Bandarban (District)

Bandarban District
Basic data
Country	Bangladesh
division	Chittagong
Seat	Bandarban
surface	4479 km²
Residents	388,335 (2011)
density	87 inhabitants per km²
ISO 3166-2	BD-01
Website	bandarban.gov.bd

Coordinates: 21 ° 29 '  N , 92 ° 14'  E

The Bandarban District ( Bengali : বান্দরবান জেলা , Bāndarabān jelā ) is an administrative unit in southeastern Bangladesh , which is within the Chittagong Division . The capital in the northern part of the district is also called Bandarban . The district has 388,335 inhabitants (2011 census).

geography

The 4479 km² district is the southern part of the mountainous region of Chittagong Hill Tracts and was first built in 1900. It borders in the north and east on the neighboring district of Rangamati and the provinces of Rakhaing and Chin of the eastern neighboring country Myanmar , in the south on the River Naf and in the west the national districts of Chittagong and Cox's Bazar . The most important rivers of the district, which is dominated by two thirds of forests and mountains, are the Bakkhali , Matamuhuri and the Shankha ( Sangu ). The four main mountains of Bandarbans are Meranja , Wailatong , Tambang and Politai .

The highest mountain in Bangladesh is located in the Bandarban district. However, it is still unclear whether this is the Keokradong in the southeast of the Upazila Ruma or the Mowdok Mual in the Upazila Thanchi.

Nature and wildlife

The natural vegetation consists of rainforests, deciduous forests, bamboo forests, ferns and grasslands.

Wildlife includes elephants, leopards, wild cats, wild dogs and more than 600 different species of birds. Flora and fauna correspond to those of the neighboring state of Myanmar and not the Indian flora and fauna.

Agricultural areas are often created by slash and burn (Jhum in Bengali). This and soil erosion in areas with deforestation are the main reasons for the change in the landscape.

climate

The temperatures fluctuate between 12.5 ° C and 37 ° Celsius. The average annual rainfall is 3031 mm. The average humidity is around 70%. There is little rain in the months from November to March. June, July and August are the months with the most rain.

history

In the 9th century the area was part of the Kingdom of Arakan. Later in the Middle Ages it belonged to the Sultanate of Bengal as a vassal territory of Mrauk U and then to the Mughal Empire . At times, however, the region was also ruled by the Kingdom of Arakan and the princely state of Tippera (also called Tripura). From 1666 on, local rulers paid tribute to the Mughal Empire. The weakened Mughal Empire left the area to the British in 1760. From then until 1860 these were limited to the payment of annual taxes. The area became part of the Bengal Presidency in 1860 . But the area of ​​today's Bandarban district could not be finally subjugated until 1891. After that, it was part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts area . Since gaining independence from the British, it was part of East Pakistan that became Bangladesh in 1971. In the War of Independence of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) the hill tribes were more towards the previous state of Pakistan, because they wanted to reduce the strong Bengali pressure on their settlement areas. The district was created in 1959 by splitting the previous Chittagong Hill Tracts district into various sub-districts. It has existed in its current form since 1981.

population

Population development

As everywhere in Bangladesh, the population in the district has been growing rapidly for decades. A special problem for the local population is the immigration of numerous Bengalis. Less than half of the population were born in the district.

age structure

As everywhere in Bangladesh, the population is on average very young. The average age at the last census in 2011 was 19.95 years with a slightly increasing trend.

The 2011 census showed the following age structure:

Age	0–9 years	10–19 years	20-29 years	30–39 years	40-49 years	50–59 years	60–69 years	70–79 years	80 years and more
number	109.163	79,036	70,601	51,619	35.107	22,033	12,560	5767	2449
proportion of	28.11%	20.35%	18.18%	13.29%	9.04%	5.67%	3.23%	1.48%	0.63%
Source: Zila Bandarban, table P14, page 320

Significant places

The most populous place within the district is the district capital Bandarban . The only other town is Lama . But with Alikadam and Naikhongchhari there are two other places without municipal rights with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The urban population makes up only 25.86 percent of the total population. The main towns of the seven Upazilas have the following population figures:

District population by gender

As in many parts of Bangladesh, the proportion of the female population is lower than the number of male residents.

