Location
The district of Jhabua is one of the 61 districts, located on the extreme west of Madhya Pradesh.' The district borders states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. It has an area of 6782 sq. kms. lying wholly on the Vindhyas, hence the land is hilly with an average rainfall of 705 mm and a moderate climate. Every village is made up of a number of "falias" that is a cluster of houses.
People

The total population of the district is 11.3 lakhs with a density of 116.68 persons per sq. km according to the 1991 census. The scheduled tribes comprise 86 per cent, scheduled castes 3 per cent and others 11 per cent. There are three major tribes in Jhabua - Bhil, Bhilala and Patelia.

Infrastructure
Population is spread over 1360 villages (612 gram panchayats), while the district is divided into 8 tehsils, 12 development blocks and 8 nagar palikas

Occupation

The main occupation of the people is agriculture, which is mainly rainfed. About 10% of the area is irrigated with canals, ponds, check dams, lift irrigation or wells. Major crops are maize, rice, jowar, wheat and bajra. Lack of adequate irrigation facilities forces the cultivator to go in for a single crop. As a result a large number of people migrate to nearby towns and urban centres in search of work.

Literacy
The literacy rate is very low - 14.54 per cent, while literacy amongst women is negligible a~ low as 8 per cent. Education facilities comprise 1419 schools, 212 secondary schools, 52 higher secondary schools, 6 colleges and 3 vocational training institutes.

Health
It has a high Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) of 144 per thousand. There is one civil hospital, 18 primary health centres and over 280 sub-primary health centres in the district.