Khulna District (Bengali: খুলনা জেলা, Khulna Jela also Khulna Zila) is a district of Bangladesh. It is located in the Khulna Division. It is bordered on the north by the Jessore District and the Narail District, on the south by the Bay of Bengal, on the east by the Bagerhat District, and on the west by the Satkhira District. It was the very first sub-division of United Bengal Province established in 1842 under Jessore district. On 1 June 1882 by notification of the official gazette published from Kolkata, Khulna and Bagerhat sub-division of Jessore district and Satkhira sub-division of 24 Pargana district formed the new Zila ‘Khulna’.
Geography and climate
Khulna District has a total area of 4,389.11 square kilometres (1,694.64 sq mi). It borders Jessore District to the north, Narail District to the northeast, Bagerhat District to the east, the Bay of Bengal to the south, and Satkhira District to the west.
Major rivers of Khulna District are the Rupsa (a continuation of the Bhairab and Atrai), Arpangachhia, Shibsa, Pasur, and the Koyra.
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 1,386,347 | — |
| 1981 | 1,771,101 | +3.56% |
| 1991 | 2,010,643 | +1.28% |
| 2001 | 2,378,971 | +1.70% |
| 2011 | 2,318,527 | −0.26% |
| Sources: | ||
At the time of the 2011 census, Khulna district had a population of 2,318,527 of which 1,175,686 were males and 1,142,841 were females. Rural population was 1,540,939 (66.46%) while urban population was 777,588 (33.54%). Khulna had a literacy rate 60.14% for the population 7 years and above: 64.32% for males and 55.85% for females.
76.63% of the population was Muslim and 22.72% Hindu at the time of the 2011 census. There was a small minority of Christians as well which was 0.66% of the population.
Education
The district contains educational institutions including:
- School
- Government Coronation Secondary Girls’ School
- Government Daulatpur Muhsin High School
- Khulna Zilla School
Colleges
- Govt Majid Memorial City College
- khulna Government Model School and eCollage
- Khulna Medical College
Universities
- Khulna University of Engineering & Technology
- Khulna University
- Khulna Agricultural University