Pratapgarh, also called Belha or Bela Pratapgarh, is a District of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Pratapgarh district, part of the Allahabad Division.

It is one of the oldest districts of Uttar Pradesh, that came into existence in the year 1858. It is at a height of 491m from sea level.

The district is named after its headquarter town Belha Pratapgarh, commonly known as Pratapgarh. Raja Pratap Bhadur Singh (1628–1682), a local king, located his capital at Rampur near the old town of Aror. There he built a garh (fort) and called it Pratapgarh after himself. Subsequently, the area around the fort started to be known as Pratapgarh. When the district was constituted in 1858, its headquarters was established at Belha, which came to be known as Belha Pratapgarh, the name Belha presumably being derived from the temple of Belha Bhawani on the bank of river Sai. It is popularly known as "Belha Maai" – meaning Mother Goddess Belha.

Several human skeletons along some animal bones and a number of a small stones implements, belonging probably to the Neolithic, have been unearthed in Archaeological exploration at Sarai Nahar in Kunda. It is the only site in the entire valley of Ganga which has yielded human skeleton of such an early age as also the Stone Age implements. On the left bank of river Sai there stand a ruined "Kot" representing a Buddhist Stupa.

Sai and the Ganges are the main rivers flowing through Pratapgarh district. The district lies between the parallels of 25°34′ and 26°11′ north latitude and between the meridians of 81°19′ and 82°27′ east longitude extending for some 110 kilometres (68 mi) from west to east. It is bounded on the north by the district of Sultanpur, on the south by Allahabad, on the east by Jaunpur, on the west by Fatehpur and north-west by Raebareli. In the south-west the Ganges forms the boundary of the district for about 50 kilometres (31 mi). Separating it from Fatehpur and Allahabad and in the extreme north-east the Gomti forms the boundary for about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi). According to the Central Statistics Office, India, the district has an area of 3,730 square kilometres (1,440 sq mi).

In 2006, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Pratapgarh one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).^[1] It is one of the 34 districts in Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).^[1]

Primarily, an agrarian district, for a while now, Pratapgarh has risen in ranks as the top producer of Aonla (Amla). The fruit grown here is sold all over India and the world in the form of sweets and medicines.

As of 2011 Pratapgarh district's population is 3,209,141.^[2] This gives it a ranking of 109th in India (out of a total of 640).^[3] The district has a population density of 854 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,210/sq mi) .^[3] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 16.2%.^[3] Pratapgarh has a sex ratio of 1005 females for every 1000 males,^[3] and a literacy rate of 73.1%.^[3]

Nearest airport is Allahabad Airport located 70km away from city in Allahabad.

Railway is the main transport form in this district and some junctions are chilbilla , bhupiamau and Pratapgarh . Pratapgarh Junction railway station handles 42 trains daily.

Ganga expressway (coming soon)