Durg has a total population of 2,68,806 and ranks 62nd in terms of Hindi speakers. Highest employment in Durg is in Agriculture sector, Mining and in Steel industry. Out of the entire workforce, 64% are employed in agriculture, 34% are employed in the above mentioned Industrial segment, and 2% are Household workers. Durg is a big agricultural belt because of the river Shivnath and fertile plain land. It is located 317 meters above main sea level. In ancient times Durg was a part of Dakshin Kosala or Maha Kosala to distinguish it from North Kosala. Samudra Gupta of the Gupta Dynasty conquered this area in the middle of the 4th century and the Gupta rule continued till about the 6th century. An inscription found in Arang testifies to the sovereignty of the Guptas in this area. Who the immediate successors of the Guptas were is not known but when the famous Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsiang visited Maha Kosala in 639 CE, a Buddhist king was ruling here. 1114 A.D., mentions that the first chief of the Haihayavanshi line conquered Dakshina Kosala around the 10th Century. A powerful chief known as Jagpal ruled over Raipur and Durg areas under the domain of the upper branch of the Haihayas at Ratanpur. District Durg was formed on January 1, 1906, by taking areas from Raipur and Bilaspur districts. At that time todays Rajnandgaon and Kabirdham (Kawardha) districts were also part of the Durg district. On January 1, 2012, Durg district was again divided and two new districts Bemetara and Balod came into existence.
