Vaishali district, a part of Tirhut division is a district of Bihar state with its administrative headquarters located at Hajipur. Vaishali came into existence as a district in the year 1972. It is named after the ancient Vaishali city of Mithila, which is mentioned in the Mahabharata, as well as in Buddhism and Jainism. At an earlier stage it was part of old Muzzafarpur district. Vaishali became a republic by the 6th century BCE, before the birth of Gautama Buddha in 563, making it the world's first republic. The district is named after the King Vishal. At that time the capital of Licchavi Republic was Vaishali. Information regarding Vaishali can be found in the texts of both Jainism and Buddhism. Vaishali is also famous as the birth place of Mahavira. Even Gautam Buddha also delivered his last sermon at this region. Amrapali, a great courtesan who appears in many folktales as well as in Buddhist literature was born in this place.

Nikhil Kumar, a Distinguishe Indian politician was born on 15th July, 1941 in the Vaishali district. He was served as the Governor of Nagaland from 2009 to 2013 and Governor of Kerala from 2013 to 2014. He is a member of Indian National Congress.

Geographically, the district lies at 26°00'N latitude, 85°08'E longitude and 58 m Altitude. In the year 2021, there was a total 5.68% forest area of total geographical area. The district encompasses a geographical area of 2,036 sq. kms. and it is bounded by Muzaffarpur district on the north, Patna district on the south, Samastipur district on the east and Saran district on the west. The natives of the district experience extreme hot during the summer and fairly cold during winter. Most of its rainfall occurs in the monsoon season. The actual rainfall in the district was 1892.4 mm in the year of 2021-22.

Administration wise, the district has 3 sub-divisions namely Hajipur, Mahnar and Mahua which are again divided into 16 developmental blocks. There are 2 Lok Sabha and 8 Assembly constituencies in the district. Moreover, the district comprises 3 towns and 1,569 villages. The administrative language in the district is Hindi.

According to 2011 census the district has a population of 34,95,021 including 18,44,535 are males and 16,50,486 are females. The district has a sex ratio of 895 females for every 1000 males. During the year 2001-2011 the population growth rate in the district was 28.57% out of which 30.30% were males and 26.69% were females. As per 2011 census the major religion in the district is Hindu with 90.20% of the total population. The population density in the district is 1,717 persons per sq. km. According to 2011 census the principal language in the district is Hindi with 95.09%. In the year 2020 the number of live births in the district was 98,799 out of which 54,471 were males and 44,324 were females. In the same year the number of deaths in the district was 14,476 out of which 8,870 were males and 5,605 were females.

The economy of the district is solely dependent on agriculture. The adoption of the new agricultural technologies amongst the farmers of the district helps to increase the production of various agricultural items. Some of its chief agricultural products are banana, paddy, wheat, maize, lentils, etc. Every year a huge chunk of revenue comes from these agricultural products. It is scantily industrialised, only a few mills and factories are available in it. Sugar mills are very commonly found in it. In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj declared Vaishali as one of the country's 250 most backward districts and currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). In the year 2011-12 the gross domestic product in the district was Rs. 6,52,374 lakhs at current price and Rs. 3,96,206 lakhs at constant prices in the year 2004-05. In the year 2011-12 the net domestic product in the district was Rs. 5,90,745 lakhs at current price and Rs. 3,53,746 lakhs at constant prices in the year 2004-05.

Educationally the district is not well developed but it has some schools and colleges. As per 2011 census the literacy rate in the district is 66.6% including 75.41% are males and 56.73% are females. The number of literates in the district is 19,26,740 including 11,52,576 are males and 7,74,164 are females.

Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, an eminent Indian politician and a member of 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Lok Sabha from the Vaishali constituency was born on 6th June, 1946 in the Vaishali district. He is the national vice president of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party. Rama Kishore Singh, an illustrious Indian Politician and a member of 16th Lok Sabha from Vaishali constituency was born on 28th December, 1964 at Kumharkol Bujurg village in the District. He is a member of Lok Janshakti Party.

There are some centres of attraction in the district which allures numerous travellers from different parts of the country. Abhishek Pushkarini is the coronation tank which is situated a few 100 m. away from the Relic Stupa. Relic Stupa is situated near the coronation tank, Abhishek Pushkarini. Licchavis encased one of the eight portions of the Master's relics, which they received after the Mahaparinirvana. Lord Buddha gave them his alms bowl but they still refused to return. The Master created an illusion of a river which forced them to go back. Kutagarasala Vihara, situated at a distance of three kilometres from the relic Stupa is the monastery where Buddha generally stayed while visiting Vaishali. The Ananda Stupa, Ashokan pillar and a well known ancient pond are situated near to the Kutagarasala Vihara. World Peace Pagoda or Vishwa Shanti Pagoda was constructed by Japanese Nichiren Buddhist sect Nipponzan Myohoji.