Lower Dibang Valley district
Lower Dibang Valley is a district in Arunachal Pradesh, India. Its district headquarters is in Roing. The area is about 3,900 square kilometers with a population of 54,080 (2011 census), making it the least densely populated district in the country (14 people per square kilometer). The literacy rate is around 70% and the sex ratio is 919 females for every 1,000 males. About 48% of the people are from Scheduled Tribes.
History and administration
- The district was created in 1980 from part of Lohit district and was later split in 2001 to form Dibang Valley and Lower Dibang Valley districts. Roing is the current headquarters; Anini used to be the headquarters before 2001.
- The district lies near the Arunachal Pradesh–Assam border.
- The proposed 2,000-kilometer Arunachal Frontier Highway would run along the McMahon Line through this district and connect with the East-West Industrial Corridor Highway.
- There are two Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly constituencies in the district: Dambuk and Roing, both part of the Arunachal East Lok Sabha constituency.
People and languages
- Major languages are Idu Mishmi and Adi. Hindi is widely understood and taught in schools since the 1970s.
- Other languages spoken include Nepali, Bengali, Mishing, Assamese, and English.
Wildlife and nature
- The district is rich in wildlife, with animals such as Mishmi takin, red goral, elephants, wild water buffalo, and leaf muntjac.
- Birds include Sclater’s monal, Blyth’s tragopan, rufous-necked hornbill, Bengal florican, and white-winged wood duck.
- Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary covers about 282 square kilometers and was established in 1980.
- A new subspecies of hoolock gibbon, Mishmi Hills hoolock (Hoolock hoolock mishmiensis), was discovered in the area.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 17:55 (CET).