Chittagong Division

Chittagong Division (Bengali: চট্টগ্রাম বিভাগ), officially Chattogram Division, is geographically the largest of the eight administrative Divisions of Bangladesh. It covers the southeasternmost areas of the country, with a total area of 34,529.97 km² (13,332.10 sq mi) and a population according to the 2022 census of 33,202,326, which made it the second most populous division of Bangladesh and the 45th most populous subnational entity in the world — more populous than all but 43 other countries. However, this changed in 2024 with the Division being split in two by the creation of a separate Cumilla Division, and the reduced administrative division includes mainland Chittagong District, neighbouring districts and the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Chittagong Division চট্টগ্রাম বিভাগ
Division of Bangladesh
Chittagong Port Sajek Valley Kaptai Lake Boga Lake Bandarban St. Martin's Island Himchari National Park Teknaf Beach
Chittagong Division in Bangladesh Districts of Chittagong Division
Coordinates: 22°55′N 91°30′E
Country	Bangladesh
Established	1829
Capital and largest city	Chittagong
Government
• Divisional Commissioner	Muhammad Ziauddin
• Parliamentary constituency	Jatiya Sangsad (58 seats)
Area
• Division of Bangladesh	34,529.97 km2 (13,332.10 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[1]
• Division of Bangladesh	33,202,357 (Enumerated)
• Density	961.5519/km2 (2,490.408/sq mi)
• Urban [1]	11,180,333
• Rural [1]	22,016,799
• Metro [1]	3,670,740
• Adjusted Population[1]	34,178,612
Languages
• Official language	Bengali • English[2]
• Regional language	Chittagonian Noahkhailla
• Indigenous minority languages	List[3] Bawm Chakma Marma Mru Kokborok Mizo Chawk Khimi Kuki Tanchangya
Religion (2022) [4]
• Religion	List 90.11% Islam 6.61% Hinduism 2.92% Buddhism 0.22% Christians 0.14% other
Time zone	UTC+6 (BST)
ISO 3166 code	BD-B
Notable sport teams	Chattogram Challengers, Chittagong Division Cricket Team, Chittagong Abahani, Comilla Victorians
Districts	11
Sub-Districts	103
Union Councils	949
Website	www.chittagongdiv.gov.bd

Chittagong Division is home to Cox's Bazar, the longest natural sea beach in the world;^[5][6] as well as St. Martin's Island, Bangladesh's sole coral reef.

History

Main article: History of Chittagong

Chittagong as an administrative division was established in 1829 to serve as an administrative headquarters for five of Bengal's easternmost districts, with the Chittagong District serving as its headquarters.^[7] In East Pakistan, the division's Tippera district was renamed as Comilla District in 1960.^[8]

In 1984, fifteen districts were created by separating and reducing the original five districts of Chittagong, Comilla, Hill Tracts, Noakhali and Sylhet:^{[citation needed]}

• The Chittagong District was divided into two districts; Chittagong and Cox's Bazar District
• The Comilla District was split into three districts; Comilla, Brahmanbaria and Chandpur
• The Hill Tracts District was split into three districts; Bandarban, Khagrachhari and Rangamati
• The Noakhali District was divided into three districts; Noakhali, Lakshmipur and Feni
• The Sylhet District was split into four districts; Sylhet, Habiganj, Moulvibazar and Sunamganj.

Sylhet, Habiganj, Moulvibazar and Sunamganj districts were moved from the Chittagong Division to create the newly established Sylhet Division in 1995.

Administration

Chittagong Division is presently subdivided into eleven districts (zilas) and thence into 100 sub-districts (upazilas).^[9] The first six districts listed below comprise the north-western portion (with 37.6% of the area, but 58.3% of the population) of the present Chittagong Division, while the remaining five comprise the south-eastern portion (62.4% of the area, 41.7% of the population), the two portions being separated by the lower (or Bangladeshi) stretch of the Feni River; the upland districts of Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban together comprise that area previously known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The six districts in the north-west will now form the new Cumilla Division.

Districts^{[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]}

Name	Headquarters	Area (km2)	Population 1991 Census	Population 2001 Census	Population 2011 Census	Population 2022 Census[21]
Brahmanbaria District	Brahmanbaria	1,881.20	2,141,745	2,398,254	2,840,498	3,306,563
Cumilla District	Cumilla	3,146.30	4,032,666	4,595,539	5,387,288	6,212,216
Chandpur District	Chandpur	1,645.32	2,032,449	2,271,229	2,416,018	2,635,748
Lakshmipur District	Lakshmipur	1,440.39	1,312,337	1,489,901	1,729,188	1,938,111
Noakhali District	Maijdee	3,685.87	2,217,134	2,577,244	3,108,083	3,625,252
Feni District	Feni	990.36	1,096,745	1,240,384	1,437,371	1,648,896
Khagrachhari District	Khagrachhari	2,749.16	342,488	525,664	613,917	714,119
Rangamati District	Rangamati	6,116.11	401,388	508,182	595,979	647,587
Bandarban District	Bandarban	4,479.01	230,569	298,120	388,335	481,109
Chittagong District	Chittagong	5,282.92	5,296,127	6,612,140	7,616,352	9,169,464
Cox's Bazar District	Cox's Bazar	2,491.85	1,419,260	1,773,709	2,289,990	2,823,265
Total Districts	11	34,529.97	20,552,908	24,290,384	28,423,019	33,202,326

Demographics

Religions in Chittagong Division^[21]

Religion			Percent
Muslims			90.11%
Hindus			6.61%
Buddhists			2.92%
Christians			0.22%
Others			0.14%

According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Chittagong Division had 7,528,333 households and a population of 33,202,326, 33.7% of whom lived in urban areas. The population density was 979 people per km². 90.11% were Muslims, 6.61% Hindus, 2.92% Buddhists, 0.22% Christians and 0.14% others.^[21]

See also

• Divisions of Bangladesh