Kanpur district, a part of Kanpur division is the district of Uttar Pradesh state with its headquarters located at Kanpur city. The main Kanpur comprises Kanpur Nagar District and Kanpur Dehat District. The division was made in 1977 which again reunited in 1979. Some of its natives believe that that it got its name from the term Karnapur meaning "a place of Karna", one of the heroes of the epic Mahabharata. Another story behind its name states that it came from the nearby town of Makanpur which was earlier known as Khairabad, where a Sufi saint ordered Badiuddin Zinda Shah Madar to settle. In the year 1981 Kanpur Nagar was emerged as a separate district in the map of Uttar Pradesh. Every district has its own unique history hence the district of Kanpur has also an interesting one. Till the 1st half of the 18th century, Kanpur was considered as an insignificant village. After the British came to India, in May 1765, they defeated Shuja-ud-daula, the Nawab Wazir of Awadh near Jajmau and possibly at that time British realized the importance of the site of Kanpur. For that very reason, European had slowly and steadily started to set up their business in Kanpur. As a result the `Awadh local forces' were came to this place in 1778 in order to protect their lives and property. Finally, under the treaty of 1801 with Nawab Saadat Ali Khan of Awadh, Kanpur was passed into the hands of British. It was the point from where the fate of the place, Kanpur had changed. Then Kanpur was recognized as one of the most important military station of British India. After India got its independence, Kanpur was emerged as a separate district in the map of Uttar Pradesh in the year 1981.

Rajeev Shukla, the former chairman of Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Planning, Government of India was born on 13th September, 1959 in Kanpur. Since 2000 he serves as a Member of Parliament. On 1st June, 2013 he resigned as the chairman of IPL due to the scandal over alleged corruption and spot-fixing in the IPL.

Geographically, the district lies at 26°49'N latitude, 80°23'E longitude and 136 m altitude. In the year 2021, there was a total 2.09% forest area of total geographical area. The district encompasses an area of 3,155 sq. km. and in terms of geographical area it occupies the ranks of 38th in the state and 378th in India. It is bounded by Kannauj and Hardoi district on the north, Unnao district on the east, Fatehpur and Hamirpur district on the south and Kanpur Dehat on the west. The prominent rivers that flows through the district are Ganga and Yamuna. The climate of the district is characterised as humid sub tropical climate. The summers in the district are long and extremely hot on the other hand its winters are mild and short. The actual rainfall in the district was 660.6 mm in the year of 2021-22.

Administrative wise, the district is divided into 3 tehsils namely Bilhaur, Ghatampur and Kanpur. There are 1 Lok Sabha constituency and 10 Assembly constituencies in the district. Moreover, the district comprises 3 sub-districts, 10 towns and 1,003 villages. The administrative language in the district is Hindi.

According to 2011 census the district has a population of 45,81,268 out of which 24,59,806 are males and 21,21,462 are females. The district has a sex ratio of 862 females for every 1000 males. During the year 2001-2011 the population growth rate in the district was 9.92% including 9.46% were males and 10.45% were females. The population density in the district is 1,452 persons per sq. km. In the year 2020 the number of live births in the district was 75,398 including 38,301 were males and 37,097 were females. In the same year the number of deaths in the district was 25,309 out of which 15,991 were males and 9,318 were females. As per 2011 census the major religions in the district are Hindu and Muslim with 82.78% and 15.73% of the total population. According to 2011 census the principal language in the district is Hindi with 92.63%.

Kanpur is famous for its quality leather which it exports in a huge quantity across the world. The other main industries in the district are fertilizer, chemicals, two wheelers, soaps, pan masala, hosiery and engineering. The only unit of the Indian Institute of Pulse Research (an institute of ICAR) and one of the three units of the National Sugar Institute is located in the district which depicts its well-built agrarian nature of industries. In the year 2020-21 the gross domestic product in the district was Rs. 49,70,065 lakh at Current Price and Rs. 31,27,478 lakh at Constant Prices during the year 2011-2012. The Net Domestic Product in the district during the period 2020-21 was Rs. 42,34,186 lakh at Current Price and Rs. 25,78,541 lakh at Constant Prices in the year 2011-2012. The Per Capita Income or NDDP, At Factor Cost in the district during the period 2020-21 was Rs. 87,296 at Current Price and Rs. 53,161 at Constant Prices in the year 2011-2012.

As a seat of higher education Kanpur is well known all over the country. The world famous institute in the field of science and technology, IIT Kanpur was established in 1959. Harcourt Butler Technological Institute (HBTI) is the oldest technical institute situated at Nawabganj in the district. The district has some other reputed higher educational institutes include Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Uttar Pradesh Textile Technology Institute, Government Leather Institute, Indian Institute of Pulses Research, National Sugar Institute, Institute of Productivity and Management, Government Polytechnic, Advanced Training Institute and Prof. H.N. Misra College of Education. As per 2011 census the literacy rate in the district is 79.65% including 83.62% are males and 75.05% are females.

Bal Chandra Misra, a distinguished Indian politician and four times elected as a MLA from Govind Nagar assembly constituency of Kanpur was born in Kanpur. He is a member of Bharatya Janata Party. Sriprakash Jaiswal, an illustrious Indian politician and a former Member of Parliament from Kanpur was born on 25th September, 1944 in Kanpur. He has been elected three times from Kanpur. He is the member of Indian National Congress.

During the year 2021, there were 28,34,137 domestic tourists and 180 foreign tourists who visited these places of the district. The district has numerous historical monuments which allures many travellers from different parts of the world. Bhitargaon brick temple is the identity of the place and one of the oldest Hindu temples. Jajmau, a place in the district where the travellers from far distance come to see its marvellous mausoleum of Makhdum Shah Ala-ul-Haq, mosque built by Kulich Khan there are also some ancient temples in the place like the Siddha Devi temple and Siddnath temple. Besides these temples and monuments the Allen forest zoo in the district, which was established in 1971 is the most admired destination for the animal lovers. Pool Bagh is a wonderful park and a good spot for recreation which is located in the centre of the city. The park is renowned for the Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi memorial. Some other notable centres of attraction in the district are Musanagar, Kannuaj, Lucknow Nawabganj bird sanctuary, Bithoor, etc.