Bahawalpur District (
Punjabi,) is one of the
districts of
Punjab,
Pakistan. Its capital is
Bahawalpur city. According to the 1998 Census of Pakistan it had a population of 2,433,091 of which 27.01% were urban Bahawalpur district covers 24,830 km². Approximately two-thirds of the district (16,000 km²) is covered by the
Cholistan Desert, which extends into the
Thar Desert of
India. The district is a major producer of cotton.