Divisions are the first-level administrative divisions in Bangladesh. As of 2024, 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 (sub-districts), then union councils.
History Following the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the country had four divisions: Chittagong Division, Dacca Division, Khulna Division, and Rajshahi Division. In 1982, the English spelling of the Dacca Division (along with the name of the capital city) was changed into Dhaka Division to more closely match the Bengali pronunciation.
In 1993, Barisal Division was split off from Khulna Division, and in 1995, Sylhet Division was split off from Chittagong Division. On 25 January 2010, Rangpur Division was split off from Rajshahi Division. On 14 September 2015, Mymensingh Division was split off from Dhaka Division and added as the eighth division. In 2015, the process started to create two more divisions: Comilla Division and Faridpur Division. In October 2021, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced the formation of two new divisions, Meghna and Padma, named after the eponymous rivers, in the places of Comilla and Faridpur Divisions. However, these names were later rejected.
The Divisional Commissioner Divisional Commissioner is the administrative head of a division. Divisional Commissioner is appointed by the government from an Additional Secretary level officer of the Bangladesh Civil Service (B.C.S.) Administration Cadre. The role of a Divisional Commissioner's office is to act as the supervisory head of all the government offices (except the central government offices) situated in the division. A Divisional Commissioner is given the direct responsibility of supervising the revenue and development administration of a division. The Divisional Commissioner is assisted by several Additional Divisional Commissioners, Senior Assistant Commissioners and other bureaucratic officials.
List of divisions The following table outlines some key statistics about the eight divisions of Bangladesh as found in the 2011 Population and Housing Census conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (B.B.S.).
DivisionMap ISO codes Capital Est. Subdivisions Area (km2) Population (2022) Density (people/km2) (2022)Districts Upazilas Union CouncilsBarisal Division BD-A Barisal 1993 6 Districts: Barguna, Barishal, Bhola, Jhalokathi, Patuakhali, Pirojpur 42 352 13,225.20 9,100,102 688Chittagong Division BD-B Chittagong 1829 11 Districts: Bandarban, Brahmanbaria, Chandpur, Chittagong, Comilla, Cox's Bazar, Feni, Khagrachhari, Lakshmipur, Noakhali, Rangamati 104 949 33,908.55 33,202,326 979Dhaka Division BD-C Dhaka 1829 13 Districts: Dhaka, Faridpur, Gazipur, Gopalganj, Kishoreganj, Madaripur, Manikganj, Munshiganj, Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Rajbari, Shariatpur, Tangail 90 885 20,593.74 44,215,107 2,147Khulna Division BD-D Khulna 1960 10 Districts: Bagerhat, Chuadanga, Jashore, Jhenaidah, Khulna, Kushtia, Magura, Meherpur, Narail, Satkhira 59 571 22,284.22 17,416,645 782Mymensingh Division BD-H Mymensingh 2015 4 Districts: Jamalpur, Mymensingh, Netrokona, Sherpur 35 351 10,584.06 12,225,498 1,155Rajshahi Division BD-E Rajshahi 1829 8 Districts: Bogura, Joypurhat, Naogaon, Natore, Chapai Nawabganj, Pabna, Rajshahi, Sirajganj 67 565 18,153.08 20,353,119 1,121Rangpur Division BD-F Rangpur 2010 8 Districts: Dinajpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Panchagarh, Rangpur, Thakurgaon 58 535 16,184.99 17,610,956 1,088Sylhet Division BD-G Sylhet 1996 4 Districts: Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Sunamganj, Sylhet 40 338 12,635.22 11,034,863 873Bangladesh BD Dhaka 1971 64 495 4,546 147,569 165,158,616 1,119
Proposed divisions
Two more divisions have been proposed to ease down administrative work load due to increase in population: Their formation was confirmed in October 2021 by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Comilla Division – proposed to consist of the six northern districts of the current Chittagong Division: Brahmanbaria, Chandpur, Comilla, Feni, Laxmipur, and Noakhali.
Faridpur Division – proposed to consist of Faridpur, Gopalganj, Madaripur, Rajbari, and Shariatpur districts.
Following the ousting of Sheikh Hasina, on 17 December 2024, the Public Administration Reform Commission of the Interim government of Bangladesh recommended the creation of the Comilla division and Faridpur division, and the integration of Tangail and Kishoreganj district into Mymensingh Division.
