Rae Bareli has a total population of 1,913,16 and ranks 97th in term of Hindi speakers. Major employment in Rae Bareli is in the Electronic sector, Agriculture sector, railway industry, Construction industry and in the electric sector. Out of entire workforce, 69% are employed in Agriculture sector, 26% are employed in above-given industry segment and remaining 5% Household workers. Rae Bareli has a good agricultural belt because of the river Ganga. The elevation varies from about 120.4 meters above from main sea level in the north-west to 86.9 meters above from main sea level in the extreme south-east, on the banks of the Ganga. The district Rae Bareli which was created by the British in 1858 is named after its headquartered town. Traditionally it is believed that the town was founded by the Bhars and was known as Bharouli or Barouli which in course of time got changed into Bareli. The prefix, Rae, is said to be a corruption of Rahi, a village 5 Km west of the town. It is also said that the prefix, Rae represents Rae, the common of the Kayasths who were masters of the town for a considerable period of time. At the beginning of the 13th century, what is now Rae Bareli and the tracts around it was ruled by the Bhars, who were displaced by the Rajputs and in a few cases by some Muslim colonist. The southwestern part of the district was occupied by the Bais Rajputs. In 1958, it was proposed to form a new district with headquarters at Rae Bareli as a part of the Lucknow Division.
