{{Short description|District of Bangladesh in Khulna Division Meherpur}} {{Infobox settlement <!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions --> | official_name = Meherpur District | native_name = মেহেরপুর জেলা | native_name_lang = bn | type = [[Districts of Bangladesh|District of Bangladesh]] | image_skyline = Mujibnagar Memorial Bangladesh Map. মুজিবনগর স্মৃতিসৌধ বাংলাদেশের মানচিত্র।.jpg | imagesize = | image_alt = | image_caption = Image of [[Mujibnagar]] Memorial | image_flag = | image_seal = | image_shield = | nickname = | nicknames = | motto = | mottoes = | image_map = BD Meherpur District locator map.svg | map_caption = Location of Meherpur District in Bangladesh | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 9 | mapframe-point = none | pushpin_map = | pushpin_label_position = right | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Meherpur in Bangladesh | coordinates = {{coord|23.75|88.70|region:BD|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Bangladesh}} | subdivision_type1 = [[Divisions of Bangladesh|Division]] | subdivision_name1 = [[Khulna Division|Khulna]] | established_title = | established_date = | seat_type = Headquarters | seat = [[Meherpur]] | leader_party = | leader_title = [[Deputy Commissioner (Bangladesh)|Deputy Commissioner]] | leader_name = Syed Enamul Kabir | leader_title1 = | leader_name1 = | area_footnotes = (2022)<ref name="census2022">{{Cite book |url=http://nsds.bbs.gov.bd/storage/files/1/Publications/PHCensus/Khulna/District%20Report%20Meherpur%20(10.07.24).pdf |title=Population and Housing Census 2022 - District Report: Meherpur |date=June 2024 |publisher=[[Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics]] |isbn=978-984-475-241-2 |series=District Series |location=[[Dhaka]] |pages=}}</ref> | area_total_km2 = 741.62 | area_metro_km2 = | area_note = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | population_footnotes = <ref name="2022census" /> | population_total = 705356 | population_as_of = [[2022 Bangladeshi census|2022]] | population_rank = | population_density_km2 = auto | population_demonym = Meherpuri | population_demonyms = | population_note = | timezone1 = [[Bangladesh Standard Time|BST]] | utc_offset1 = +06:00 | postal_code_type = [[List of postal codes in Bangladesh|Postal code]] | postal_code = 7100 | website = {{URL|meherpur.gov.bd}} | footnotes = | area_code = 0791 | iso_code = BD-39 | blank_name_sec1 = [[Human Development Index|HDI]] (2019) | blank_info_sec1 = 0.644<ref name="GlobalDataLab">{{Cite web |url=https://hdi.globaldatalab.org/areadata/shdi/ |title=Sub-national HDI - Area Database |website=Global Data Lab |language=en |access-date=18 March 2020}}</ref><br />{{color|#fc0|medium}} · [[List of regions of Bangladesh by Human Development Index|5th of 20]] | blank_name_sec2 = | blank_info_sec2 = }} [[File:Meherpur District upazila geocode map - Small Area Atlas Bangladesh.svg|thumb|Meherpur District upazila geocode map]]
'''Meherpur District''' ({{langx|bn|মেহেরপুর জেলা}}) is a northwestern [[Districts of Bangladesh|district]] of [[Khulna Division]] in southwestern [[Bangladesh]]. It is bordered by [[West Bengal]], India in the west, and by the Bangladeshi districts of [[Kushtia District|Kushtia]] and [[Chuadanga District|Chuadanga]] to the east.<ref name=Banglapedia>{{cite Banglapedia |author=Md Abu Hasan Farooque |article=Meherpur District}}</ref> Pre-independence Meherpur was a subdivision of [[Nadia District (1787–1947)|Nadia district]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=Aug 19, 2011 |title=Nadia keeps a date with history |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/nadia-keeps-a-date-with-history/articleshow/9654550.cms |access-date=23 February 2022 |work=[[The Times of India]] |language=en}}</ref> including ([[Karimpur Assembly constituency|Karimpur]] and [[Tehatta Assembly constituency|Tehatta]] thana). The district has an area of {{convert|716.08|km2}}.