Distribution of the population by gender in Bandarban district
	1974 census		1981 census		1991 census		2001 census		2011 census
	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of
TOTAL	116,426	100%	171,478	100%	230,569	100%	298.120	100%	388.335	100%
Men	61,519	52.84%	94.006	54.82%	125,730	54.53%	162.133	54.39%	203,350	52.36%
Women	54,907	47.16%	77,472	45.18%	104,839	45.47%	135.987	45.61%	184,985	47.64%
Source: Zila Bandarban in the 2011 census, table PT-02, page 17

Ethnic groups

There are more and more Bengali immigrants. These make up the majority of the population today. Nevertheless, at the last census in 2011, 172,401 people (44.39 percent of the population) counted themselves as “tribals”. They are known by the government of Bangladesh under the collective name Jumma . In reality, the term encompasses an extremely diverse range of peoples. In the district these are the eleven peoples of the Marma (77,477 people in the district), Murong (also called Mro; 38021 people), Tripuri (20,685 people), Bawm , Tanchangya , Chakma , Chak , Khyang , Khumi , Lushei and Pankho . In the sub-districts Rowangchhari (24,745 of the 27,264 inhabitants), Ruma (26,503 of the 29,038 inhabitants) and Thanchi (21,426 of the 23,591 inhabitants) they are clearly in the majority. Only in the Rowangchhari sub-district does a single minority people - the Marma - make up the majority of the population with 14,300 of 27,264 inhabitants (52.45 percent of the population). In all other sub-districts there are several minority ethnic groups - without constituting the majority of the population.

religion

Nowadays, due to the immigration of mostly Muslim Bengali, a slim majority is Islamic. But in contrast to the rest of the Muslim-dominated country, Bandarban has a significant number of Buddhists and Christians. On the coast, Muslims are in the majority, in the eastern half Buddhists, Christians and followers of traditional religions dominate. In Upazila Rowangchhari, almost 70% of the population are Buddhists, in Upazilas Ruma and Thanchi over 35% are Christians.

year	Buddhists		Christians		Hindus		Muslims		Other		Total
	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of
1981	75172	43.84%	13,737	8.01%	4582	2.67%	71,440	41.66%	6547	3.82%	171,478	100.00%
1991	87,613	38.00%	16,769	7.27%	8105	3.52%	109,800	47.62%	8282	3.59%	230,569	100.00%
2001	103.997	34.88%	28,546	9.58%	10,796	3.62%	147.062	49.33%	7719	2.59%	298.120	100.00%
2011	123.052	31.19%	39,333	10.13%	13,137	3.38%	197.087	50.75%	15,726	4.05%	388.335	100.00%
Source: 1981, 1991, 2001 and 2011 census results

In the seven Upazilas (sub-districts) the distribution is as follows:

Population in the district's Upazilas by religion
Upazila	TOTAL	Muslims		Hindus		Buddhists		Christians
	Residents	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of
Alikadam	49317	26680	54.10%	1655	3.36%	15233	30.89%	3657	7.42%
Bandarban Sadar	88282	39600	44.86%	6862	7.77%	33051	37.44%	4511	5.11%
lama	108.995	77490	71.10%	3018	2.77%	20395	18.71%	6628	6.08%
Naikhongchhari	61788	47903	77.53%	494	0.80%	12858	20.81%	288	0.47%
Rowangchhari	27264	2224	8.16%	226	0.83%	18889	69.28%	4548	16.68%
Ruma	29038	1694	5.83%	495	1.70%	11326	39.00%	11124	38.31%
Thanchi	23591	1496	6.34%	387	1.64%	11300	47.90%	8577	36.36%
Source: 2011 census result

Distribution urban and rural population

Bandarban is one of the most rural districts within the country. The distribution:

Urban and rural population in the Bandarban district
	1974 census		1981 census		1991 census		2001 census		2011 census
	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of
TOTAL	116,426	100%	171,478	100%	230,569	100%	298.120	100%	388.335	100%
CITY	13,381	11.49%	36,963	21.56%	68,522	29.72%	92,766	31.12%	100,423	25.86%
COUNTRY	103.045	88.51%	134,515	78.44%	162,047	70.28%	205.354	68.88%	287.912	74.14%
Source: Zila Bandarban in the 2011 census, table PT-01, page 17

education

There is no university in the district, but there are several colleges. The state education system also includes primary and secondary schools. There are also private schools and a few religious schools ( madrasas ).

