Sylhet District

This article is about the district of Sylhet. For other uses, see Sylhet (disambiguation).

Sylhet
সিলেট জেলা
District of Bangladesh
Sylhet District
From top: Lalakhal, Bichnakandi, Shah Jalal Dargah, Keane Bridge, view of Jaflong hills
Nickname: 
Holy Land/Land of 360 Awliyas
Location of Sylhet District in Bangladesh
Location of Sylhet District in Bangladesh
Map
Expandable map of Sylhet District
Coordinates: 24°53′N 91°52′E / 24.883°N 91.867°E / 24.883; 91.867
Country Bangladesh
DivisionSylhet Division
Established1772
HeadquartersSylhet
Government
 • Deputy CommissionerMd. Mozibor Rahman[1]
Area
[2]
 • Total
3,452.07 km2 (1,332.85 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)[3]
 • Total
3,857,123
 • Density1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
DemonymSylheti
Time zoneUTC+06:00 (BST)
Postal code
3100
Area code0821
ISO 3166 codeBD-60
HDI (2018)0.596[4]
medium · 11th of 21
Websitesylhet.gov.bd

Sylhet District (Bengali: সিলেট জেলা), located in north-east Bangladesh, is one of the four districts in Sylhet Division, which contains Sylhet, the regional capital.

History

[edit]
Main article: History of Sylhet

Sylhet District was created in 1772 after this area was acquired by the British in 1767 and Mr. William Thackeray was appointed as the first collector. Current Sylhet District consists of 12 (Twelve) Upazilas. Sylhet District was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Bengal Province under Dhaka Division. However, in that year, Sylhet was moved to the newly created Assam Province, and it remained as part of Assam up to 1947 (except during the administrative reorganisation of Bengal Province between 1905 and 1912). Sylhet District was divided into five subdivisions and the current Sylhet District was known as the North Sylhet subdivision. In 1947, Sylhet became a part of East Pakistan as a result of a referendum (except 31⁄2 thanas of Karimganj subdivision) as part of Chittagong Division.[5] It was subdivided into four districts in 1983–84 with the current Sylhet District being known as North Sylhet. It became a part of Sylhet Division after its formation in 1995. Sylhet has played a vital role in the Bangladeshi economy. Several of Bangladesh's finance ministers have been Members of Parliament from the city of Sylhet.[5]

Demographics

[edit]
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1981 1,777,784—    
1991 2,153,301+1.93%
2001 2,555,566+1.73%
2011 3,434,188+3.00%
2022 3,857,123+1.06%
Sources:[3][6]

According to 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Sylhet district had 746854 households and a population of 3,857,123, 26.25% of whom lived in urban areas. The population density was 1,117 people per square kilometre. 20.29% were under 10 years of age. Sylhet district had a literacy rate of 76.43% (for 7 years and above), compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 96.74 males per 100 females.[3]

According to the census, Sylhet's literacy rate has increased to 76.43%. In contrast, it was 51.18% in 2011, 45.49% in 2001, and 33.85% in 1991. In Sylhet, 89.25% of students are enrolled in general education. Additionally, 7.95% are pursuing religious education, 0.40% are in technical education, and 2.40% are in other forms of education.

In 2022, 65.37% of people aged 15 and above have their own mobile phones. Moreover, 42.02% are internet users, and 31.87% have accounts in banks or financial institutions. The same percentage, 31.87%, also have mobile banking accounts.

According to the 1991 census, 12.99% of people in Sylhet had access to electricity. This increased to 35.14% in 2001 and 62.92% in 2011. As of the 2022 census, this figure has risen to 99.27%.

In terms of employment, 35.58% of Sylhet's population is engaged in agriculture. Additionally, 10.60% are involved in industry, while the remaining 53.82% are engaged in various services.[3]

Religions in Sylhet District (2022)[3]
Religion Percent
Muslims
 
 92.57%
Hindus
 
 7.33%
Other or not stated
 
 0.10%
Religion in present-day Sylhet District
Religion 1941[7]: 36–37 [a] 1981[6] 1981[6] 2001[6] 2011[6] 2022[3]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Islam 599,192 72.55% 1,619,937 91.12% 1,980,175 91.96% 2,365,728 92.57% 3,180,766 92.62% 3,570,400 92.57%
Hinduism 211,701 25.63% 151,809 8.54% 167,966 7.80% 186,565 7.30% 248,154 7.23% 282,904 7.33%
Tribal religion 14,360 1.74% — — — — — — — — — —
Others [b] 684 0.08% 6,038 0.34% 5,160 0.24% 3,273 0.13% 5,268 0.15% 2,998 0.08%
Total Population 825,937 100% 1,777,784 100% 2,153,301 100% 2,555,566 100% 3,434,188 100% 3,857,123 100%

According to the 2022 data, 92.57% of the total population in Sylhet are Muslims, 7.33% are Hindus. There is a population of 2,700 Christians mainly in Gowainghat and Jaintiapur upazilas. Ethnic population is 16,508 (0.43%), of which 2834 were Manipuri, 1,845 Patro and 1,530 Khasi.[3]

Administration

[edit]

Sylhet District is divided into thirteen upazilas.[5]

The upazilas are:

Geography and climate

[edit]
A tea garden at Jaflong, Sylhet

Sylhet has a typical Bangladeshi tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am) bordering on a humid subtropical climate (Cwa) at higher elevations. The rainy season starts from April to October and it is so hot and humid with very heavy showers and thunderstorms almost every day, whilst the short dry season starts from November to February and it is very warm and fairly clear. Nearly 80% of the annual average rainfall of 4,200 millimetres (170 in) occurs between May and September.[8]

The city is located within the region where there are hills and basins which constitute one of the most distinctive regions in Bangladesh. The physiography of Sylhet consists mainly of hill soils, encompassing a few large depressions known locally as "beels" which can be mainly classified as oxbow lakes, caused by tectonic subsidence primarily during the earthquake of 1762.

