Formerly called Birjapur, Bijapur District is one of the 27[2] districts that make up the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh. On May 11, 2007, it was one of the two newly established districts. Of the 18 districts of Chhattisgarh at the time, it has the second-lowest population as of 2011—after Narayanpur. Based on the 2011 census, the district has the second lowest literacy rate in India, standing at 41.58%.