Rangpur Division, Bangladesh
Rangpur is the newest and seventh administrative division in Bangladesh. The region is famous for its cheap labors. It is located in the northern part of Bangladesh and bordered by West Bengal (Indian state) to the north, Rajshahi division to the south, Assam, Meghalaya (Indian state) and a part of Dhaka division to the east and west Bengal to the west. The ancient name of the region is “Mughalbasa”. Mansingh, the commander of Mughal Emperor Akbar conquered part of the region in 1575 AD. Rangpur came under the Mughal rule completely in 1686 AD. Mughalbasa and Mughalhat of the region (currently in Kurigram district) still bear marks of the Mughal rule in the region. During the Mughal rule Rangpur was under the sarker of Ghoraghat. During the early period of the East India Company rule Fakir- Sannyasi resistance and peasant rebellion were broke out in the region. The district is formed in 1772 AD. The region has a lot of natural resources but comparatively less developed. To accelerate the development of the region on 25 January 2010, Rangpur Division was formed. There is a strong rail and land communicating infrastructure in the region. A number of buses and 21 express trains run everyday to communicate among the districts of the division and also to the other part of the country. There is no international airport but three local airports. Among the local airports Sayadpur Airport is busy one. There are 08 districts in Rangpur division. The total area of the division is 16,185.01 Sq Km. Total population of the division is 1,57,87,758 (male- 78,81,824 and female- 79,05,934) which is about 9.87% of the total population of Bangladesh. Average sex ratio of the division is 100:100 and annual growth rate is 1.30%. The average population density in Rangpur division is 975/Sq Km. Among the population 16,03,222 live in urban area, 505,849 live in other urban area and 1,36,78,687 people live in rural area. The average literacy rate of the division is 47.20% (Male- 50.60% and female- 43.80%). Average school attendance rate is 55.00% for 5 to 24 years old. The average urbanization rate of the division is 13.36%. The 08 districts of Rangpur division are as follow- - Rangpur
- Dinajpur
- Gaibandha
- Kurigram
- Lalmonirhat
- Nilphamari
- Panchagarh
- Thakurgaon
Largest District : Dinajpur (3444.30 Sq Km)
Smallest District : Lalmonirhat (1247.37 Sq Km)
City Corporation : 01
Municipality : 27
Upazilla : 58
Union : 539
Mauza : 6523
Village : 9050
Parliament Seat : 33