Divisions of Bangladesh

Divisions of Bangladesh
বাংলাদেশের বিভাগ
*Bangladesher bibhag*
Divisions of Bangladesh; বাংলাদেশের বিভাগ; Bangladesher bibhag
Category	Unitary state
Location	People's Republic of Bangladesh
Number	8
Populations	Highest: 36,054,418 (Dhaka) ; Lowest: 8,325,666 (Barisal)
Areas	Largest: 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	District;

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.

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; in 1995, Sylhet Division was split off from Chittagong Division; and in 2010 (25 January), Rangpur Division was split off from Rajshahi Division. In terms of area the newly formed Rangpur Division ranked fifth followed by Barisal Division and Sylhet 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.

Division	Capital	Est.	Subdivisions			Area (km²)^[7]	Population (2011)^[7]	Density (people/ km²) (2011)^[7]
Division	Capital	Est.	Districts	Upazilas	Union Councils	Area (km²)^[7]	Population (2011)^[7]	Density (people/ km²) (2011)^[7]
Barisal Division	Barisal	1993	6	39	333	13,225.20	8,325,666	613
Chittagong Division	Chittagong	1829	11	101	949	33,908.55	29,145,000	831
Dhaka Division	Dhaka	1829	13	123	1,248	20,593.74	36,433,505	1,751
Khulna Division	Khulna	1960	10	59	270	22,284.22	15,687,759	699
Mymensingh Division	Mymensingh	2015	4	34	350	10,584.06	11,370,000	1,074
Rajshahi Division	Rajshahi	1829	8	70	558	18,153.08	18,485,858	1,007
Rangpur Division	Rangpur	2010	8	58	536	16,184.99	15,787,758	960
Sylhet Division	Sylhet	1995	4	38	334	12,635.22	9,807,000	779
Total 8	Dhaka		64	522	4,576	147,610.00	146,968,041	1,106

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

References[]

^ "Divisions of Bangladesh". Statoids. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
^ "PM Hasina: New divisions will be named Padma, Meghna". Dhaka Tribune. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
^ http://pmis.mopa.gov.bd/pmis/Forms/divcommlist.php
^ "Divisional And District Commissioners Are Important For A Prosperous Bangladesh: PM". Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
^ http://pmis.mopa.gov.bd/pmis/Forms/addldivcommlist.php
^ "New divisional commissioner joins". The Independent. Dhaka.
^ ^a ^b ^c "2011 Population & Housing Census: Preliminary Results" (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
^ "3 new divisions to be formed". The Independent. Dhaka. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
^ ময়মনসিংহ বিভাগ গঠনে কাজ শুরুর নির্দেশ প্রধানমন্ত্রীর. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Retrieved 26 January 2015.
^ "Mymensingh to become new division". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.

[Statoids-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] ttp://pmis.mopa.gov.bd/pmis/Forms/divcommlist.php

[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] ttp://pmis.mopa.gov.bd/pmis/Forms/addldivcommlist.php

[6] "New divisional commissioner joins". The Independent. Dhaka.

[bbs-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.

[theindependentbd.com-8] "3 new divisions to be formed". The Independent. Dhaka. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.

[news-9] ময়মনসিংহ বিভাগ গঠনে কাজ শুরুর নির্দেশ প্রধানমন্ত্রীর. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Retrieved 26 January 2015.

[thedailystar.net-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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v t Divisions and districts of Bangladesh
Barisal Division	Barguna Barishal Bhola Jhalokati Patuakhali Pirojpur
Chittagong Division	Bandarban Brahmanbaria Chandpur Chattogram Cumilla Cox's Bazar Feni Khagrachhari Lakshmipur Noakhali Rangamati
Dhaka Division	Dhaka Faridpur Gazipur Gopalganj Kishoreganj Madaripur Manikganj Munshiganj Narayanganj Narsingdi Rajbari Shariatpur Tangail
Khulna Division	Bagerhat Chuadanga Jashore Jhenaidah Khulna Kushtia Magura Meherpur Narail Satkhira
Mymensingh Division	Jamalpur Mymensingh Netrokona Sherpur
Rajshahi Division	Bogura Joypurhat Naogaon Natore Chapai Nawabganj Pabna Rajshahi Sirajganj
Rangpur Division	Dinajpur Gaibandha Kurigram Lalmonirhat Nilphamari Panchagarh Rangpur Thakurgaon
Sylhet Division	Habiganj Moulvibazar Sunamganj Sylhet

v t Articles on first-level administrative divisions of Asian countries
Sovereign states	Afghanistan Armenia² Azerbaijan¹ Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Cyprus² Egypt¹ Georgia¹ India Indonesia¹ Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan¹ North Korea province special city South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan Palestine Philippines Qatar Russia¹ Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Taiwan Thailand Timor-Leste (East Timor) Turkey¹ Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen¹
States with limited recognition	Abkhazia² Artsakh² Northern Cyprus² South Ossetia²
Table of administrative divisions by country ¹ Spans the conventional boundary between Asia and another continent. ² Considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons but is geographically in Western Asia.