==History== According to the district website, the district is conjecturally named after the 16th century [[dervish]] Meher Ali Shah.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meherpur District |url=https://www.meherpur.gov.bd/en/site/page/sEFu-%E0%A6%8F%E0%A6%95-%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%9C%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE#:~:text=District%20at%20a%20glance.,lasting%20influence%20on%20the%20region. |access-date=2025-12-21 |website=Bangladesh National Portal |language=bn}}</ref>
The [[Provisional Government of Bangladesh]] was formed and solemnly sworn in Meherpur's [[Mujibnagar|Baidyanathtala]] village (later renamed as Mujibnagar), on 17 April 1971 under the leadership of [[Tajuddin Ahmad|Tajuddin Ahmed]] and [[Syed Nazrul Islam]]. The entire proclamation ceremony was organised by local leaders under the supervision of Momeen Chowdhury and MM Rustom Ali.<ref name="Banglapedia_Proclamation">{{Cite Banglapedia |article=Proclamation of Independence}}</ref> Meherpur became a district in 1983 under [[Chief Martial Law Administrator|CMLA]] [[Hussain Muhammad Ershad]]'s decentralization programme.<ref name="Banglapedia_Proclamation" />
==Demographics== {{Historical populations |align=right |percentages=pagr |1974 |325314 |1981 |401727 |1991 |491917 |2001 |591436 |2011 |655392 |2022 |705356 |footnote= Sources:<ref name="2022census" /><ref name="census2011">{{cite web |url=http://203.112.218.65:8008/WebTestApplication/userfiles/Image/PopCenZilz2011/Zila_Meherpur.pdf |title=Bangladesh Population and Housing Census 2011 Zila Report – Meherpur |website= |publisher=[[Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics]]}}</ref> }}
According to the [[2022 Bangladeshi census|2022 Census of Bangladesh]], Meherpur District had 195,322 households and a population of 705,356 with an average 3.59 people per household. Among the population, 104,284 (14.78%) inhabitants were under 10 years of age. The population density was 951 people per km<sup>2</sup>. Meherpur District had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 68.14%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 1074 females per 1000 males. Approximately, 22.53% of the population lived in urban areas. The ethnic population was 161.<ref name="2022census">{{Cite book |url=https://bbs.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/bbs.portal.gov.bd/page/b343a8b4_956b_45ca_872f_4cf9b2f1a6e0/2023-11-20-05-20-e6676a7993679bfd72a663e39ef0cca7.pdf |title=Population and Housing Census 2022 National Report |publisher=[[Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics]] |date=November 2023 |isbn= |volume=1 |pages=}}</ref>
{{bar box |title=Religions in Meherpur District (2022)<ref name="2022census"/> |titlebar=#Fcd116 |left1=Religion |right1=Percent |float=left |bars= {{bar percent|[[Islam in Bangladesh|Islam]]|green|97.87}} {{bar percent|[[Hinduism in Bangladesh|Hinduism]]|darkorange|1.20}} {{bar percent|[[Christianity in Bangladesh|Christianity]]|dodgerblue|0.92}} {{bar percent|Other or not stated|black|0.01}} }}
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+Religion in present-day Meherpur District ! rowspan="2" |Religion ! colspan="2" |1941<ref name="1941religion">{{cite web |title=Census of India, 1941 Volume VI Bengal Province |url=https://dspace.gipe.ac.in/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10973/37365/GIPE-020591.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y |access-date=13 August 2022}}</ref>{{rp|84–85}}{{Efn|Meherpur and Gangani thanas of Nadia district}} ! colspan="2" |1981<ref name="census2011" /> ! colspan="2" |1991<ref name="census2011" /> ! colspan="2" |2001<ref name="census2011" /> ! colspan="2" |2011<ref name="census2011" /> ! colspan="2" |2022<ref name="2022census" /> |- !{{Abbr|Pop.|Population}} !% !{{Abbr|Pop.|Population}} !% !{{Abbr|Pop.|Population}} !% !{{Abbr|Pop.|Population}} !% !{{Abbr|Pop.|Population}} !% !{{Abbr|Pop.|Population}} !% |- |[[Islam in Bangladesh|Islam]] [[File:Star and Crescent.svg|15x15px]] |109,443 |70.94% |389,094 |96.86% |479,654 |97.51% |576,962 |97.55% |640,751 |97.77% |690,349 |97.87% |- |[[Hinduism in Bangladesh|Hinduism]] [[File:Om.svg|16x16px]] |41,487 |26.89% |6,569 |1.64% |6,299 |1.28% |6,779 |1.15% |7,870 |1.20% |8,497 |1.20% |- |[[Christianity in Bangladesh|Christianity]] [[File:Christian cross.svg|21x21px]] |3,104 |2.01% |5,857 |1.46% |5,802 |1.18% |7,389 |1.25% |6,627 |1.01% |6,478 |0.92% |- |Others {{efn|Including [[Jainism]], [[Christianity]], [[Buddhism]], [[Zoroastrianism]], [[Judaism]], [[Ad-Dharmi]]s, or not stated}} |240 |0.16% |207 |0.04% |162 |0.03% |306 |0.05% |144 |0.02% |32 |0.01% |- !Total Population !154,274 !100% !401,727 !100% !491,917 !100% !591,436 !100% !655,392 !100% !705,356 !100% |}
In 2022, Muslims formed 97.87% of the population, Hindus 1.20%, and Christians 0.92%. Other religions were 0.01%.
==Upazilas== * [[Meherpur Sadar Upazila]] * [[Mujibnagar Upazila]] * [[Gangni Upazila]]
==Economy== Main sources of income: Agriculture 68.95%, non-agricultural labourer 3.24%, industry 0.87%, commerce 13.83%, transport and communication 2.21%, service 3.81%, construction 1.03%, religious service 0.14%, rent and remittance 0.59% and others 5.33%.<ref name="Banglapedia" />
==See also== * [[Mujibnagar Upazila]] * [[Upazilas of Bangladesh]] * [[Districts of Bangladesh]] * [[Divisions of Bangladesh]] * [[Upazila]] * [[Thana]] * [[Administrative geography of Bangladesh]]
== Notes == {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
{{Commons category}} {{Meherpur District}} {{Divisions and districts of Bangladesh}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Meherpur District| ]] [[Category:Districts of Bangladesh]]