Geologically, the region is complex having diverse sacrificial geomorphology; high topography of Plio-Miocene age. Available limestone deposits in different parts of the region suggest that the whole area was under the ocean in the Oligo-Miocene. In the last 150 years three major earthquakes hit the city, at a magnitude of at least 7.5 on the Richter Scale, the last one took place in 1918, although many people are unaware that Sylhet lies on an earthquake prone zone.[9]

Climate data for Sylhet (1991–2020, extremes 1952-present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 34.5
(94.1) 		35.0
(95.0) 		38.8
(101.8) 		40.5
(104.9) 		38.2
(100.8) 		39.6
(103.3) 		38.4
(101.1) 		37.9
(100.2) 		38.3
(100.9) 		37.2
(99.0) 		35.3
(95.5) 		31.3
(88.3) 		40.5
(104.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 25.6
(78.1) 		28.2
(82.8) 		31.2
(88.2) 		31.5
(88.7) 		31.4
(88.5) 		31.6
(88.9) 		32.2
(90.0) 		32.5
(90.5) 		32.3
(90.1) 		31.8
(89.2) 		29.7
(85.5) 		26.8
(80.2) 		30.4
(86.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) 18.4
(65.1) 		20.8
(69.4) 		24.3
(75.7) 		26.0
(78.8) 		26.8
(80.2) 		27.6
(81.7) 		28.0
(82.4) 		28.2
(82.8) 		27.9
(82.2) 		26.7
(80.1) 		23.3
(73.9) 		19.7
(67.5) 		24.8
(76.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 9.8
(49.6) 		12.4
(54.3) 		17.4
(63.3) 		21.2
(70.2) 		23.0
(73.4) 		24.8
(76.6) 		25.3
(77.5) 		25.3
(77.5) 		24.8
(76.6) 		22.3
(72.1) 		16.6
(61.9) 		11.8
(53.2) 		19.6
(67.3)
Record low °C (°F) 3.4
(38.1) 		8.8
(47.8) 		11.5
(52.7) 		14.0
(57.2) 		18.0
(64.4) 		18.0
(64.4) 		19.3
(66.7) 		22.3
(72.1) 		20.5
(68.9) 		16.5
(61.7) 		13.4
(56.1) 		8.0
(46.4) 		3.4
(38.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 7
(0.3) 		38
(1.5) 		127
(5.0) 		382
(15.0) 		590
(23.2) 		795
(31.3) 		723
(28.5) 		609
(24.0) 		496
(19.5) 		201
(7.9) 		25
(1.0) 		10
(0.4) 		4,003
(157.6)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 1 3 7 15 22 26 28 26 20 10 2 1 161
Average relative humidity (%) 75 68 68 76 81 87 87 86 86 83 77 75 79
Mean monthly sunshine hours 212.2 210.6 223.2 196.1 178.6 121.9 132.8 145.1 148.7 218.9 242.9 238.0 2,269
Source 1: NOAA[10]
Source 2: Bangladesh Meteorological Department (humidity 1981-2010)[11][12]


Notable people

[edit]
See also: List of people from Sylhet

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ 1941 figures correspond to North Sylhet subdivision and Beanibazar thana of erstwhile Sylhet district, along with part of Karimganj thana. Projected 1941 religion figures for present-day Zakiganj Upazila (which at the time was a rural area of Karimganj thana) were obtained by using the ratio of current upazila population to the 2011 population of erstwhile Karimganj thana to estimate the 1941 population, and assuming religious demographics in rural areas were uniform across erstwhile Karimganj thana.
  2. ^ Including Jainism, Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Ad-Dharmis, or not stated

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Report
  2. ^ "registered through Argeweb". Archived from the original on 26 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Population and Housing Census 2022 - District Report: Sylhet (PDF). District Series. Dhaka: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. June 2024. ISBN 978-984-475-269-6.
  4. ^ "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir, eds. (2012). "Sylhet District". Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Bangladesh Population and Housing Census 2011 Zila Report – Sylhet" (PDF). Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
  7. ^ "Census of India, 1941 Volume IX Assam Province" (PDF). 1941.
  8. ^ Monthly Averages for Sylhet, BGD Archived 1 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine MSN Weather. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
  9. ^ Siddiquee, Iqbal (10 February 2006). "Sylhet growing as a modern urban centre". Our Cities: 15th Anniversary Special. The Daily Star. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
  10. ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Sylhet". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Climate of Bangladesh" (PDF). Bangladesh Meteorological Department. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  12. ^ "Normal Monthly Humidity". Bangladesh Meteorological Department. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
[edit]

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