The population was estimated in 1877 at 555,796; but a more careful census taken in 1872 returned it at 528,859, of whom 270,237 were males and 258,622 females. The ethnical division in 1877 showed—Europeans, 776; Eurasians, 201; aboriginal tribes, 105,349; Hindus, 416,770; Mahometans, 27,282; Buddhists and Jains, 3654. Jabalpur, the capital, which has a population of 55,188, is the only town with more than 5000 inhabitants. Of the total area of 3918 square miles, only 1320 are cultivated, but 1308 more are returned as cultivable. Of the cultivated land 3949 acres are irrigated—entirely by private enterprise. Cereals, rice, cotton, and oil-seeds are the principal crops. The district is rich in garden produce, raising, besides the ordinary Indian fruits, peaches, pineapples, strawberries, and potatoes. Both the plains and the high lands are well wooded; the forest produce is of considerable value, consisting of lac and gum, and tasar silk. The trade of the district converges at Jabalpur town, which is one of the most important railway centres in India, being at the junction of the Great Indian Peninsula and East Indian systems. One of the chief manufactures is iron. The most productive mines are at Dabwârâ, Agariâ, and Janti; but the most important are those of the Kumbhi pargana, which supply Panagur, the chief seat of the iron industry in the district. The other manufactures include brass utensils, cotton cloth, and leather articles. Coal is found at several places. The total revenue in 1876-77 was £76,013. The number of Government or aided schools was 125, attended by 7015 pupils. The climate is healthy, and the temperature extremely moderate. As a rule, the hot weather extends only over two months, and, except immediately before the rains, is not oppressive. The rains last from early in June until the latter part of September. The prevailing diseases of the district are fevers and dysentery. Cholera and small-pox are occasional visitants, and influenza at times assumes the character of an epidemic. In 1876 eight charitable dispensaries afforded medical relief to 35,795 indoor and outdoor patients.

The early history of Jabalpur is unknown; but inscriptions record the existence during the 11th and 12th centuries of a local line of princes of that Haιhai race which is so closely connected with the history of Gondwânâ. In the 16th century the Gond raja of Garhâ· Mandla extended his power over fifty-two districts, including the present Jabalpur. During the minority of his grandson, Asaf Khan, the viceroy of Kara Mânikpur, conquered the Garhâ principality and held it at first as an independent chief. Eventually he resigned his pretensions, and submitted himself to the emperor Akbar. The Delhi power, however, enjoyed little more than a nominal supremacy; and the princes of Garhâ Mandla maintained a practical independence until their subjugation by the governors of Sagar (Saugor) in 1781. In 1798 the peshwâ granted theNerbudda valley to the Bhonslâ princes of Nâgpur, who continued to hold the district until the British occupied it after an engagement on the 19th December 1817. At first the Sâgar and Nerbudda territories were governed by a commissioner in subordination to the resident at Nagpur; but in 1861 Jabalpur was formed into a separate district of the Central Provinces.

Jabalpur, or Jubbulpore, the headquarters of the above district, is situated in 23° 1Γ N. 1at., 79° 59' E. long., in a rocky basin, at an elevation above sea-level of about 1458 feet, 165 miles north-east from Nâgpur, and 108 miles south-east from Sâgar. The numerous gorges in the neighbouring rocks have been taken advantage of to surround the town with a series of lakes, which, shaded by fine trees, and bordered by fantastic crags and massy boulders, add much beauty to the suburbs. The town itself is modern, and is laid out in wide and regular streets. A streamlet separates the civil station and cantonment from the town; but, though the climate is mild, a swampy hollow beneath renders the site unhealthy for Europeans. Jabalpur contains a school of industry, where tents and carpets are largely manufactured. The opening of the railway system has immensely developed the trade of Jabalpur, which has now become one of the most important centres of commerce in the Central Provinces. In 1875-76 the total imports were valued at £567,000, the chief itèms being piece-goods, wheat, sugar, metals, salt, rice, country cloth, oil-seeds, spices, ghi, oil, inferior grains, lac, and raw cotton. The total exports, principally raw cotton and wheat, were valued at £160,000. The population, almost entirely Hindu, was 55,188 in 1877.