According to the commission the proposed divisions are as follows: DivisionCurrent Districts (in 2025)Proposed DistrictsChangesBarisal6 Districts: Barguna, Barishal, Bhola, Jhalokathi, Patuakhali, Pirojpur6 Districts: Barguna, Barishal, Bhola, Jhalokathi, Patuakhali, PirojpurChattogram11 Districts: Bandarban, Brahmanbaria, Chandpur, Chittagong, Comilla, Cox's Bazar, Feni, Khagrachhari, Lakshmipur, Noakhali, Rangamati5 Districts: Bandarban, Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Khagrachhari, Rangamati6 districts removed and moved to new Comilla Division: Brahmanbaria, Chandpur, Comilla, Feni, Lakshmipur, NoakhaliDhaka13 Districts: Dhaka, Faridpur, Gazipur, Gopalganj, Kishoreganj, Madaripur, Manikganj, Munshiganj, Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Rajbari, Shariatpur, Tangail6 Districts: Dhaka, Gazipur, Manikganj, Munshiganj, Narayanganj, Narsingdi5 districts removed and moved to new Faridpur Division: Faridpur, Gopalganj, Madaripur, Shariatpur, Rajbari 2 districts removed and moved to Mymensingh Division: Kishoreganj, TangailKhulna10 Districts: Bagerhat, Chuadanga, Jashore, Jhenaidah, Khulna, Kushtia, Magura, Meherpur, Narail, Satkhira10 Districts: Bagerhat, Chuadanga, Jashore, Jhenaidah, Khulna, Kushtia, Magura, Meherpur, Narail, SatkhiraMymensingh4 Districts: Jamalpur, Mymensingh, Netrokona, Sherpur6 Districts: Jamalpur, Kishoreganj, Mymensingh, Netrokona, Sherpur, Tangail2 districts added from Dhaka Division: Kishoreganj, TangailRajshahi8 Districts: Bogura, Joypurhat, Naogaon, Natore, Chapai Nawabganj, Pabna, Rajshahi, Sirajganj8 Districts: Bogura, Joypurhat, Naogaon, Natore, Chapai Nawabganj, Pabna, Rajshahi, SirajganjRangpur8 Districts: Dinajpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Panchagarh, Rangpur, Thakurgaon8 Districts: Dinajpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Panchagarh, Rangpur, ThakurgaonSylhet4 Districts: Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Sunamganj, Sylhet4 Districts: Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Sunamganj, SylhetFaridpurNew proposed division5 Districts: Faridpur, Gopalganj, Madaripur, Shariatpur, Rajbari5 districts separated from Dhaka DivisionComillaNew proposed division6 Districts: Brahmanbaria, Chandpur, Comilla, Feni, Lakshmipur, Noakhali6 districts separated from Chattogram Division
Evolution of Bangladesh administrative divisions Administrative geography East Pakistan inherited 17 districts from British Bengal.
In 1960, Lower Tippera was renamed Comilla.
In 1969, two new districts were created with Tangail separated from Mymensingh and Patuakhali from Bakerganj.
East Pakistan's districts are listed in the following.
Division East Pakistani District Current Bangladeshi Districts Dacca Division Dacca District Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Manikganj, Munshiganj, Narsingdi Faridpur District Faridpur, Gopalganj, Rajbari, Shariatpur, Madaripur Mymensingh District Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Kishoreganj, Netrokona, Sherpur Tangail District Tangail Chittagong Division Hill Tracts District Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Bandarban Chittagong District Chittagong, Cox's Bazar Comilla (Lower Tippera) District Comilla, Chandpur, Brahmanbaria Noakhali District Noakhali, Feni, Lakshmipur Sylhet District Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Sunamganj Rajshahi Division Bogra District Bogra, Joypurhat Dinajpur District Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh Rajshahi District Rajshahi, Nawabganj, Natore, Naogaon Rangpur District Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Nilphamari, Gaibandha Pabna District Pabna, Sirajganj Khulna Division Bakerganj District Barisal, Jhalokati, Pirojpur, Bhola Jessore District Jessore, Jhenaidah, Narail, Magura Khulna District Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat Kushtia District Kushtia, Meherpur, Chuadanga Patuakhali District Patuakhali, Barguna
See also
Tourism in Bangladesh List of archaeological sites in Bangladesh List of World Heritage Sites in Bangladesh Culture of Bangladesh ISO 3166 codes List of regions of Bangladesh by Human Development Index Districts of Bangladesh Upazilas of Bangladesh Union councils of Bangladesh List of cities and towns in Bangladesh Villages of Bangladesh
References