An ''upazila'' ( bn, উপজেলা, upôzela, lit=sub-district pronounced: ), formerly called ''thana'', is an administrative region in Bangladesh, functioning as a sub-unit of a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

. It can be seen as an analogous to a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

or a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

of Western countries. Rural upazilas are further administratively divided into union council areas (union parishads). Bangladesh ha
495 upazilas
(as of 20 Oct 2022). The upazilas are the second lowest tier of regional administration in Bangladesh. The administrative structure consists of divisions (8), districts (64), upazilas (495) and union parishads (UPs). This system of devolution was introduced by the former military ruler and

president of Bangladesh The president of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের রাষ্ট্রপতি — ) officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশে ...

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Hossain Mohammad Ershad Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad ( bn, হুসেইন মুহাম্মদ এরশাদ; 1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi Army Chief politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990, a time m ...

, in an attempt to strengthen local government. Below UPs, villages (''gram'') and ''para'' exist, but these have no administrative power and elected members. The Local Government Ordinance of 1982 was amended a year later, redesignating and upgrading the existing ''thanas'' as ''upazilas''.

History

Upazilas were formerly known as ''thana'', which literally means police station. Despite the meaning, thanas functioned much as an administrative and geographic region, much as today's upazilas. In 1982 thanas were re-termed to as upazilas with provisions for semi-autonomous local governance. This system was reverted to the thana system in 1992. Later in 1999 geographic regions under administrations of thanas were converted into upazilas. All administrative terms in this level were renamed from ''thana'' to ''upazila''. For instance, thana nirbahi officer (lit. thana executive officer) was renamed upazila nirbahi officer (lit. upazila executive officer). The word ''thana'' is now used to solely refer to ''police stations''. Generally, there is one police station for each upazila, but larger administrative units may have more than one police station covering different regions. On 26 July 2021, Khandker Anwarul Islam announced the renaming of

Dakshin Sunamganj Upazila Shantiganj ( bn, শান্তিগঞ্জ, Shantigônj), formerly known as South Sunamganj or Dakshin Sunamganj ( bn, দক্ষিণ সুনামগঞ্জ), is an upazila of the Sunamganj District in Sylhet Division, Bangladesh. Ge ...

to "''Shantiganj Upazila''" as well as the creation of three new upazilas;

Eidgaon Upazila Eidgaon ( bn, ঈদগাঁও) is an upazila of Cox's Bazar District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh. Combined with the adjoining unions of Chowfaldandi and Varuakhali, it forms the traditional region of Greater Eidgaon. Geography E ...

in Cox’s Bazar District, Modhyanagar Upazila in

Sunamganj District Sunamganj ( bn, সুনামগঞ্জ) is a district located in north-eastern Bangladesh within the Sylhet Division. History In the ancient period, Sunamganj was part of the Laur Kingdom. After the conquest of Sylhet (Kingdom of Gauiurh) ...

and Dasar Upazila in

Madaripur District Madaripur ( bn, মাদারীপুর ), being a part of the Dhaka Division, is a district in central Bangladesh. History Madaripur subdivision was established in 1854 under the district of Bakerganj. In 1873 it was separated from Bakergan ...

Administration

Upazila nirbahi officer

Upazila nirbahi officer (UNO, or upazila executive officer; bn, উপজেলা নির্বাহী কর্মকর্তা) is a non-elected administrator in an ''upazila''. UNOs are senior assistant secretary of Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) Cadre. They act as executive officer of the upazila under the elected posts.

Upazila parishad

Each upazila parishad (or council) has a ''chairman'', a ''vice-chairman'' and a ''woman vice-chairman''. All three are elected through direct popular election.

Union parishad Union council ( bn, ইউনিয়ন পরিষদ, translit=iūniyan pariṣad, translit-std=IAST), also known as union parishad, rural council, rural union and simply union, is the smallest rural administrative and local government unit ...

chairmen within the upazila are considered as the members of the ''porishod''. The post of a ''woman vice-chairman'' was created to ensure at least one-third woman representation in the all elected posts of the local government. On 22 January 2010 the first election in 18 years of upazila porishod was held.

Lists of upazilas

References

External links

Statoids

{{Articles on third-level administrative divisions of countries Subdivisions of Bangladesh Bangladesh geography-related lists Lists of subdivisions of Bangladesh Bangladesh 3