Sangli district, a part of the Pune division is a district of Maharashtra state with its administrative headquarters located at Sangli city. The place got its name from a Marathi term Sahagalli which is a combination of two words such as saha means “six” and galli means “lanes”, describing the early street plan. With the passage of time the name Sahagalli was shortened to Sangli, the present name of the region. Earlier the place was also popularly known as South Satara but it was changed to Sangli since 1961. It is formed out of a few talukas of the old Satara district and also the States and jahagirs belonging to Patvardhans and Dafles which came to be merged during the post-independence era. At the time of the Chalukyas rule, the region near to the Sangli called Kundal was their capital. Kundal was home to freedom fighters like Krantisigha Nana Patil, Shamrao Lad, Captain Ramchandra Lad, G.D. Lad, Shankar Jangam, and Housabai Jangam.

Asha Bhosle, an eminent singer and also a renowned playback singer in Hindi cinema was born on 8th September, 1933 at Sangli city. She was honoured with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award in the year 2000 for her outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.

Geographically, the district lies at 16°85'N latitude, 74°56'E longitude and 549 m altitude. In the year 2021, there was a total 1.76% forest area of total geographical area. The district encompasses a geographical area of 8,572 sq km. and in terms of geographical area it occupies the ranks of 18th in the state and 86th in India. It is bounded by Satara district and Solapur district on the North, Belgaum district of Karnataka and Kolhapur district on the South, Bijapur district of Karnataka on the East and Ratnagiri district on the West. Most of its rainfall occurs in the monsoon season. Most of its rainfall occurs in the monsoon season. The actual rainfall in the district was 712.1 mm in the year of 2021-22.

Administration wise, the district is divided into 10 tehsils namely Miraj, Tasgaon, Kavathe-Mahankal, Jath, Khanapur, Palus, Atpadi, Walwa, Kadegaon and Shirala. Moreover, it comprises 7 towns and 725 villages. The administrative language in the district is Marathi.

According to 2011 census the district has a population of 28,22,143 out of which 14,35,728 are males and 13,86,415 are females. The district has a sex ratio of 966 females for every 1000 males. During the year 2001-2011 the population growth rate in the district was 9.24% including 8.76% were males and 9.73% were females. The population density in the district is 329 persons per sq. km. In the year 2020 the number of live births in the district was 44,442 out of which 23,110 were males and 21,332 were females. In the same year the number of deaths in the district was 28,828 out of which 17,352 were males and 11,476 were females. As per 2011 census the major religion in the district is Hindu with 86.47% of the total population. According to 2011 census the principal language in the district is Marathi with 85.97%.

The economy of the district is mainly dependent on agricultural sector. Most of the lands in the district are use for agricultural purposes. More than half of its population are engaged in agricultural activities in order to earn their livelihood. The chief agricultural products in the district are turmeric, sorghum, groundnut, sugarcane, soybean, etc. The adoption of the new agricultural technologies amongst the famers of the district helps to increase the production of various agricultural items. Every year a huge chunk of revenue comes from the agricultural products in the district helps in its economy to a great extent. But the district is scantily industrialised since it has only a few agro-based industries. In the year 2020-21 the gross domestic product in the district was Rs. 60,39,300 lakhs at current price and Rs. 41,59,200 lakhs at constant prices in the year 2011-2012. The net domestic product in the district during the period 2020-21 was Rs. 54,27,900 lakh at current price and Rs. 37,03,700 lakh at constant prices in the year 2011-2012. The Per Capita Income or NDDP, At Factor Cost during the period 2020-21 was Rs. 1,78,113 at current price and Rs. 1,21,535 at constant prices in the year 2011-2012.

The district is well known as an abode of several reputed educational institutions. It provides a platform for higher education. Some of its recognised educational institutions are Mahaveer State Academy English Medium School, City High School, Emmanuel English School, H.H. Raja Chintamanrao Patwardhan High School, LGR Purohit Kanya Prashala, Martin's English School, Mount Sinai English School, etc. As per 2011 census the literacy rate in the district is 81.48% including 88.22% are males and 74.59% are females.

Ramdas Bandu Athawale, a veteran Indian politician and currently a member of Rajya Sabha was born on 25th December, 1959 at Agalgaon in the Sangli district. He is a member of the Republican Party of India (Athavale).

The district has several centres of attraction which allures many travellers from different parts of the country as well as world. The Sagareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in the district is forested, but with grassy hill slopes. The forests are full of southern dry mixed deciduous and southern thorn. The forest department introduced many important plants in the region, includes Tamarind, Neem, Nilgiri, Acacia, Agave, and Khair. Ganesh temple, a very beautiful temple constructed by the late Sri Appasaheb Patwardhan by using the basalt stone blocks which were brought from the Jyotiba hills near Kolhapur. There are also four other temples located near to this temple of Lord Ganesh are temples of Suryanarayan, Cintamanesvar, Laksmi-Narayan and Chinta-manesvari. Some other notable places of interest in the district are .Dargah of Miraj, Chandoli Wildlife Sanctuary, Museum of Sangli, Gokak Waterfalls and many more.