Etah district, a part of Aligarh division is a district of Uttar Pradesh with its administrative headquarters located at Etah town. It is the midpoint on the Kanpur-Delhi Highway. In the Indian history, the place is famous for being a centre of the Revolt of 1857. In ancient times, Etah in ancient era was popularly known as "Aintha" meaning 'to respond aggressively' because of the people of the Yadav community who are very aggressive by nature. There is an interesting story associated with the earlier name of the district “Aintha”. Once upon a time the king of Awagarh along with his two dogs went on hunting in the forest. The moment dogs saw a fox, they started barking it. The king’s dogs kept on running after the frightened fox but suddenly the fox’s behaviour was changed and it responded very aggressively to the king's dogs when it reached the place, Etah. The whole incident made the king very surprised. Thus, he named the place as Aintha, which with the passage of time changed to Etah. One more story regarding the previous name of the district ‘Einta’ is also mentioned in the book of Vidya Bharti. According to the story found in this book, a person started to dig the land of the place in search of water and at that time his shoe struck a brick (eint in Hindi). Therefore, the place was called as Einta and later the name transformed to Etah. The place Etah is also fortunate enough to have the world's second largest Yagyashala which at present situated in the Gurukul Vidyalaya.

Geographically, the district lies at 27°56'N latitude, 78°65'E longitude and 164 m altitude. In the year 2021, there was a total 1.08% forest area of total geographical area. The district encompasses a geographical area of 2,431 sq. km. and in terms of geographical area it occupies the ranks of 51th in the state and 447th in India. It is bounded by Mahamaya Nagar district on the North West, Kanshi Ram Nagar district on the North East, Firozabad district on the South, Mainpuri district on the South East and Agra district on the South West. The climate of the district remains extremely hot during the summer and fairly cold during the winter. Most of its rainfall occurs in the monsoon season. The actual rainfall in the district was 894.4 mm in the year of 2021-22.

Administration wise, the district is divided into 3 tehsils namely Etah, Aliganj and Jalesar. There are 1 Lok Sabha seat and 5 Assembly constituencies in the district. Moreover, the district comprises 10 towns and 882 villages. The administrative language in the district is Hindi.

According to 2011 census the district has a population of 17,74,480 including 9,47,339 are males and 8,27,141 are females. The district has a sex ratio of 873 females for every 1000 males. In the year 2001-2011 the population growth rate in the district was 13.62% out of which 12.17% were males and 15.33% were females. The population density in the district is 730 persons per sq. km. In the year 2020 the number of live births in the district was 49,515 including 25,611 were males and 23,904 were females. In the same year the number of deaths in the district was 9,036 out of which 4,681 were males and 4,355 were females. As per 2011 census the major religion in the district is Hindu with 90.79% of the total population. According to 2011 census the principal language in the district is Hindi with 99.25%.

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy of the district. The soil of the district is very suitable for agriculture since it is located between Ganga and Yamuna (Doaab) Rivers. The irrigation facility of the district is highly advanced and its irrigation water is available throughout the year. Some of its chief agricultural products are rice, wheat, barley, jowar, bajra, maize, etc. Tobacco cultivation is very popular among the local people in the district. Most of the lands in the district are used for agricultural purposes. More than half of the population in the district are engaged in agriculture since it is scantily industrialized. In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj declared Etah as one of the country's 250 most backward districts that is currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). In the year 2020-21 the gross domestic product in the district was Rs. 14,47,727 lakh at Current Price and Rs. 8,44,778 lakh at Constant Prices during the year 2011-2012. The Net Domestic Product in the district during the period 2020-21 was Rs. 12,91,483 lakh at Current Price and Rs. 7,31,077 lakh at Constant Prices in the year 2011-2012. The Per Capita Income or NDDP, At Factor Cost in the district during the period 2020-21 was Rs. 1,14,940 at Current Price and Rs. 65,065 at Constant Prices in the year 2011-2012.

The district is an abode of numerous reputed educational institutions. It provides platform for higher education. Some of its recognised educational institutions are Ganjdundwara PG College, Dr. Z.H. Degree College, Jawaharlal Nehru Degree College, Christian Agricultural Inter College, G.I.C Inter College, Gandhi Smark inter College, Printis Girls College, G.G.I.C. Inter College, Maharani Lakshmi Bai Inter College, etc. As per 2011 census the literacy rate in the district is 70.81% persons including 81.28% are males and 58.8% are females. The total number of literates in the district is 10,55,202 including 6,47,042 are males and 4,08,160 are females.

Kunwar Devendra Singh Yadav, an eminent Indian Politician and a member of the 13th and 14th Lok Sabha from the Etah Constituency was born on 1st January, 1951 at Etah town. He is a member of the Samajwadi Party. Jitender Singh Tomar, an illustrious Indian politician and the former cabinet minister of law and justice in the NCT Government of Delhi headed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was born on 12th April, 1966 at Fatehpur in the Etah district. He is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

During the year 2021, there were 14,215 domestic tourists who visited these places of the district. The district has numerous centres of attraction with historical and religious significance which allures many travellers from different parts of the country as well as world. Kailash Mandir, located at Etah is an ancient temple of 148 years old. It was built by King Dil Sukh Rai Bahadur. The Noah Kera village in the district is famous for the marriage of Lord Sri Krishna with Rukmini. Some other notable places of interest in the district are Patna Pakshi Vihar Jaleshar, Bada Jain Mandir, Hanumangarhi, Kaali Mandir, Soron (the birthplace of Goswami Tulsi Das), Janta Durga Mandir, Pathwari Mandir, etc.