Districts of Bangladesh

Chris Dent found the latest census results for me on the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics  website.

When ISO 3166-2 first came out in 1998, it listed five divisions, 21 regions, and 64 districts in Bangladesh, specifying which region each district belonged to and which division each region belonged to. The second update to the standard (Newsletter Number I-2) was published on 2002-05-21. It listed only the divisions (now six in number) and the districts. It also changed the spelling of Kishorganj to Kishoreganj. This seems to be correct, so I have made the same change in the table below.

When the FIPS standard first came out in 1970, Bangladesh was listed with no subdivisions. By 1984, it was shown divided into 20 regions. In 1991, the listing changed to show 64 districts - the same districts that are listed in ISO 3166-2. Most recently, Change Notice 1 to FIPS 10-4, dated 1998-12-01, shows nothing but the four divisions (which were already outdated).

At the date of its independence in 1971, Bangladesh was divided into four bibhag (divisions), which were subdivided into zila (districts), and then into thana or upazila (subdistricts). In about 1985, the status of the zila was changed to anchal (regions). The regions were subdivided into 64 new, smaller districts, each of which was formed of a set of thana. The regions and districts were listed in "Administrative Subdivisions of Countries". I have now acquired populations and areas for the 64 districts.

The regions seem to be diminishing in importance. Therefore, I am presenting the districts as the secondary subdivisions of Bangladesh.

DistrictHASCISOFIPSRegPopulationArea(km.²)
Bagerhat BD.KH.BH05BG224L1,515,8153,959
Bandarban BD.CG.BD01BG042A 292,9004,479
Barguna BD.BA.BG02BG251Q 837,9551,832
Barisal BD.BA.BS06BG011B2,330,9602,791
Bhola BD.BA.BL07BG231B1,676,6003,403
Bogra BD.RJ.BO03BG245C2,988,5672,920
Brahmanbaria BD.CG.BB04BG262F2,365,8801,927
Chandpur BD.CG.CP09BG272F2,210,1621,704
Chittagong BD.CG.CT10BG292D6,545,0785,283
Chuadanga BD.KH.CD12BG304M 987,3821,158
Comilla BD.CG.CM08BG052F4,586,8793,085
Cox's Bazar BD.CG.CB11BG312D1,757,3212,492
Dhaka BD.DA.DH13BG323G8,575,5331,464
Dinajpur BD.RJ.DJ14BG335H2,617,9423,438
Faridpur BD.DA.FR15BG343I1,719,4962,073
Feni BD.CG.FN16BG352O1,196,219928
Gaibandha BD.RJ.GB19BG365S2,117,9592,179
Gazipur BD.DA.GZ18BG373G2,026,2441,741
Gopalganj BD.DA.GG17BG383I1,132,0461,490
Habiganj BD.SY.HA20BG396T1,757,3312,637
Jaipurhat BD.RJ.JP24BG405C 844,814965
Jamalpur BD.DA.JM21BG413J2,089,3662,032
Jessore BD.KH.JS22BG424K2,440,6932,567
Jhalakati BD.BA.JK25BG431B 696,055758
Jhenaidah BD.KH.JN23BG444K1,554,5141,961
Khagrachari BD.CG.KG29BG452E 524,9612,700
Khulna BD.KH.KL27BG464L2,334,2854,395
Kishoreganj BD.DA.KS26BG473N2,525,2212,689
Kurigram BD.RJ.KR28BG485S1,782,2772,296
Kushtia BD.KH.KU30BG494M1,713,2241,621
Lakshmipur BD.CG.LK31BG502O1,479,3711,456
Lalmonirhat BD.RJ.LL32BG515S1,088,9181,242
Madaripur BD.DA.MD36BG523I1,137,0081,145
Magura BD.KH.MG37BG534K 811,1601,049
Manikganj BD.DA.MK33BG543G1,274,8291,379
Meherpur BD.KH.ME39BG554M 579,531716
Moulvibazar BD.SY.MB38BG566T1,604,0282,799
Munshiganj BD.DA.MU35BG573G1,293,536955
Mymensingh BD.DA.MM34BG123N4,439,0174,363
Naogaon BD.RJ.NA48BG585R2,377,3143,436
Narail BD.KH.NR43BG594K 689,021990
Narayanganj BD.DA.NY40BG603G2,138,492759
Narsingdi BD.DA.NS42BG613G1,891,2811,141
Natore BD.RJ.NT44BG625R1,521,3591,896
Nawabganj BD.RJ.NW45BG285R1,419,5361,702
Netrakona BD.DA.NK41BG633N1,937,7942,810
Nilphamari BD.RJ.NP46BG645S1,550,6861,641
Noakhali BD.CG.NO47BG132O2,533,3942,601
Pabna BD.RJ.PB49BG655P2,153,9212,371
Panchagarh BD.RJ.PN52BG665H 829,3741,405
Parbattya ChattagramBD.CG.PC56BG672E 507,1806,116
Patuakhali BD.BA.PT51BG151Q1,444,3403,205
Pirojpur BD.BA.PR50BG681B1,126,5251,308
Rajbari BD.DA.RB53BG693I 940,3601,119
Rajshahi BD.RJ.RS54BG705R2,262,4832,407
Rangpur BD.RJ.RP55BG715S2,534,3652,306
Satkhira BD.KH.ST58BG724L1,843,1943,858
Shariatpur BD.DA.SA62BG733I1,057,1811,181
Sherpur BD.DA.SP57BG743J1,246,5111,364
Sirajganj BD.RJ.SR59BG755P2,707,0112,498
Sunamganj BD.SY.SN61BG766T1,968,6693,670
Sylhet BD.SY.SL60BG776T2,569,7883,490
Tangail BD.DA.TA63BG783U3,253,9613,414
Thakurgaon BD.RJ.TH64BG795H1,196,4291,809
  • HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. The middle
    two letters identify the division. For key, see Divisions of
    Bangladesh     page.
  • ISO: Codes from ISO 3166-2. For full identification in a global
    context, prefix "BD-" to the code (ex: BD-57 represents Sherpur).
  • FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4.
  • Reg: ISO code for region to which the district belongs (for key to
    codes, see table below).
  • Population: 2001-01-23 census provisional data. Source:
    Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics .
  • Capitals: Capitals have the same name as their districts.

