Administrative geography of Bangladesh

Subdivisions of Bangladesh
বাংলাদেশের প্রশাসনিক অঞ্চল
Location Bangladesh
Subdivisions

[1]

Type Number
Division 8
District 64
Subdistrict 490
City Corporation 11
Municipal Corporation 323
Union Parishads ~4,553
Bangladesh
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Bangladesh

Bangladesh is divided into 8 Divisions (Bibhag) and 64 Districts (Jela, Zila, Zela), although these have only a limited role in public policy. For the purposes of local government, the country is divided into Upazila, Municipalities, City Corporations and Union Council. The diagram below outlines the five tiers of government in Bangladesh.

Central government
8 Division
64 District
490 Subdistrict
4,553 Union Council
(Rural area)		323 Municipalities
(Suburb)		11 City Corporations
(Metropolis)
VillagesWards

Divisions

Divisions of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is divided into eight major administrative divisions (Bengali: বিভাগ Bibhag). Each division is named after the major city within its jurisdiction that serves as the administrative capital of that division:

Proposed divisions

Districts

Districts of Bangladesh

The divisions are divided into 64[2] districts, or zila (Bengali: জেলা jela). Each district is run by a Deputy Commissioner (popularly abbreviated to "DC") who is appointed by the government from a Deputy secretary of BCS Administration Cadre.

Subdistricts

Subdistricts of Bangladesh, divided by white lines

The districts are divided into subdistricts called Upazila (Bengali: উপজেলা upojela). Upazilas are similar to the county subdivisions found in some Western countries. Bangladesh has 491 upazilas (as of 9 January 2017).[3][4] The upazilas are the second lowest tier of regional administration in Bangladesh. The administrative structure consists in fact in Divisions (8), Districts (64) and Upazila (491).

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.[5] All administrative terms in this level were renamed from thana to upazila. For instance, Thana Nirbahi Officer (lit.Thana Executive Officer) was renamed to 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.

The Upzila is administered by Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) and Upazila Parishad. UNOs are Senior Assistant Secretary of Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS). Each Upazila Parishad (or council) has a chairman, a vice-chairman and a woman vice-chairman. All three are elected through direct popular election.

The Sub-districts are further subdivided into 4,554 Rural Councils and 323 Town Councils or Paurasabha or Municipality.

Rural Blocks, Cities and Towns

City Corporations

The cities with a city corporation, having mayoral elections, include Dhaka South, Dhaka North, Chittagong, Khulna, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Barisal, Rangpur, Comilla,Narayanganj and Gazipur. The city corporation are divided into wards, which are further divided into mahallas. Direct elections are held for each ward, electing a councillor. The city mayors are elected for a span of five years.

Municipal Corporations

In the metropolitan areas, excluding the cities with city corporations, have municipal corporations, also known as Paurasabha. Paurasabhas are divided into wards, which are further divided into Mauzas and Mahallas. Direct elections are held for each ward, electing a chairperson and a number of members. The municipal heads are elected for a span of five years.

Union Councils

Union Councils (or Union Parishads or Unions) are the smallest rural administrative and local government units in Bangladesh.[6] Each Union is made up of nine Wards. Usually one village is designated as a Ward. There are 4,553 Unions in Bangladesh.[1] A Union Council consists of a chairman and twelve members including three members exclusively reserved for women. Union Parishads are formed under the Local Government (Union Parishads) Act, 2009.[7] The boundary of each Union is demarcated by the Deputy Commissioner of the District. A Union Council is the body primarily responsible for agricultural, industrial and community development within the local limits of the union.

Lowest level elective units

Rural villages

City and municipal wards

Non–elective ceremonial units

Mahallas

Mouzas

Historical subdivisions

See also

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.bangladesh.gov.bd/?q=en
  2. ↑ http://www.bangladesh.gov.bd/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=225&Itemid=272
  3. ↑ "upazila List". Bangladesh National Portal.
  4. ↑ "New upazila to be formed in Comilla". NTV. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  5. ↑ AMM Shawkat Ali (2012). "Thana". In Sirajul Islam and Ahmed A. Jamal. Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  6. ↑ Khan, Dr. Mohammad Mohabbat. "Functioning of Local Government (Union Parishad): Legal and Practical Constraints" (PDF). Democracywatch. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  7. ↑ "Local Government (Union Parishads) Act, 2009 (in Bangla).". Bangladesh Code. Ministry of Law, Government of Bangladesh.
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