Divisions, districts and upazilas

Administrative divisions of Bangladesh. This map shows the highest level unit called a Division.

Bangladesh is divided into seven administrative divisions, each named after their respective divisional headquarters: Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka , Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet, and Rangpur

Divisions are subdivided into districts (zila). There are 64 districts in Bangladesh, each further subdivided into upazila (subdistricts) or thana. The area within each police station, except for those in metropolitan areas, is divided into several unions, with each union consisting of multiple villages. In the metropolitan areas, police stations are divided into wards, which are further divided into mahallas. There are no elected officials at the divisional, district or upazila levels, and the administration is composed only of government officials. Direct elections are held for each union (or ward), electing a chairperson and a number of members. In 1997, a parliamentary act was passed to reserve three seats (out of twelve) in every union for female candidates.

Dhaka is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. Other major cities include Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barisal, Bogra, Comilla, Mymensingh and Rangpur. These cities have mayoral elections, while other municipalities elect a chairperson. Mayors and chairpersons are elected for a span of five years.

City	City population (2008 estimate)	Metro population (2008 estimate)
Dhaka	7,000,940	12,797,394
Chittagong	2,579,107	3,858,093
Khulna	855,650	1,588,425
Narayanganj	800,000	1,500,000
Rajshahi	472,775	775,496
Sylhet	463,198	-
Barisal	210,374	-
Rangpur	251,699	-