Divisions of Bangladesh

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Bangladesh is divided into seven major administrative regions called divisions (Bengali: বিভাগ Bibhag). Each division is named after the major city within its jurisdiction that serves as the administrative capital of that division:

• Barisal (বরিশাল Borishal)
• Chittagong (চট্টগ্রাম Chôţţogram)
• Dhaka (ঢাকা Đhaka)
• Khulna (খুলনা Khulna)
• Rajshahi (রাজশাহী Rajshahi)
• Rangpur (রংপুর Rongpur)
• Sylhet (সিলেট Sileţ)

Three more divisions have been proposed to ease down administrative work load due to population increase:

• Chittagong Hill Tracts Division (পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম Parbotto Chôţţogram) - proposed to contain the eastern districts of the existing Chittagong Division;
• Mymensingh Division (ময়মনসিং Moymonsing)- proposed to contain the northern districts of the existing Dhaka Division; and
• Comilla Division (কুমিল্লা Kumilla) - proposed to contain the northern districts of the existing Chittagong Division.

Each division is further split into Districts (Bengali: জেলা zila) which are then further sub-divided into Upazilas.

Ranking of divisions

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

Division	Bangla	Population			Area (km2)	Population density 2011 (people/km2)	Sex ratio (males per 100 females)
		1991	2001	2011 (provisional)
Barisal Division	বরিশাল	7,462,643	8,173,718	8,147,000	13,297	613	96.8
Chittagong Division	চট্টগ্রাম	20,522,908	24,290,384	28,079,000	33,771	831	96.1
Chittagong Hill Tracts Division	পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম	Proposed
Comilla Division	কুমিল্লা	Proposed
Dhaka Division	ঢাকা	32,665,975	39,044,716	46,729,000	31,120	1,502	103.9
Mymensingh Division	ময়মনসিং	Proposed
Khulna Division	খুলনা	12,688,383	14,705,223	15,563,000	22,272	699	100
Rajshahi Division	রাজশাহী	14,212,065	16,354,723	18,329,000	18,197	1,007	100.4
Rangpur Division	রংপুর	11,997,979	13,847,150	15,665,000	16,317	960	99.8
Sylhet Division	সিলেট	6,765,039	7,939,343	9,807,000	12,596	779	99.1
Totals		106,314,992	124,355,263	142,319,000	147,570	964

History

Following the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the country had four divisions:

• Chittagong Division (চট্টগ্রাম Chôţţogram)
• Dacca Division (ঢাকা Đhaka)
• Khulna Division (খুলনা Khulna)
• Rajshahi Division (রাজশাহী Rajshahi)

In 1983, 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 1998, Sylhet Division was split off from Chittagong Division; and in 2010 (25 January), Rangpur Division was split off from Rajshahi Division, this latest creation consisting of the Rangpur and Dinajpur areas. In terms of area the newly formed Rangpur Division ranked fifth followed by Barisal and Sylhet division.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• ISO 3166 codes
• Districts of Bangladesh
• Upazilas of Bangladesh
• Villages of Bangladesh