The divisions of Bangladesh are further divided into districts or (). The headquarters of a district is called the district seat (). There are 64 districts in Bangladesh. The districts are further subdivided into 500 subdistricts or upazilas.
History
Before independence, Bangladesh (then known as East Pakistan) had 19 districts.
English spelling change In April 2018, the government changed the English spelling of five districts to avoid inconsistencies in the Bengali and English spellings and to make them consistent with the Bengali pronunciation. The spellings have been changed from Bogra to Bogura, Barisal to Barishal, Jessore to Jashore, Chittagong to Chattogram and Comilla to Cumilla.
Administration
Deputy commissioner A Deputy Commissioner (DC), popularly abbreviated to 'DC,' serves as the executive head of the district. Individuals appointed to the role are selected by the government from the Deputy Secretary BCS Administration Cadre.
District councils
A district council (or zila parishad) is a local government body at the district level. The Bengali word parishad means council and zila parishad translates to district council.
The functions of a district council include the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges. They are also responsible for building hospitals, dispensaries, schools, and other educational institutions. In addition, district councils oversee health facilities and sanitation projects, as well as the installation of tube wells for drinking water. They also manage rest houses and coordinate activities among the Union Parishads within the district.
Timeline of creation 1666
Chittagong District
1769
Rangpur District
1772
Dhaka District Rajshahi District
1781
Jessore District
1782
Sylhet District
1786
Dinajpur District Faridpur District
1787
Mymensingh District
1790 Tipperah District (now Comilla District)
1797 Bakerganj District (now Barisal District)
1821
Bogra District was established from parts of Rajshahi, Rangpur, and Dinajpur districts
1822
Noakhali District was split from Tipperah district (now Comilla District)
1832
Pabna District was split from Rajshahi district
1860
Chittagong Hill Tracts District (now Rangamati District) was split from Chittagong district
1882
Khulna District was established from parts of 24 Parganas and Jessore districts
1947
Kushtia District was established from Nadia district
1969
Patuakhali District was split from Barisal District Tangail District was split from Mymensingh district
1971
Dhaka Division: Dhaka district, Faridpur district, Mymensingh district, Tangail district Chittagong Division: Hill Tracts district, Chittagong district, Comilla district, Noakhali district, Sylhet district Rajshahi Division: Bogra district, Dinajpur district, Rajshahi district, Rangpur district, Pabna district Khulna Division: Barisal district, Jessore district, Khulna district, Kushtia district, Patuakhali district
1978 Jamalpur District was split from Mymensingh district
1980 Panchagarh District was split from Dinajpur district
1981 Bandarban District was split from Rangamati district
1983 Khagrachhari District was split from Rangamati district
1984 Sirajganj District was split from Pabna district Gopalganj, Rajbari, Madaripur and Shariatpur districts were split from Faridpur district Kishoreganj and Netrokona districts were split from Mymensingh district Nilphamari, Gaibandha, Kurigram and Lalmonirhat districts were split from Rangpur district Thakurgaon District was split from Dinajpur district Chapai Nawabganj, Naogaon and Natore districts were split from Rajshahi District Brahmanbaria and Chandpur districts were split from Comilla district Gazipur, Narayanganj, Manikganj, Munshiganj and Narsingdi districts were split from Dhaka district Sherpur District was split from Jamalpur district Chuadanga and Meherpur districts were split from Kushtia district Cox's Bazar District was split from Chittagong district Bagerhat and Satkhira districts were split from Khulna district Joypurhat District was split from Bogra District Lakshmipur and Feni districts were split from Noakhali district Barguna and Bhola districts was split from Patuakhali district Pirojpur and Jhalokati districts were spilt from Barisal district Jhenaidah, Magura and Narail districts were split from Jessore district Habiganj, Moulvibazar and Sunamganj districts were split from Sylhet district
List of districts
DivisionDistrictMapEst.Area (km2)Population (2022)Density (/km2)Seats in ParlamentNo. of Upazila DhakaDhaka1772146414,734,701?205Faridpur178620532,162,876105449Tangail196934144,037,6081183812Gazipur198418065,263,474291455Narayanganj19846843,909,138571255Kishoreganj198426893,267,6301215613Narsingdi198411502,584,452224756Munshiganj198410041,625,418161836Manikganj198413841,558,024112637Gopalganj198414691,295,05388235Shariatpur198411741,294,561110336Madaripur198411251,293,027114935Rajbari198410921,189,821108925ChittagongChittagong166652839,169,46417361615Cumilla179031466,212,21619741117Noakhali182236863,625,25298469Rangamati18606116647,587106110Bandarban19814479481,10910717Khagrachhari19832749714,11926019Brahmanbaria198418813,306,559175869Cox's Bazar198424922,823,265113349Chandpur198416452,635,748160258Lakshmipur198414401,938,111134645Feni19849901,648,896166536RajshahiRajshahi177224252,915,013120269Bogura182128993,734,3001288713Pabna183223762,909,622122559Joypurhat19841012956,43094565Sirajganj198424023,357,708139869Naogaon198434362,784,598811411Natore198419001,859,92197937Chapai Nawabganj198417031,835,527107825KhulnaJashore178126073,076,849118168Khulna188243942,613,38559569Kushtia194716092,149,692133646Satkhira198438172,196,58157447Jhenaidah198419651,771,30490246Bagerhat198439591,613,07940749Chuadanga198411741,234,066105124Magura198410391,033,11599424Narail1984968788,67381523Meherpur1984742705,35695123BarisalBarishal179727852,570,450923610Patuakhali196932211,727,25453648Bhola198434031,932,51456847Pirojpur198412781,198,19393837Barguna198418311,010,53055226Jhalokati1984707661,16193524SylhetSylhet178234523,857,0371117613Sunamganj198437472,695,495719512Habiganj198426372,358,88689549Moulvibazar198427992,123,44575947RangpurRangpur176924013,169,615132068Nilphamari198415473,092,567135346Dinajpur178634443,315,238963613Thakurgaon198417811,533,89486135Gaibandha198421152,562,232121257Kurigram198422452,329,161103749Lalmonirhat198412471,428,406114535Panchagarh198014051,179,84384025MymensinghMymensingh178743955,899,05213421113Jamalpur197821152,499,737118257Netrokona198427942,324,856832510Sherpur198413651,501,853110135Total147,556164,924,0711,118300495
See also Divisions of Bangladesh Upazilas of Bangladesh Villages of Bangladesh Administrative geography of Bangladesh References