Bangladesh has a 7-tier administrative structure consisting of 7 divisions, 64 districts, 500 upazilas, 4,451 unions, and numerous villages. The key administrative units are: 1) Divisions, which are headed by Divisional Commissioners; 2) Districts, run by Deputy Commissioners; 3) Upazilas, the basic rural administrative unit headed by Upazila Executive Officers; and 4) Unions, the lowest rural administrative unit, headed by elected Union Parishad Chairmen. This administrative structure provides the framework for governance and delivery of public services across Bangladesh.

1. Presentation Topic : Administrative
Structure of Bangladesh

2. Administrative Structure of
Bangladesh

3. Administrative Units as at a Glance
Division 7
Zila 64
City Corporation 11
Municipalties 223
Upazila 500
Thana 509
Union 4451
(Source: LGRD Ministry & Police Head
Quarters)

4. Division:
•Barisal ( Borisha )
•Chittagong ( Chôţţogram)
•Dhaka ( Đhaka)
•Khulna ( Khulna)
•Rajshahi ( Rajshahi)
•Rangpur ( Rongpur)
•Sylhet ( Sileţ)
Divisions are headed each by a Divisional Commissioner
The average number of districts, upazilas, and unions in a
division is 9, 71, and 636, respectively.(According to the
Population Census of 2001)

5. Division
Population [1]
Area (km2)[1]
Population
density
2011
(people/km2)[1]
Sex ratio (males
per 100 females)[1]
1991 2001
2011
(provisional)
Barisal Division 7,462,643 8,173,718 8,147,000 13,297 613 96.8
Chittagong
Division
20,522,908 24,290,384 28,079,000 33,771 831 96.1
Dhaka Division 32,665,975 39,044,716 46,729,000 31,120 1,502 103.9
Khulna Division 12,688,383 14,705,223 15,563,000 22,272 699 100
Rajshahi Division 14,212,065 16,354,723 18,329,000 18,197 1,007 100.4
Rangpur Division 11,997,979 13,847,150 15,665,000 16,317 960 99.8
Sylhet Division 6,765,039 7,939,343 9,807,000 12,596 779 99.1
Totals 106,314,992 124,355,263 142,319,000 147,570 964
The following table outlines some key statistics about the seven
divisions of Bangladesh as found in the 2011 Population and Housing
Census conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

6. Districts:
● The administrative unit that figures
prominent in this country is called District
● The district are run by a Deputy
Commissioner (popularly
abbreviated to "DC") who is
appointed by the government
from a Deputy Secretary of B.C.S.
Administration Cadre.

7. Upazilas:
The basic unit of administration of the country is locally named
as Upazila or Thana, Upazilas are similar to
the county subdivisions found in some Western countries.
Field level functionaries of the
development departments
operate here at the grass-root
level under guidance from the
respective functional heads
stationed in the districts as
coordinated by the UNO
(Upazila Nirbahi Officer).
At present, has 500 upazilas and
509 administrative Thanas for a
total of 1009 subdistricts.

8.  Below the upazila is the union. Representatives of some
nation-building departments, including
Agriculture, Livestock, Health and Family Planning, are
working at the union level. They work under the direct
control of the higher authorities of their respective
departmet The Gram (village) police, known as
‘Chaukidar’, a formal force under the direct control of
the local government at this level is tasked to maintain
the stability of order in the villagents at the upazila
headquarters
Union:

9. Division Total Area
Sq. km.
Upazila Union Village Municipalities/City
Corporation
Dhaka Division 30985 141 1236 25283 64
Chittagong
Division
33771 102 914 15060 38
Barisal Division 13644 39 334 4273 22
Rajshahi Division 18175 69 558 14307 36
Khulna Division 22285 64 565 9284 28
Sylhet Division 12596 35 323 10101 14
Rangpur Division 16320 58 536 9054 21
Bangladesh 147570 509 4451 87362 223

10. Local
Government
Urban Rural
Upazila
Parishad (482)
Chairman
Pourashava/
Municipality (284)
Mayor
Zila Parishad
(64)
Union
Parishad (4451)
Chairman
City
Corporation
(Mayor)
Existing structures of local government

11. Field
Administration
Division-7
Divisional
Commissioner
Upazila-500
Upazila Executive
Officer (UNO)
District-64
Deputy
Commissioner
Union-4451 (elected)
Field Level Workers of
Some Departments
Existing structures of field administration in Bangladesh

12. Large detailed
administrative
map of
Bangladesh