Rajshahi Division

Rajshahi Division (রাজশাহী বিভাগ) is one of the eight first-level administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It has an area of 18,174.4 sqkm and a population at the 2022 Census of 20,353,119. 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. Formerly comprising 16 districts, a new division (Rangpur Division) was formed with the 8 northern districts of the old Rajshahi Division from early 2010.

Etymology and names
The Rajshahi Division is named after Rajshahi District. Dominated by various feudal Rajas, Maharajas and Zamindars of mixed origins throughout history, 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.

Demographics
At the time of the 2011 census, Rajshahi division had a population of 18,484,858. Muslims are 17,248,861 which is 93.31% of the population, while Hindus are 1,081,584 which is 5.85% of the population. Other religions (almost entirely Christianity and indigenous faiths) are only 0.24% of the population and are mainly found among the ethnic minorities.

Districts

 * Natore
 * Rajshahi
 * Sirajganj
 * Pabna
 * Bogura
 * Chapainawabganj
 * Naogaon
 * Joypurhat

Education
The major educational institutes in Rajshahi are:
 * University of Rajshahi (RU)
 * Rajshahi Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
 * Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET)
 * Rajshahi Medical University ( RMC)
 * North Bengal International University (NBIU)
 * Rajshahi Medical College (RMC)
 * Bangladesh Army University of Engineering & Technology
 * Rajshahi Science & Technology University
 * Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College, Bogra
 * Joypurhat Girls Cadet College, Joypurhat
 * Rajshahi College
 * Rajshahi Govt. City College, Rajshahi
 * New Govt. Degree College, Rajshahi
 * Rajshahi Cadet College
 * Azizul Haque College, Bogra
 * Bogra Zilla school
 * Pabna Zilla school
 * Pabna Cadet College
 * Pabna Textile Engineering College
 * Govt. Edward College, Pabna
 * Pabna University of Science and Technology
 * Pabna Medical College, Pabna
 * Joypurhat Government College
 * Shaheed M. Monsur Ali Medical College, Sirajganj
 * Government Laboratory High School Rajshahi
 * Rajshahi Collegiate School (RCS), Rajshahi
 * Naogaon K.D. Government High School,Naogaon

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.

Notable residents

 * Montazur Rahman Akbar, film-maker, grew up in Akkelpur.
 * Group Captain (Rtd.) Saiful Azam, fighter pilot, was Member of Parliament (MP) for Pabna-3 from 1991 to 1996.
 * Manzoor Alam Beg, photographer, was born in Rajshahi district in 1931.
 * Apu Biswas
 * Mohammad Ali Bogra
 * General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri OBE, former Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army.
 * Pramatha Chaudhuri, writer
 * Samson H. Chowdhury
 * Zahid Hasan
 * Amjad Hossain (Member of National Assembly of Pakistan), organiser of Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
 * A. B. Mirza Azizul Islam
 * Taijul Islam
 * Abdul Jalil
 * James
 * Air Vice Marshal (Rtd.) A. K. Khandker, first Chief of Staff of Bangladesh Air Force (1971–1975), Former Minister, Ministry Planning of People's Republic of Bangladesh
 * Mahiya Mahi
 * Amiya Bhushan Majumdar, Indian novelist
 * Partha Pratim Majumder
 * Bande Ali Mia, poet
 * Bidya Sinha Saha Mim
 * Mohammed Fazle Rabbee, cardiologist, intellectual, murdered in the intellectual killing during the 24 Dec 1971 genocide in Bangladesh
 * Mushfiqur Rahim
 * Arifur Rahman
 * Tarique Rahman
 * Ziaur Rahman