This article is part of a series on the |
Politics of Bangladesh |
---|
Bangladeshportal |
This article presents a list of cities and towns in Bangladesh. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives of Bangladesh, there are 532 urban centres in Bangladesh. [1] [2]
The bureau defines an urban centre with a population of 100,000 or more as a "city". Altogether, there are 43 such cities in Bangladesh. 11 of these cities can be considered major cities as these are governed by City Corporations. All of the City Corporation-governed cities currently have a population of more than 200,000, which is not a criterion for the status, because currently 17 cities in Bangladesh have a population of more than 200,000. Besides the 11 major cities, there are 32 other cities in Bangladesh that are not governed by "City Corporations", rather by "Municipal Corporations". A city with a population of more than 10,000,000 is defined by the bureau as a megacity.[ failed verification ] Dhaka is the only megacity in Bangladesh according to this definition. [3] Together, Dhaka and the port city of Chittagong account for 48% of the country's urban population. [4]
An urban centre with a population of less than 100,000 is defined as a "town". In total, there are 490 such towns in Bangladesh. [3] Among these, 287 towns are governed by "Municipal Corporations". These are called "Paurashava"s in the local Bengali language. Altogether, including the ones governing the 32 other non-major cities, there are 318 Municipal Corporations.
In addition, there are another 203 towns which are Upazila centres (and other urban centres) and not governed by any Municipal Corporation or "Paurashava". These are the non-Municipal Corporation or "non-Paurashava" towns. [3] [2]
In 1951, Bangladesh was mostly a rural country and only 4% of the population lived in urban centres. The urban population rose to 20% in 1991 and to 24% by 2001. In 2011, Bangladesh had an urban population of 28% and the rate of urban population growth was estimated at 2.8%. [3] At this growth rate, Bangladesh's urban population would reach 79 million or 42% of the population by 2035. The urban centers of Bangladesh have a combined area of about 10600 square kilometers, which is 7% of the total area of Bangladesh. As such, Bangladesh has a very high urban population density: 4028 persons per square kilometer (2011), whereas the rural density is significantly lower: 790 persons per square kilometer (2011). [1] The number of municipalities tripled from 104 municipalities in 1991 to 318 municipalities in 2011. [4]
There are eleven major cities in Bangladesh that are governed by twelve city corporations, which include Dhaka North, Dhaka South, Chattogram, Khulna, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, Rangpur, Barisal, Cumilla, Gazipur and Narayanganj. Among these, Dhaka is a megacity, governed by two city corporations, and has a population of more than 10 million. [5] It was formerly governed by the Dhaka City Corporation, until it was split into North and South in 2011. The populations of the cities in the table below are from the 2022 census. [6] : 386–387
Rank | City | Area(km2) [3] | Population (2022) [7] | District | Division | Photos |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dhaka | 306 | 10,295,786 | Dhaka | Dhaka Division | |
2 | Chattogram | 155 | 3,230,507 | Chattogram | Chattogram Division | |
3 | Gazipur | 47 | 2,677,715 | Gazipur | Dhaka Division | |
4 | Narayanganj | 13 | 967,951 | Narayanganj | Dhaka Division | |
5 | Khulna | 51 | 909,557 | Khulna | Khulna Division | |
11 | Rangpur | 69 | 408,570 | Rangpur | Rangpur Division | |
8 | Mymensingh | 90 | 577,000 | Mymensingh | Mymensingh Division | |
6 | Rajshahi | 42 | 753,288 | Rajshahi | Rajshahi Division | |
7 | Sylhet | 58 | 702,839 | Sylhet | Sylhet Division | |
9 | Cumilla | 53 | 550,233 | Cumilla | Chattogram Division | |
10 | Barisal | 58 | 419,484 | Barisal | Barisal Division |
All eleven of the aforementioned major cities are designated as metropolitan areas: Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, Barisal, Rangpur, Cumilla, Narayanganj and Gazipur. Metropolitan areas can be loosely defined as a major city combined with some of its adjacent municipalities and peri-urban areas.
In addition to the 11 major cities governed by City Corporations, there are many minor cities which are governed by Municipal Corporations (pourashava). Area figures come from the 2011 census or Paurashava websites. Those with populations of over 100,000 (as of 2022 census) are given below: [6] : 388–394
The following is a list of towns in Bangladesh governed by Municipal Corporations.
Division | Number | Towns |
---|---|---|
Dhaka Division | 23 | |
Chattogram Division | 28 | Raipur |
Sylhet Division | 20 | * Municipalities of Maulvibazar District
|
Khulna Division | 24 | |
Barishal Division | 23 | |
Mymensingh Division | 25 | |
Rajshahi Division | 15 | |
Rangpur Division | 14 | |
Dhaka is by far the largest urban area as well as the largest metropolitan area in Bangladesh. Chittagong is the second largest city and urban area in Bangladesh as well as the second largest metropolitan in Bangladesh.
