Thanchi Upazila

Thanchi (থানচি) is an upazila of Bandarban District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Geography
Thanchi is located at 21.7861°N, 92.4278°W. It has 4,872 households and a total area of 1020.82 km2. Thanchi upazila is bordered by Ruma upazila and Rangamati district to the north, Lama and Alikadam upazilas to the west, Rakhine State of Myanmar to the south and Chin State of Myanmar to the east.

At the boundary with Ali Kadam Upazila, the 35 km Alikadam-Thanchi Road ascends hill Dim Pahar, making it one of the highest motorable roads in Bangladesh.

Demographics
As of the 2011 Bangladeshi census, Thanchi upazila had 4,872 households and a population of 23,591. 7,668 (32.50%) were under 10 years of age. Thanchi had an average literacy rate of 26.94%, compared to the national average of 51.8%, and a sex ratio of 911 females per 1000 males. 1,778 (7.54%) of the population lived in urban areas. The ethnic population was 21,426 (90.82%), of which Marma were 8,452, Tripura 5,543 and Mru 4,848.

According to the 1991 Bangladesh census, Thanchi has a population of 16104. Males constituted 55.61% of the population, and females 44.39%. The population aged 18 or over was 8,639. Thanchi had an average literacy rate of 17.4% (7+ years), against the national average of 32.4%.

Administration
Thanchi Upazila is divided into four union parishads: Balipara, Remakry, Thanchi, and Tindu. The union parishads are subdivided into 12 mauzas and 178 villages.