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| Location | Bangladesh | ||||||||||||||
| Subdivisions |
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Bangladesh is divided into 8divisions (bibhag) and 64districts (jela,zila,zela), although these have only a limited role in public policy. For the purposes oflocal governance, the country is divided intoupazilas (sub-districts),"municipalities" or town councils (pourashova),city corporations (i.e. metropolitanmunicipal corporations) andunion councils (i.e. rural councils).
The diagram below outlines the five tiers of government in Bangladesh.
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| 8Divisions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 64Districts ("zila") | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 495Sub-districts ("upazila") | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4,571Union councils (Rural area) | 330Municipalities (Towns) | 13City corporations (Metropolis) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Villages | Municipal wards | City wards | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Traditionally, Bangladesh has been divided into four regions by the fertileGanges-Brahmaputra delta;[2] formed by the confluence of the Ganges (local namePadma orPôdda),Brahmaputra (Jamuna orJomuna), andMeghna rivers and their various tributaries. These four regions are:
Bangladesh is divided into eight major administrative divisions. Each division is named after the major city within its jurisdiction that serves as the administrative capital of that division:
Proposed divisions
Thedivisions are divided into 64 districts.[11] Each district is run by aDeputy commissioner (popularly abbreviated to "DC") who is appointed by the government from aDeputy secretary ofBangladesh Civil Service's administrative cadre.
Thedistricts are divided into sub-districts called upazilas. Upazilas are similar to the county subdivisions found in some Western countries.[citation needed] Bangladesh has 495 upazilas (as of 31 August 2021).[12][13][14] The upazilas are the second lowest tier of regional administration in Bangladesh. Like India, City corporations do not fit neatly into upazilas, despite some deemed as "sadar", indicating urban characteristics.
Upazilas were formerly known asthana 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 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.[15] Administrative terms in this level were renamed fromthana toupazila. For instance,Thana Nirbahi Officer (lit. Thana Executive Officer) was renamed toupazila Nirbahi Officer (lit. Upazila Executive Officer). The wordthana is now used to solely refer topolice stations. Generally, there is one police station for each upazila; but larger administrative units may have more than one police station covering different regions and urban thanas may retain administrative value.[16]
The upazila is administered byUpazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) and upazila parishad. UNOs are SeniorAssistant Secretary ofBangladesh Civil Service (BCS). Each upazila parishad (or council) has achairman, avice-chairman and awoman vice-chairman. All three are elected through direct popular election.
The sub-districts are further subdivided into 4,571 rural councils and 330 municipalities.
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The cities with a city corporation, having mayoral elections, include Dhaka South, Dhaka North, Chittagong, Khulna, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Barisal, Rangpur, Comilla, Narayanganj, Mymensingh, Gazipur and Bagura. 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.
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 (or union parishads or unions) are the smallest rural administrative and local government units inBangladesh.[17] Each union is made up of nine wards. Usually one village is designated as a Ward. There are 4,578 unions in Bangladesh.[18] A Union Council consists of a chairman and twelve members including three members exclusively reserved for women. Union Parishads are formed under theLocal Government (Union Parishads) Act, 2009.[19] 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.
Mahalla is an administrative unit in Bangladesh, an upazila/thana consists of unions, municipalities, wards, villages and mahallas and mouzas.
Mouza is an administrative unit in Bangladesh, an upazila/thana consists of unions, municipalities, wards, villages and mahallas and mouzas.
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| Lowest level units | ||