Khulna is the third largest city and second largest port city of the country after Chittagong. Also, the adjoining areas of Khulna are abided by port-related business, industry, governmental foreign investment, and some well-known mega projects. This city also has a rich history of industrialization through the British period. Khulna has also a significant number of tourism industries centered on the largest mangrove forest of the world, the Sundarbans. Sylhet city is also the third developed city within Khulna and Rajshahi. Sylhet is also marked as an economically stronger city compared to other cities after Dhaka and Chittagong. Sylhet city also got a richer regional economy for remittances and the tourism industry. Rajshahi is also a big city and is known as the educational city of Bangladesh due to its well-marked educational institutions with better results and better educational performances. So we can say that the best 5 cities in Bangladesh are Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna, and Rajshahi. Other major cities with a stronger economy and developer infrastructure after these five best cities are Cumilla, Bogra, Rangpur, Tangail, Faridpur, Barishal, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Jessore, Kushtia, Patuakhali, Feni, Cox's Bazar, Mymenshing, Dinajpur, Pabna, Brahmanbaria, Narsingdi, Bholo, Gopalganj, Thakurgao, Chuadanga, Madaripur, etc.
The following table shows the largest populated area within a local government area.
Divisions are the first-level administrative divisions in Bangladesh. As of 2023, 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, then union councils.
Dhaka Division is an administrative division within Bangladesh. Dhaka serves as the capital city of the Dhaka Division, the Dhaka District and Bangladesh. The division remains a population magnet, covers an area of 20,508.8 km2 with a population in excess of 44 million, It is the most populous country second level division of the world, growing at 1.94% rate since prior count, compared with national average of 1.22%. However, national figures may include data skewing expatriation of male labor force as gender ratio is skewed towards females.
Bangladesh is divided into 8 divisions (bibhag) and 64 districts, although these have only a limited role in public policy. For the purposes of local government, the country is divided into upazilas (sub-districts), "municipalities" or town councils (pourashova), city corporations and union councils . The diagram below outlines the five tiers of government in Bangladesh.
The country calling code of Bangladesh is +880.
The National Cricket League is the oldest domestic first-class cricket competition in Bangladesh. It is contested by teams representing seven of the eight regional divisions of Bangladesh as well as a team from the Dhaka metropolitan area.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Bangladesh:
The 2001–02 National Football League was the second season of the country's first football league held on a national scale. The league was also known as the Nitol-Tata National Football League due to sponsorship reasons.
The divisions of Bangladesh are further divided into districts or zilas. The headquarters of a district is called the district seat. There are 64 districts in Bangladesh. The districts are further subdivided into 495 subdistricts or upazilas.
The Bangladesh Premier League 2013 season, also known as BPL Season 2 or Prime Bank BPL 2013, was the second season of the Bangladesh Premier League, established by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) in 2012. The tournament began on 18 January 2013 and ended on 19 February. The competition featured seven teams, with the addition of the Rangpur Riders. Dhaka Gladiators became champions again by beating Chittagong Kings by 43 runs in the final.
The Bangladesh Technical Education Board is a state regulatory board responsible for monitoring and developing technical and vocational education in the secondary level (SSC), 2-year higher secondary level (HSC/Vocational), 4-year Diploma in Agriculture, 4-year Diploma in Engineering degree and 4-year Diploma in Medical Technology degree throughout the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The board sets the curriculum, develops learning materials, grants affiliation to technical and vocational institutions, governs admissions, conducts examination, and awards diploma certifications.
There are 8 divisions and 64 districts in Bangladesh, each district further subdivided into upazila. The area within each subdistrict, except for those in metropolitan areas, is divided into several unions, with each union consisting of multiple villages. Direct elections are held for each union, electing a chairperson and a number of members. In 1997, a parliamentary act was passed to reserve three seats in every union for female candidates. Following elections in the 2014–16 period, 25.2% of councillors were women, up from 23.4% in the 2011–13 period.
The Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives is a ministry of the government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. It is responsible for the housing and building, regional and rural policy, municipal and cities administration and finances, and the conduct of elections.
The 2016–17 National Cricket League was the eighteenth edition of the National Cricket League, a first-class cricket competition that was held in Bangladesh. The tournament started on 25 September 2016 and concluded on 6 January 2017. Khulna Division were the defending champions.
The Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board or BREB, is government organization in Dhaka, Bangladesh and is responsible for rural electrification. It is the largest power distribution organization in Bangladesh. BREB has brought all the 461 upazilas on grid under 100% electrification. Ajay Kumar Chakroborty, an additional secretary is the present chairman of the board.
The Bangladesh Premier League 2017, also known as BPL Season 5 or AKS BPL 2017 Powered by Shah Cement, was the fifth season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the top level professional Twenty20 cricket franchise league in Bangladesh. The competition was organised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and features seven teams from seven different cities. The season began on 4 November, and ended on 12 December 2017, with the defending champion, Dhaka Dynamites played against newbies Sylhet Sixers in the first game at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
Metropolitan Police is a subnational unit of Bangladesh Police. There are eight units in eight metropolis area in Bangladesh. This unit was formed in 1976 by establishing of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
The Bangladesh Premier League 2019–20, also known as BPL Season 7 or Bangabandhu BPL Presented by AKASH DTH and Powered by TVS, was the seventh season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the top level professional Twenty20 cricket league in Bangladesh. The competition was organised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The season was scheduled to originally start from 6 December 2019 and end on 11 January 2020, with the opening ceremony to be held on 3 December 2019. Comilla Victorians were the defending champions. However, the tournament was delayed by five days and started on 11 December 2019 and ended on 17 January 2020, with the opening ceremony held on 8 December 2019.