Historically, Bijapur lies in the extreme South West of Chhattishgarh. It is an integral part of undivided Bastar, constituted in 1948. The history of Bijapur inter-relates to Bastar. It is one of the two districts (the other being Narayanpur) created after Census of India 1907 in the state by the krav maga State Government in April 1907. Then the Bhopalpattanam tehsil and Bijapur tehsil (excluding 39 villages) of the former Dantewada district were transferred to the newly created Bijapur district. At that time Bijapur district occupies the extreme south western part of the state and comprises four tehsils such as Bhopalpattanam, Bhairamgarh, Bijapur and Usur. Bijapur comes under the South Bastar sub-division. The district is a significant part of the undivided Bastar district which was constituted on 1st January , 1848 after the merger of the former Feudatory State of Bastar and Kanker. In the medieval period it was seemed that the Bastar chiefs followed an administrative division more or less similar to that of the Kalchuri kings of Ratanpur. The past histories of both the Bijapur town and district are closely connected with the history of the Bastar district. At present it is a part of red corridor.

Geographically, the district has a total 8,530 sq km area and occupies the rank 5th in State and 88th in India on the basis of the territorial size. It lies at 18°80'N latitude, 80°81'E longitude and 599 m altitude. In the year 2021, there was a total 76.65% forest area of total geographical area. It is bounded by the Narayanpur district on the North and the Dantewada district on the East, Andhra Pradesh state on the South-West, Maharashtra state on the West. Indiravati River passes through the district. Most of the part of the district is hilly area. The mountain Bailadila or the "Bullock's Hump" is situated to the South of the Indiravati River. It is also rich in flora and fauna. Most of its rainfall occurs in the monsoon season. The actual rainfall in the district was 1497.4 mm in the year of 2021-22.

Administrative wise, the district is divided into 4 sub-districts, 3 towns and 694 villages. Hindi is its official language. In the state of Chhattisgarh with an allotted district code of 417 the district of Bijapur came into existence on 11th May, 2007. The administrative headquarters of the district is located at Bijapur, situated at a distance of 423 km. from the state capital.

Demographically, according to the 2011 census, the district has a total number of 50,402 households with a total of 2,55,230 comprising 1,28,663 are males and 1,26,567 are females and in terms of population it occupies the rank of 17th in the state and 580th in India. As per 2011 census the percentage of major religions practiced by the people of this region is Hindu at 96.05%. The sex ratio is pegged at 984 (females per 1000 males) while the child ratio stands at 978 (females per 1000 males). According to 2011 census, the percentage of the principal languages of the region was Gondi at 62.79%. The population growth rate during 2001-2011 was 5.83% persons including 6.47% were males and 5.19% were females. In the year 2020 the number of live births in the district was 5,486 out of which 2,816 were males and 2,668 were females. In the same year the number of deaths in the district was 1,925 out of which 1,194 were males and 730 were females.

Economically, the main source of income for the people of this region came from agriculture either through cultivation of their own pieces of land or from working as labourers on a daily wage rate or contractual rate on the land of their neighbour or counterparts. The district has numerous small scale industries.

Education wise, according to the 2011 census, the literacy rate is 40.86% including 50.46% are males and 31.11% are females. The total number of literates in the district is 86,919 comprising 54,076 are males and 32,843 are females. The total number of illiterate persons is pegged at 1,68,311 including 74,587 are males and 93,724 are females. The district is well-known as an abode of several reputed educational institutions.

The district allures many travelers from different parts of the country as well as world. Some of its notable places of interest are Lakshminarsimha Swamy mandir, Hanuman Mandir, Pothuraju Chettu, Ramalayam Temple, Ram temple, Muthyalamma Chettu, Gayatri temple, Raghav temple, Mallaya temple, Ambedkar Park, Millennium Park, Bhairamgarh wildlife sanctuary, Mikabeli forest range, Bailadila range and Indiravati National Park etc. Madhusurva Temple is a main attraction of the district.