Postal codes:

Bangladesh uses a four-digit postal code. The first two digits are the same as the ISO code for the district.

Further subdivisions:

The regions of Bangladesh are listed in the following table. Khagrachari is included in Chittagong Hill Tracts, because that's the way the standards treated it. For a breakout of those two regions, simply use the district figures for Khagrachari and Parbattya Chattagram, respectively.

RegionISOFIPSPopulationArea(km.²)
Bandarban2ABG04271,0004,501
Barisal1BBG016,135,0007,299
Bogra5CBG023,981,0003,888
Chittagong2DBG037,860,0007,457
Chittagong Hill Tracts2EBG21857,0008,679
Comilla2FBG059,537,0006,599
Dhaka3GBG0615,704,0007,470
Dinajpur5HBG074,553,0006,566
Faridpur3IBG086,126,0006,882
Jamalpur3J 3,442,0003,349
Jessore4KBG095,521,0006,573
Khulna4LBG105,799,00012,168
Kushtia4MBG113,201,0003,440
Mymensingh3NBG129,070,0009,668
Noakhali2OBG135,369,0005,460
Pabna5PBG144,803,0004,732
Patuakhali1QBG152,308,0004,095
Rajshahi5RBG167,606,0009,456
Rangpur5SBG179,182,0009,593
Sylhet2TBG187,819,00012,718
Tangail3UBG193,425,0003,403
  • ISO: Codes from ISO 3166-2 (obsolete).
  • FIPS: When FIPS PUB 10-3 came out, Jamalpur was part
    of Mymensingh.
  • Population: 1998 provisional data. Source: Bangladesh
    National Data Bank     . The figures given here contain
    cumulative rounding errors and may be off by 1,000 or more.
  • Capitals: All capitals have the same name as their region,
    except that Rangamati is the capital of Chittagong Hill Tracts.

