Rajshahi Division (Bengali: রাজশাহী বিভাগ) is one of the eight first-level administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It has an area of 18,174.4 square kilometres (7,017.2 sq mi)[6] and a population at the 2022 Census of 20,353,119.[7] Rajshahi Division consists of 8 districts, 70 Upazilas (the next lower administrative tier) and 1,092 Unions (the lowest administrative tier).
The region has historically been dominated by various feudal Rajas, Maharajas and Zamindars.[8] Formerly comprising 16 districts, a new division (Rangpur Division) was formed with the 8 northern districts of the old Rajshahi Division from early 2010.[6]
Etymology and names
The Rajshahi Division is named after Rajshahi District. Dominated by various feudal Rajas, Maharajas and Zamindars of mixed origins throughout history,[8] the name is a compound of the words Raj and Shahi, both of which can be translated into reign or kingdom. Archaic spellings in the English language also included Rajeshae.
History
Rajshahi Division was created in 1829 by the British Government. It was the largest division in Bengal Province. During partition of Bengal in 1947, the division was partitioned in two halves. The eastern half remained as Rajshahi division, while its western half became Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, India. In January 2010 the Rangpur Division split out from Rajshahi division.
At the time of the 2022 Bangladeshi census, Rajshahi division had a population of 20,351,864. Muslims are 19,071,092 which is 93.71% of the population, while Hindus are 1,159,152 which is 5.70% of the population. Other religions (almost entirely Christianity and indigenous faiths) are only 0.59% of the population and are mainly found among the ethnic minorities.[2]
The University of Rajshahi (established 1953) is the second largest university of Bangladesh with around 50 disciplines and 6 institutes. Rajshahi Collegiate School (established in 1828) is one of the oldest school in the country and Indian sub-continent which became again the best school in Bangladesh in 2018.
