The

divisions Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

are further divided into districts or (). 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

upazila An ''upazila'' ( pronounced: ), formerly called ''thana'', is an administrative division in Bangladesh, functioning as a sub-unit of a district. It can be seen as an analogous to a county or a borough of Western countries. Rural upazilas ...

History

Before independence, Bangladesh (then known as East Pakistan) had 19 districts.

English spelling change

In April 2018, the government changed the English spelling of five districts to avoid inconsistencies in the Bengali and English spellings and to make them consistent with the Bengali pronunciation. The spellings have been changed from Bogra to Bogura, Barisal to Barishal, Jessore to Jashore, Chittagong to Chattogram and Comilla to Cumilla.

Administration

Deputy commissioner

A Deputy Commissioner (DC), popularly abbreviated to 'DC,' serves as the executive head of the district. Individuals appointed to the role are selected by the government from the Deputy Secretary BCS Administration Cadre.

District councils

A district council (or ''zila parishad'') is a local government body at the district level. The Bengali word ''parishad'' means council and ''zila parishad'' translates to ''district council''. The functions of a district council include the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges. They are also responsible for building hospitals, dispensaries, schools, and other educational institutions. In addition, district councils oversee health facilities and sanitation projects, as well as the installation of tube wells for drinking water. They also manage rest houses and coordinate activities among the Union Parishads within the district.

Timeline of creation

; 1666 * Chittagong district ; 1769 * Rangpur District ; 1772 * Sylhet District * Dhaka District * Rajshahi District ; 1781 * Jessore District ; 1786 * Dinajpur District ; 1787 * Mymensingh District ; 1790 * Comilla District ; 1797 * Bakerganj District (now Barisal District) ; 1815 * Faridpur District ; 1821 *

Noakhali District Noakhali District (), historically known as Bhulua (), is a Districts of Bangladesh, district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in Chattogram Division. It was established as a district in 1821, and officially named Noakhali in 1868. The distr ...

* Bogra district ; 1832 *

Pabna District Pabna District () is a district in west central Bangladesh. It is a geographically and economically important district. Its administrative capital is the eponymous Pabna town. The main five rivers of this district are: Padma, Jamuna, Baral, Atra ...

; 1860 * Hill Tracts district is split from Chittagong district ; 1882 * Khulna District is split from Jessore district ; 1947 * Kushtia District is established ; 1969 * Tangail District is split from Mymensingh district *

Patuakhali district Patuakhali District (; ) is a district in south-central Bangladesh in Barisal Division. This district is the main entrance for the beach of Kuakata. History The early history of Patuakhali is little known. In medieval times, the northern part ...

is split from

Barisal district Barisal District, officially Barishal District () is a district in south-central Bangladesh, it was formerly called Bakerganj district, and established in 1797. Its headquarters is in Barisal city, which is also the headquarters of Barisal ...

; 1971 * Dhaka Division: Dhaka district, Faridpur district, Mymensingh district, Tangail district * Chittagong Division: Hill Tracts district, Chittagong district, Comilla district, Noakhali district, Sylhet district * Rajshahi Division: Bogra district, Dinajpur district, Rajshahi district, Rangpur district, Pabna district * Khulna Division: Barisal district, Jessore district, Khulna district, Kushtia district, Patuakhali district ; 1984 * Magura district was split from Jessore district * Brahmanbaria and Chandpur districts were split from Comilla district * Sirajganj district was split from Pabna district *

Sherpur district Sherpur District () is a district in northern Bangladesh. It is a part of Mymensingh Division. Sherpur District was a sub-division of Jamalpur District before 1984. It was upgraded to a district on February 22, 1984 under Hussain Muhammad Ershad's ...

was split from Jamalpur District * Netrokona and Kishoreganj districts were split from Mymensingh district * Lakshmipur and Feni districts were split from Noakhali district * Sunamganj, Habiganj and Maulvibazar districts were split from Sylhet district * Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts were split from Dinajpur district * Jhenaidah and Narail split from Jessore district. * Cox's Bazar district was split from Chittagong district * Satkhira and Bagerhat districts were split from Khulna District * Meherpur and Chuadanga districts were split from Kustia District * Prirojpur and Jhalokati District were spilt from Barisal district *

Bhola Bhola may refer to: *Bhola District, Barisal Division, Bangladesh **Bhola Sadar Upazila, sub-division of the district **Bhola Island, largest island of Bangladesh covering the district **Bhola (town), on the island *''Bholaa'', 2023 Indian action f ...

and Barguna District were spilt from Patuakhali district * Joypurhat district was split from Bogra District

List of districts

References

{{Bangladesh topics Subdivisions of Bangladesh Districts Bangladesh 2 Districts, Bangladesh