Nevertheless, the level of education is at a low level. Only 55.48 percent of 5-9 year olds and 63.85 percent of 10-14 year olds attended school (2011). What is rather unusual for the region is the fact that almost as many girls as boys go to school.

At the end of the colonial era, almost the entire population was illiterate. That changed little when the area was part of East Pakistan. Despite significant efforts, the goal of full literacy is still a long way off. There are also huge differences. While almost 3 in 5 men can read and write in cities, 1 in 4 women in rural areas can read and write. The following table shows the development:

Literacy in the Bandarban District
unit	1991 census	2001 census	2011 census
	proportion of	proportion of	number	proportion of
TOTAL	23.82%	31.67%	112.167	35.86%
Men	32.19%	38.24%	66,359	40.29%
Women	13.46%	23.67%	45,808	30.93%
TOTAL CITY	39.53%	48.39%	45,346	54.13%
City men	49.52%	55.79%	27,045	59.17%
City women	25.03%	37.92%	18.301	48.07%
TOTAL COUNTRY	17.00%	23.78%	66,821	29.18%
Country men	23.90%	29.11%	39,314	33.04%
Country women	9.00%	17.72%	27,507	25.00%
Source: Zila Bandarban in the 2011 census, Tables PT-15, page 22 and P-07, page 172

administration

The Bandarban district is divided into seven so-called Upazilas : Bandarban Sadar, Rowangchhari, Ruma, Thanchi, Lama, Alikadam and Naikhongchhari. Within this administrative subdivision there are with Bandarkan Sadar and Lama two self-governing cities ( municipality ), 30 Union Parishads (village councils) and 1554 villages.

Bandarban District

Population in the Upazilas of the district
Upazila	surface	TOTAL	male		Female		urban		rural		Alphabets		male		Female
	in km²	Residents	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of
Alikadam	885.77	49317	25650	52.01%	23667	47.99%	14525	29.45%	34792	70.55%	12116	31.31%	7127	35.23%	4989	27.01%
Bandarban Sadar	501.98	88282	47687	54.02%	40595	45.98%	41434	46.93%	46848	53.07%	36638	49.28%	22003	54.39%	14635	43.18%
lama	671.83	108.995	56610	51.94%	52385	48.06%	19014	17.44%	89981	82.56%	29688	33.96%	16699	36.62%	12989	31.05%
Naikhongchhari	463.60	61788	31347	50.73%	30441	49.27%	18257	29.55%	43531	70.45%	15098	31.29%	8473	34.45%	6625	28.01%
Rowangchhari	442.88	27264	14243	52.24%	13021	47.76%	5052	18.53%	22212	81.47%	6985	30.99%	4448	37.68%	2537	23.63%
Ruma	492.09	29038	15469	53.27%	13629	46.73%	6848	23.59%	22190	76.41%	6781	28.90%	2668	45.04%	1434	30.92%
Thanchi	1020.82	23591	12344	52.33%	11247	47.67%	1778	7.54%	21813	92.46%	4861	26.94%	3227	33.85%	1634	19.20%
Source: 2011 census result

economy

The majority of the employed work in agriculture. There are a total of (2011) 279,172 people who are older than 10 years. Of these, 65,963 people are in school, 3,348 people are looking for work and 74,207 people work in a household. 135,564 people are gainfully employed. 94,758 (= 69.9 percent) of these people work in agriculture and fishing, 8779 in industry and 32,117 in services.

The main agricultural products are rice, mustard seed, cotton, tobacco and vegetables. The most common types of fruit are bananas, pineapples, jackfruit , oranges and papayas. The main export products are accordingly bananas, jackfruit, cotton and bamboo .

health

There is a single hospital and a health center in each subdistrict. There are also smaller health centers and family planning centers at the local level.

traffic

There is not a single railway line in the entire district. Therefore, the regional traffic is mostly handled with auto rickshaws and minibuses and the supraregional traffic with buses.

Web links

• Article on Bandarban District at Banglapedia
• Bandarban at the 2011 census
• Zila Bandarban at the 2011 census