a Block Development Officer (BDO).