# Districts of Bangladesh

The divisions of Bangladesh are further divided into districts or zilas (Bengali: জেলা). The headquarters of a district is called the district seat (Bengali: জেলা সদর, romanized: zila sadar). There are 64 districts in Bangladesh. The districts are further subdivided into 495 subdistricts or 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.
* Bogra district.

### 1832

* Pabna District.

### 1860

* Hill Tracts district is split from Chittagong district.

### 1882

* Khulna District is split from Jessore district.

### 1947

* Kushtia District is established Because of the Partition of Bengal in 1947 before that it is a part of Nadia District.

### 1969

* Tangail District is split from Mymensingh district.
* Patuakhali district is split from Barisal district.

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

## List of districts

| Division | District | Established | Area (km$^2$) | Population (2022) | Density (/km$^2$) | No. of Upazila |
| Barisal | Barguna | 1984 | 1,831 | 1,010,530 | 552 | 6 |
| Barisal | Barishal | 1797 | 2,785 | 2,570,450 | 923 | 10 |
| Barisal | Bhola | 1984 | 3,403 | 1,932,514 | 568 | 7 |
| Barisal | Jhalokati | 1984 | 707 | 661,161 | 935 | 4 |
| Barisal | Patuakhali | 1969 | 3,221 | 1,727,254 | 536 | 8 |
| Barisal | Pirojpur | 1984 | 1,278 | 1,198,193 | 938 | 7 |
| Chittagong | Bandarban | 1981 | 4,479 | 481,109 | 107 | 7 |
| Chittagong | Brahmanbaria | 1984 | 1,881 | 3,306,559 | 1,758 | 9 |
| Chittagong | Chandpur | 1984 | 1,645 | 2,635,748 | 1,602 | 8 |
| Chittagong | Chittagong | 1666 | 5,283 | 9,169,464 | 1,736 | 15 |
| Chittagong | Comilla | 1790 | 3,146 | 6,212,216 | 1,974 | 17 |
| Chittagong | Cox's Bazar | 1984 | 2,492 | 2,823,265 | 1,133 | 9 |
| Chittagong | Feni | 1984 | 990 | 1,648,896 | 1,665 | 6 |
| Chittagong | Khagrachhari | 1983 | 2,749 | 714,119 | 260 | 9 |
| Chittagong | Lakshmipur | 1984 | 1,440 | 1,938,111 | 1,346 | 5 |
| Chittagong | Noakhali | 1821 | 3,686 | 3,625,252 | 984 | 9 |
| Chittagong | Rangamati | 1860 | 6,116 | 647,587 | 106 | 10 |
| Dhaka | Dhaka | 1772 | 1,464 | 14,734,025 | 10,067 | 5 |
| Dhaka | Faridpur | 1815 | 2,053 | 2,162,876 | 1,054 | 9 |
| Dhaka | Gazipur | 1984 | 1,806 | 5,263,474 | 2,914 | 5 |
| Dhaka | Gopalganj | 1984 | 1,469 | 1,295,053 | 882 | 5 |
| Dhaka | Kishoreganj | 1984 | 2,689 | 3,267,630 | 1,215 | 13 |
| Dhaka | Madaripur | 1984 | 1,125 | 1,293,027 | 1,149 | 5 |
| Dhaka | Manikganj | 1984 | 1,384 | 1,558,024 | 1,126 | 7 |
| Dhaka | Munshiganj | 1984 | 1,004 | 1,625,418 | 1,618 | 6 |
| Dhaka | Narayanganj | 1984 | 684 | 3,909,138 | 5,712 | 5 |
| Dhaka | Narsingdi | 1984 | 1,150 | 2,584,452 | 2,247 | 6 |
| Dhaka | Rajbari | 1984 | 1,092 | 1,189,821 | 1,089 | 5 |
| Dhaka | Shariatpur | 1984 | 1,174 | 1,294,561 | 1,103 | 6 |
| Dhaka | Tangail | 1969 | 3,414 | 4,037,608 | 1,183 | 12 |
| Khulna | Bagerhat | 1984 | 3,959 | 1,613,079 | 407 | 9 |
| Khulna | Chuadanga | 1984 | 1,174 | 1,234,066 | 1,051 | 4 |
| Khulna | Jashore | 1781 | 2,607 | 3,076,849 | 1,181 | 8 |
| Khulna | Jhenaidah | 1984 | 1,965 | 1,771,304 | 902 | 6 |
| Khulna | Khulna | 1882 | 4,394 | 2,613,385 | 595 | 9 |
| Khulna | Kushtia | 1947 | 1,609 | 2,149,692 | 1,336 | 6 |
| Khulna | Magura | 1984 | 1,039 | 1,033,115 | 994 | 4 |
| Khulna | Meherpur | 1984 | 742 | 705,356 | 951 | 3 |
| Khulna | Narail | 1984 | 968 | 788,673 | 815 | 3 |
| Khulna | Satkhira | 1984 | 3,817 | 2,196,581 | 574 | 7 |
| Mymensingh | Jamalpur | 1978 | 2,115 | 2,499,737 | 1,182 | 7 |
| Mymensingh | Mymensingh | 1787 | 4,395 | 5,899,052 | 1,342 | 13 |
| Mymensingh | Netrokona | 1984 | 2,794 | 2,324,856 | 832 | 10 |
| Mymensingh | Sherpur | 1984 | 1,365 | 1,501,853 | 1,101 | 5 |
| Rajshahi | Bogura | 1821 | 2,899 | 3,734,300 | 1,288 | 12 |
| Rajshahi | Joypurhat | 1983 | 1,012 | 956,430 | 945 | 5 |
| Rajshahi | Naogaon | 1984 | 3,436 | 2,784,598 | 811 | 11 |
| Rajshahi | Natore | 1984 | 1,900 | 1,859,921 | 979 | 7 |
| Rajshahi | Chapai Nawabganj | 1984 | 1,703 | 1,835,527 | 1,078 | 5 |
| Rajshahi | Pabna | 1832 | 2,376 | 2,909,622 | 1,225 | 9 |
| Rajshahi | Rajshahi | 1772 | 2,425 | 2,915,013 | 1,202 | 9 |
| Rajshahi | Sirajganj | 1984 | 2,402 | 3,357,708 | 1,398 | 9 |
| Rangpur | Dinajpur | 1786 | 3,444 | 3,315,238 | 963 | 13 |
| Rangpur | Gaibandha | 1984 | 2,115 | 2,562,232 | 1,212 | 7 |
| Rangpur | Kurigram | 1984 | 2,245 | 2,329,161 | 1,037 | 9 |
| Rangpur | Lalmonirhat | 1984 | 1,247 | 1,428,406 | 1,145 | 5 |
| Rangpur | Nilphamari | 1984 | 1,547 | 2,092,567 | 1,353 | 6 |
| Rangpur | Panchagarh | 1984 | 1,405 | 1,179,843 | 840 | 5 |
| Rangpur | Rangpur | 1772 | 2,401 | 3,169,615 | 1,320 | 8 |
| Rangpur | Thakurgaon | 1984 | 1,781 | 1,533,894 | 861 | 5 |
| Sylhet | Habiganj | 1984 | 2,637 | 2,358,886 | 895 | 9 |
| Sylhet | Moulvibazar | 1984 | 2,799 | 2,123,445 | 759 | 7 |
| Sylhet | Sunamganj | 1984 | 3,747 | 2,695,495 | 719 | 12 |
| Sylhet | Sylhet | 1782 | 3,452 | 3,857,037 | 1,117 | 13 |
| Total | Total | Total | 147,556 | 164,924,071 | 82,892 | 495 |