Meherpur District

Meherpur District (Bengali: মেহেরপুর জেলা) is a northwestern district of Khulna Division in southwestern Bangladesh. It is bordered by West Bengal, India in the west, and by the Bangladeshi districts of Kushtia and Chuadanga to the east.^[4] Pre-independence Meherpur was a subdivision of Nadia district.^[5] The district has an area of 716.08 square kilometres (276.48 sq mi).

Meherpur District মেহেরপুর জেলা
District of Bangladesh
Image of Mujibnagar Memorial
Location of Meherpur District in Bangladesh
Expandable map of Meherpur District
Coordinates: 23.75°N 88.70°E / 23.75; 88.70
Country	Bangladesh
Division	Khulna
Headquarters	Meherpur
Area (2022)[1]
• Total	741.62 km2 (286.34 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]
• Total	705,356
• Density	950/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
Demonym	Meherpuri
Time zone	UTC+06:00 (BST)
Postal code	7100
Area code	0791
ISO 3166 code	BD-39
HDI (2019)	0.644[3] medium · 5th of 20
Website	meherpur.gov.bd

History

According to Ashraf Siddiqui, the district is named after the 16th century dervish Meher Ali Shah.

The Provisional Government of Bangladesh was formed and solemnly sworn in Meherpur's Baidyanathtala village (later renamed as Mujibnagar), on 17 April 1971 under the leadership of Tajuddin Ahmed and Syed Nazrul Islam. The entire Proclamation ceremony was organised by local leaders under the supervision of Momeen Chowdhury and MM Rustom Ali.^[6] Meherpur became a district in 1983 under CMLA Hussain Muhammad Ershad's decentralization programme.^[6]

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1974	325,314	—
1981	401,727	+3.06%
1991	491,917	+2.05%
2001	591,436	+1.86%
2011	655,392	+1.03%
2022	705,356	+0.67%
Sources:[2][7]

According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Meherpur District had 195,322 households and a population of 705,356 with an average 3.59 people per household. Among the population, 104,284 (14.78%) inhabitants were under 10 years of age. The population density was 951 people per km². Meherpur District had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 68.14%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 1074 females per 1000 males. Approximately, 22.53% of the population lived in urban areas. The ethnic population was 161.^[2]

Religions in Meherpur District (2022)[2]
Religion			Percent
Islam			97.87%
Hinduism			1.20%
Christianity			0.92%
Other or not stated			0.01%

Religion in present-day Meherpur District

Religion	1941[8]: 84–85 [a]		1981[7]		1991[7]		2001[7]		2011[7]		2022[2]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	109,443	70.94%	389,094	96.86%	479,654	97.51%	576,962	97.55%	640,751	97.77%	690,349	97.87%
Hinduism	41,487	26.89%	6,569	1.64%	6,299	1.28%	6,779	1.15%	7,870	1.20%	8,497	1.20%
Christianity	3,104	2.01%	5,857	1.46%	5,802	1.18%	7,389	1.25%	6,627	1.01%	6,478	0.92%
Others [b]	240	0.16%	207	0.04%	162	0.03%	306	0.05%	144	0.02%	32	0.01%
Total Population	154,274	100%	401,727	100%	491,917	100%	591,436	100%	655,392	100%	705,356	100%

In 2022, Muslims formed 97.87% of the population, Hindus 1.20%, and Christians 0.92%. Other religions were 0.01%.

Economy

Main sources of income: Agriculture 68.95%, non-agricultural labourer 3.24%, industry 0.87%, commerce 13.83%, transport and communication 2.21%, service 3.81%, construction 1.03%, religious service 0.14%, rent and remittance 0.59% and others 5.33%.^[4]

See also

• Mujibnagar Upazila
• Upazilas of Bangladesh
• Districts of Bangladesh
• Divisions of Bangladesh
• Upazila
• Thana
• Administrative geography of Bangladesh

Notes

1. Meherpur and Gangani thanas of Nadia district
2. Including Jainism, Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Ad-Dharmis, or not stated