 

The first version of ISO 3166-2 had region codes as shown above. Every region code except Sylhet's started with the digit representing the division to which the region belonged. Sylhet's code should have been 6T to conform with the pattern. ISO never changed it, but in 2002 the list of regions and their codes was dropped from the standard entirely.

Change history:

  1. ~1946: Patuakhali district split from Bakerganj (now Barisal). Tangail district split from Mymensingh.
  2. ~1959: Bandarban district split from Chittagong Hill Tracts.
  3. ~1959: Jamalpur district split from Mymensingh. Jamalpur consisted of the western part of the former district of Nasirabad, not including the city of Mymensingh itself.
  4. ~1972: Nasirabad and Quaidabad districts merged to form Mymensingh.
  5. 1981: Khagrachhari district split from Chittagong Hill Tracts.
  6. 1983: Name of Dacca district changed to Dhaka.
  7. ~1985: Status of districts changed to regions.

Other names of subdivisions:

  1. Bandarban: Bandarbon (variant)
  2. Barguna: Borgona (variant)
  3. Barisal: Bakerganj (obsolete)
  4. Chittagong: Chattagram (Bengali); Chitagongue (Portuguese-variant)
  5. Chuadanga: Chaudanga, Choua Danga (variant)
  6. Cox's Bazar: Cox Bazar (variant)
  7. Dhaka: Daca (Portuguese); Dacca (obsolete)
  8. Gaibandha: Gaibanda (variant)
  9. Gopalganj: Gopalgonj (variant)
  10. Habiganj: Hobiganj, Hobigonj (variant)
  11. Jaipurhat: Joypurhat (variant)
  12. Jhalakati: Jhalakhati, Jhalkathi (variant)
  13. Jhenaidah: Jhinaidah, Jhinaidha (variant)
  14. Khagrachari: Khagrachhari, Ramgarh (variant)
  15. Kishorganj: Kishoreganj, Kishorgonj (variant)
  16. Kushtia: Kustia (variant)
  17. Lakshmipur: Laksmipur, Laxmipur (variant)
  18. Manikganj: Manikgonj (variant)
  19. Meherpur: Maherpur (variant)
  20. Moulvibazar: Maulvi Bazar, Moulabi Bazar, Moulavi Bazar, Moulovibazar (variant)
  21. Munshiganj: Munshigonj (variant)
  22. Mymensingh: Nasirabad (obsolete)
  23. Naogaon: Noagaon (variant)
  24. Narail: Narial (variant)
  25. Narayanganj: Naray Angonj (variant)
  26. Narsingdi: Narshingdi (variant)
  27. Natore: Nador (Portuguese-variant); Nator (variant)
  28. Nawabganj: Chapai Nababgonj, Chapai Nawabganj, Chapai Nowab Ganj (variant)
  29. Netrakona: Netrokona (variant)
  30. Pabna: Pabhna (variant)
  31. Panchagarh: Panchagar, Panchagor, Panchgarh (variant)
  32. Parbattya Chattagram: Chittagong Hill Tracts (English); Rangamati (variant)
  33. Rangpur: Rongpur (variant)
  34. Satkhira: Shatkhira (variant)
  35. Shariatpur: Sariatpur, Shariyatpur (variant)
  36. Sirajganj: Sirajgonj (variant)
  37. Sunamganj: Sun Amgonj (variant)

Population history:

