Geography of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is divided into 8 Divisions (Bibhag) and 64 Districts(Jela, Zila, Zela), although these have only a limited role in public p...

Bangladesh is divided into 8 Divisions (Bibhag) and 64 Districts(Jela, Zila, Zela), although these have only a limited role in public policy. For the purposes of local government, the country is divided into Upazila, Thana and Union Council. 

The administration of Bangladesh is divided into eight major regions called divisions (বিভাগ bibhag). 

Each division is named after the major city within its jurisdiction that also serves as the administrative headquarters of that division. Each division is further split into several districts (জেলা jela) which are then further sub-divided into Upazilas (উপজেলা upôjela).

AREA

total : 144,000 sq km.; land: 133,910 sq km. ; water: 10,090 sq km.

DIALING CODE

880

CURRENCY

Bangladeshi taka (BDT)


LAND BOUNDARIES

border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km

CLIMATE

Tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)

NATURAL RESOURCES

Natural gas, arable land, timber, coal.


IRRIGATED LAND

38,440 sq km (1998 est.)

NATURAL HAZARDS

Droughts. cyclones; much of the country routinely flooded during the summer monsoon season.

History :

Following the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the country had four divisions: Chittagong Division, Dhaka Division, Khulna Division and Rajshahi Division.

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 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 and Sylhet division.

On 14 September 2015 Mymensingh Division was added as eighth division. In 2015 there started process to create two more divisions, Comilla Division and Faridpur Division.

The diagram below outlines the five tiers of government in Bangladesh.

Division	Number	Districts
Barisal	6	Barguna Barisal Bhola Jhalokati Patuakhali Pirojpur
Chittagong	11	Bandarban Brahmanbaria Chandpur Chittagong Comilla Cox's Bazar Feni Khagrachari Lakshmipur Noakhali Rangamati
Dhaka	13	Dhaka Faridpur Gazipur Gopalganj Kishoreganj Madaripur Manikganj Munshiganj Narayanganj Narsingdi Rajbari Shariatpur Tangail
Khulna	10	Bagerhat Chuadanga Jessore Jhenaidah Khulna Kushtia Magura Meherpur Narail Satkhira
Mymensingh	4	Jamalpur Mymensingh Netrokona Sherpur
Rajshahi	8	Bogra Jaipurhat Naogaon Natore Nawabganj Pabna Rajshahi Sirajganj
Rangpur	8	Dinajpur Gaibandha Kurigram Lalmonirhat Nilphamari Panchagarh Rangpur Thakurgaon
Sylhet	4	Habiganj Moulvibazar Sunamganj Sylhet
Total	64