Divisions of Bangladesh

Divisions are the first-level administrative division in Bangladesh. There are currently 8 divisions of Bangladesh, each is named after the major city within its jurisdiction that also serves as the administrative seat of that division. Each division is further split into several districts which are further sub-divided into upazilas.

Divisions of Bangladesh
বাংলাদেশের বিভাগ
Bangladesher bibhag
A clickable map of Bangladesh exhibiting its divisions.
CategoryUnitary state
LocationPeople's Republic of Bangladesh
Number8
PopulationsHighest: 36,054,418 (Dhaka)
Lowest: 8,325,666 (Barisal)
AreasLargest: 33,908.55 km2 (13,092.16 sq mi) (Chittagong)
Smallest: 10,584.06 km2 (4,086.53 sq mi) (Mymensingh) –
Government
  • Divisional Commission
  • Divisional Commissioner (Administrator)
Subdivisions
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History

Following the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the country had four divisions: Chittagong Division, Dhaka Division, Khulna Division and Rajshahi Division. In 1982, the English spelling of the Dacca Division (along with the name of the capital city) was changed into Dhaka to more closely match the Bengali pronunciation. In 1993, Barisal Division was split off from Khulna Division, and in 1995, Sylhet Division was split off from Chittagong Division.

On 25 January 2010, Rangpur Division was split off from Rajshahi Division.[1] On 14 September 2015, Mymensingh Division was added as the eighth division. In 2015, the process started to create two more divisions: Comilla Division and Faridpur Division. In October 2021, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced the formation of two new divisions, Padma and Meghna, named after the eponymous rivers.[2]

Divisional Commissioner

Divisional Commissioner is the administrative head of a division. Divisional Commissioner is appointed by the government from an Additional Secretary level officer of Bangladesh Civil Service (B.C.S) Administration Cadre. The role of a Divisional Commissioner's office is to act as the supervisory head of all the government Offices (except the central government offices) situated in the division. A Divisional Commissioner is given the direct responsibility of supervising the revenue and development administration of a division. The Divisional Commissioner is assisted by the several Additional Divisional Commissioners, Senior Assistant Commissioners and other bureaucratic officials.[3][4][5][6]

List of divisions

The following table outlines some key statistics about the eight divisions of Bangladesh as found in the 2011 Population and Housing Census conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

DivisionCapitalEst.SubdivisionsArea (km2)[7]Population (2011)[7]Density (people/
km2) (2011)[7]
DistrictsUpazilasUnion Councils
Barisal DivisionBarisal199363933313,225.208,325,666613
Chittagong DivisionChittagong18291110194933,908.5529,145,000831
Dhaka DivisionDhaka1829131231,24820,593.7436,433,5051,751
Khulna DivisionKhulna1960105927022,284.2215,687,759699
Mymensingh DivisionMymensingh201543435010,584.0611,370,0001,074
Rajshahi DivisionRajshahi182987055818,153.0818,485,8581,007
Rangpur DivisionRangpur201085853616,184.9915,787,758960
Sylhet DivisionSylhet199543833412,635.229,807,000779
Total 8Dhaka645224,576147,610.00146,968,0411,106

Proposed divisions

Two more divisions have been proposed to ease down administrative work load due to increase in population:[8][9][10]

  • Meghna Division – proposed to consist of the six northern districts of the current Chittagong Division, formerly comprising the regions of Greater Comilla and Noakhali.
  • Padma Division - proposed to have the five districts south of the Padma in the existing Dhaka division

See also

References
  1. "Divisions of Bangladesh". Statoids. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  2. "PM Hasina: New divisions will be named Padma, Meghna". Dhaka Tribune. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  3. "List of Divisional Commissioners".
  4. "Divisional And District Commissioners Are Important For A Prosperous Bangladesh: PM". Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  5. "List of Additional Divisional Commissioners".
  6. "New divisional commissioner joins". The Independent. Dhaka.
  7. "2011 Population & Housing Census: Preliminary Results" (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  8. "3 new divisions to be formed". The Independent. Dhaka. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  9. ময়মনসিংহ বিভাগ গঠনে কাজ শুরুর নির্দেশ প্রধানমন্ত্রীর. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  10. "Mymensingh to become new division". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
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