Region 1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951-03-01 1961-02-01 1974-03-01 1981-03-06 1991-03-11 2001-01-23
Bandarban               116,000 171,000 231,000 292,900
Barisal 2,484,878 2,612,806 2,843,914 3,194,455 3,810,974 2,635,797 3,068,121 3,928,000 4,667,000 5,413,000 5,830,140
Bogra 884,079 1,016,782 1,082,750 1,121,954 1,260,463 1,278,185 1,574,105 2,231,000 2,728,000 3,434,000 3,833,381
Chittagong 1,468,377 1,628,085 1,740,306 1,936,389 2,331,481 2,511,785 2,982,931 4,315,000 5,491,000 6,715,000 8,302,399
Comilla 2,138,664 2,454,744 2,695,702 3,056,300 3,860,139 3,792,200 4,388,906 5,819,000 6,881,000 8,207,000 9,162,921
Dhaka 2,617,340 2,929,389 3,171,524 3,449,293 4,223,532 4,072,781 5,095,745 7,612,00010,014,000 13,232,000 17,199,915
Dinajpur 1,125,597 1,167,706 1,219,613 1,234,224 1,335,588 1,354,432 1,709,917 2,571,000 3,200,000 3,983,000 4,643,745
Faridpur 1,809,542 1,956,444 2,058,783 2,192,015 2,682,701 2,774,345 3,178,945 4,060,000 4,764,000 5,424,000 5,986,091
Jamalpur               2,059,000 2,452,000 3,013,000 3,335,877
Jessore 1,618,630 1,568,790 1,557,463 1,522,868 1,662,646 1,638,387 2,190,151 3,327,000 4,020,000 4,848,000 5,495,388
Khagrachari                  343,000 524,961
Khulna 1,267,720 1,379,818 1,471,860 1,629,430 1,944,418 2,075,506 2,448,720 3,557,000 4,329,000 5,039,000 5,693,294
Kushtia 885,079 841,860 782,992 807,725 919,543 884,157 1,166,262 1,884,000 2,292,000 2,801,000 3,280,137
Mymensingh 3,922,247 4,530,881 4,842,467 5,135,264 6,029,533 4,557,939 5,532,318 5,508,000 6,568,000 7,994,000 8,902,032
Noakhali 1,027,785 1,183,789 1,347,902 1,567,368 2,039,217 2,071,144 2,383,145 3,234,000 3,816,000 4,626,000 5,208,984
Pabna 1,417,839 1,425,124 1,385,321 1,437,998 1,696,149 1,584,303 1,959,060 2,815,000 3,424,000 4,184,000 4,860,932
Patuakhali           1,006,388 1,193,648 1,499,000 1,843,000 2,050,000 2,282,295
Rajshahi 1,902,317 2,000,161 2,027,591 1,993,280 2,198,081 2,205,057 2,810,964 4,288,000 5,270,000 6,594,000 7,580,692
Rangamati 124,762 153,830 173,243 212,922 247,053 287,274 385,079 392,000 580,000 401,000 507,180
Rangpur 2,202,018 2,434,009 2,554,945 2,646,285 2,923,879 2,916,476 3,796,043 5,447,000 6,510,000 8,015,000 9,074,205
Sylhet 2,030,912 2,240,838 2,297,720 2,466,410 2,831,900 3,059,367 3,489,589 4,759,000 5,656,000 6,765,000 7,899,816
Tangail           1,226,806 1,486,588 2,078,000 2,444,000 3,003,000 3,253,961
Totals 28,927,78631,555,05633,254,09635,604,17041,997,29741,932,32950,840,32571,479,00087,120,000106,315,000123,151,246
  • Column headings are census dates, except 1998, which has provisional population data for 1998. Where cells are empty, the change
    history (above) should explain why. Before 1974, data for Nasirabad and Quaidabad are combined and listed under Mymensingh.
  • Sources: Data for 1901-1961 are from Statistical Abstract of Bangladesh, SOCOM Research Bureau, Society & Commerce Publications
    Private Ltd., Calcutta, March, 1975. I'm not sure that the same regions existed throughout the period 1901-1941; those populations might
    have been calculated by agglomerating the populations of smaller units, to cover the same areas as the regions. Data for 1974-2001 are
    from the Preliminary Report  on the 2001 census from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
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