Quick facts
Dera Ismail Khan overview
Dera Ismail Khan (orange) and the other large cities of Pakistan
Dera Ismail Khan lies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan at 31.83°N, 70.9°E, about 177 m above sea level. The local time zone is Asia/Karachi (UTC+5); GeoNames classifies it as a district seat.
It is smaller than Arifwala (854,462) and larger than Muzaffarābād (725,000). The largest city in Pakistan is Lahore with 13,004,135 people; the capital, Islamabad, has 601,600.
The national capital, Islamabad, is about 290 km away; the nearest large city is Bhakkar, 27 km from Dera Ismail Khan.
Pakistan as a whole has a live population of 260,511,004 (+1.6% a year) and ranks #5 of 238 countries — see the Pakistan population page for the full statistics and the Pakistan atlas for provinces, terrain and society maps.
Cities near Dera Ismail Khan
Largest cities in Pakistan
| # | City | Region | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lahore | Punjab | 13,004,135 |
| 2 | Karachi | Sindh | 11,624,219 |
| 3 | Peshawar | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 4,758,762 |
| 4 | Faisalabad | Punjab | 3,800,193 |
| 5 | Rawalpindi | Punjab | 3,357,612 |
| 6 | Gujranwala | Punjab | 2,511,118 |
| 7 | Multan | Punjab | 2,169,915 |
| 8 | Hyderabad | Sindh | 1,921,275 |
| 9 | Quetta | Balochistan | 1,565,546 |
| 10 | Bannu | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 1,357,890 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the population of Dera Ismail Khan?
Dera Ismail Khan has about 763,195 inhabitants according to the latest official census or estimate compiled by GeoNames. This is the city proper; the metropolitan area is larger.
Is Dera Ismail Khan the capital of Pakistan?
No. The capital of Pakistan is Islamabad (601,600 people), about 290 km away. Dera Ismail Khan is the 15th largest city of the country and a district seat.
How big is Dera Ismail Khan compared with the rest of Pakistan?
Its 763,195 residents are 0.3% of the 260,511,004 people living in Pakistan today. Lahore is larger with 13,004,135 people.
Where is Dera Ismail Khan?
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, at latitude 31.83 and longitude 70.9, 177 m above sea level. Nearby large cities include Bhakkar (27 km), Layyah (97 km), Mianwali (102 km).
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Cite or link to this page
Glostats. (2026). Dera Ismail Khan Population 2026 — Pakistan. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://glostats.com/cities/pakistan/dera-ismail-khan/<a href="https://glostats.com/cities/pakistan/dera-ismail-khan/">Dera Ismail Khan Population 2026 — Pakistan</a> — GlostatsFigures on this page may be quoted, charted or republished as long as the page is credited with a link. Terms · Download the data as CSV · Embed a live counter.
City populations are GeoNames figures (CC BY 4.0): the latest official census or estimate for the city proper — the municipality, not the wider metropolitan area — so they can differ from "metro area" numbers you see elsewhere. Country populations are live Glostats estimates from the UN World Population Prospects. Distances are great-circle distances between city centres. Page generated 2026-10-20. More about our data.