Mandi district is one of the central districts of Himachal Pradesh state in northern India. The town of Mandi is the headquarters of the district.
The main native language is Mandeali.
As of 2011, it is the second most populous district of Himachal Pradesh (out of 12), after Kangra. The upper areas of Mandi district are part of the geographical, historical and cultural Mahasu region.
According to the 2011 census, Mandi district has a population of 999,777 roughly equal to the nation of Fiji or the US state of Montana. This gives it a ranking of 446th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of .
Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 10.89%. Mandi has a sex ratio of 1012 females for every 1000 males and a literacy rate of 82.81%. 6.27% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 29.38% and 1.28% of the population respectively.
At the 2011 census, 59.11% of the population in the district identified their first language as Mandeali, 33.32% opted for Pahari (a term broadly applicable to most Indo-Aryan languages of Himachal and Uttarakhand), while 4.1% chose Hindi, 0.66% â Punjabi and 0.47% â Kangri.
Mandi district is divided into 12 subdivisions:
Villages in the district include Janjheli, which falls in Thunag Tehsil. It is near Kullu-Manali, around 80 km from Bhunter Airport, 90 km from Kullu and 67 km from Mandi. It has thick deodar forests, sprawling apple orchards, and springs. It is a trekking/hiking outpost. Shikari Devi is a tourist spot. It hosts Himachal Cultural Village, an ethnic village highlighting the culture of Himachal Pradesh.
The district is home to the Bandy Federation of India which is a member of the IOC recognized Federation of International Bandy.