Divisions of Bangladesh

Divisions of Bangladesh বাংলাদেশের বিভাগ Bangladesher bibhag
A clickable map of Bangladesh exhibiting its divisions.
Category	Unitary state
Location	People's Republic of Bangladesh
Number	8
Populations	Highest: 39,675,000 (Dhaka) Lowest: 8,331,000 (Barisal)
Areas	Largest: 33,908.55 km^2 (13,092.16 sq mi) (Chittagong) Smallest: 10,584.06 km^2 (4,086.53 sq mi) (Mymensingh)
Government	Divisional Commission Administrator Divisional Commissioner
Subdivisions	District

Divisions are the first-level administrative divisions in Bangladesh. As of 2024, there are eight divisions of Bangladesh, each named after the major city within its jurisdiction that also serves as the administrative seat of that division. Each division is divided into several districts which are further subdivided into upazilas(sub-districts), then union councils.

History

Following the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the country had four divisions: Chittagong Division, Dacca 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 Division 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 split off from Dhaka Division and added as the eighth division. In 2015, the process started to create two more divisions: Comilla Division and Faridpur Division.^[2] In October 2021, the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced the formation of two new divisions, Meghna and Padma, named after the eponymous rivers,^[3] in the places of Comilla and Faridpur Divisions.

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.^[4][5][6][7]

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 (B.B.S.).

Division	ISO codes	Capital	Est.	Subdivisions			Area (km^2)[8]	Population (2022)[8]	Density (people/ km^2) (2022)[8]
				Districts	Upazilas	Union Councils
Barisal Division	BD-A	Barisal	1993	6	41	352	13,225.20	9,100,102	688
Chittagong Division	BD-B	Chittagong	1829	11	103	949	33,908.55	33,202,326	979
Dhaka Division	BD-C	Dhaka	1829	13	89	885	20,593.74	44,215,107	2,147
Khulna Division	BD-D	Khulna	1960	10	59	571	22,284.22	17,416,645	782
Mymensingh Division	BD-H	Mymensingh	2015	4	35	351	10,584.06	12,225,498	1,155
Rajshahi Division	BD-E	Rajshahi	1829	8	67	565	18,153.08	20,353,119	1,121
Rangpur Division	BD-F	Rangpur	2010	8	58	535	16,184.99	17,610,956	1,088
Sylhet Division	BD-G	Sylhet	1996	4	41	338	12,635.22	11,034,863	873
Bangladesh	BD	Dhaka	1971	64	493	4,546	147,569	165,158,616	1,119

Proposed divisions

Two more divisions have been proposed to ease down administrative work load due to increase in population:^[2][9]

• Meghna Division – proposed to consist of the six northern districts of the current Chittagong Division: Brahmanbaria, Chandpur, Comilla, Feni, Laxmipur, and Noakhali.
• Padma Division – proposed to consist of Faridpur, Gopalganj, Madaripur, Rajbari, and Shariatpur districts.^[10]

Their formation has been confirmed in October 2021 by the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.^[3]

After the outcust of Sheikh Hasina, On 17 December 2024, the Public Administration Reform Commission of the interim government recommended the creation of the Comilla and Faridpur divisions. Which has been applauded by many residents and others.

See also

• Tourism in Bangladesh
• List of archaeological sites in Bangladesh
• List of World Heritage Sites in Bangladesh
• Culture of Bangladesh
• ISO 3166 codes
• List of regions of Bangladesh by Human Development Index
• Districts of Bangladesh
• Upazilas of Bangladesh
• Union councils of Bangladesh
• List of cities and towns in Bangladesh
• Villages of Bangladesh

References

1. "Divisions of Bangladesh". Statoids. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
2. "3 new divisions to be formed". The Independent. Dhaka. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
3. "PM Hasina: New divisions will be named Padma, Meghna". Dhaka Tribune. 21 October 2021. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
4. "List of Divisional Commissioners". Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
5. "Divisional And District Commissioners Are Important For A Prosperous Bangladesh: PM". Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
6. "List of Additional Divisional Commissioners". Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
7. "New divisional commissioner joins". The Independent. Dhaka. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
8. "2022 Population & Housing Census: Preliminary Results" (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
9. "Mymensingh to become new division". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
10. "Faridpur will be made as 'Padma division' soon: Mosharraf". Daily Sun. Archived from the original on 3 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.