Chakwal was created as an independent district of Rawalpindi division in 1985 by combining subdivision Chakwal of district Jhelum, sub-division Talagang of district Attock and police station Choa Saidan Shah, carved out of subdivision Pind Dadan Khan, district Jhelum, and amalgamating it with sub-division Chakwal. Choa Saidan Shah was upgraded to the level of a sub-division in 1993.

District Chakwal is bordered by the districts of Rawalpindi and Attock in the north, district Jhelum in the east, district Khushab in the south and district Mianwali in the west. The total area of district Chakwal is 6609 square kilometers, which is equivalent to 1652443 acres, and as enumerated in the 1998 census the total population is 1059451, 87.7% of which lives in rural areas and 12.3% in the urban areas, making Chakwal a predominantly rural district pivoted on an agrarian economy with a very small industrial sector.