Khagrachhari (district)

Khagrachhari district
Basic data
Country	Bangladesh
division	Chittagong
Seat	Khagrachhari
surface	2,749.2 km²
Residents	613,917 (2011)
density	223 inhabitants per km²
ISO 3166-2	BD-29
Website	www.khagrachhari.gov.bd

Coordinates: 23 ° 1 '  N , 91 ° 35'  E

The Khagrachhari District ( Bengali : খাগড়াছড়ি জেলা , Khāgaṛāchaṛi jelā ) is an administrative unit in southeastern Bangladesh , which is within the Chittagong Division . The district capital is also called Khagrachhari . The district has 613,917 inhabitants (2011 census).

geography

The 2749.16 km² district borders in the north on the Indian state of Tripura , in the east on the neighboring district Rangamati , in the south again on Rangamati and Chittagong and in the west on Chittagong and Tripura.

The main waters of the district, which is dominated by forests and mountains, are Lake Mataipukhiri , as well as the Feni , Chingri , Maini and Halda rivers . The district is part of the mountainous Chittagong Hill Tracts region .

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 climate is subtropical and the temperatures fluctuate between 13 ° C and 34.5 ° 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 Khagrachhari 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 1983 by splitting the previous Chittagong Hill Tracts district into different districts.

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.

Significant places

The most populous place within the district is the district capital Khagrachhari . Other towns (Towns) are Boalkhali , Manikchhari , Matiranga , Panchhari and Ramgarh . The urban population makes up 35.15 percent of the total population.

Distribution urban and rural population

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

Urban and rural population in the Khagrachhari 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	188.975	100%	278,461	100%	342,488	100%	525,664	100%	613.917	100%
CITY	k. Ang.		70,565	25.34%	109.710	32.03%	171.035	32.54%	215,808	35.15%
COUNTRY	k. Ang.		207,896	74.66%	232.778	67.97%	354,629	67.46%	398.109	64.85%
Source: Zila Khagrachhari in the 2011 census, table PT-01, page 18

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 the Khagrachhari 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	188.975	100%	278,461	100%	342,488	100%	525,664	100%	613.917	100%
Men	98,636	52.20%	148,468	53.32%	180.270	52.64%	277.614	52.81%	313,793	51.11%
Women	90,339	47.80%	129.993	46.68%	162,218	47.36%	248.050	47.19%	300.124	48.89%
Source: Zila Khagrachhari in the 2011 census, table PT-02, page 18

Ethnic groups

There are more and more Bengali immigrants. These are the strongest population group today. Nevertheless, at the last census in 2011, 316,987 people (51.64 percent of the population) counted themselves among the “tribals”, the tribal population. 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 Chakma (161,960 people in the district), Tripuri (86,196 people), Marma (67011 people in the district), Murong , Bawm , Tanchangya , Chak , Khyang , Khumi , Lushei and Pankho . In the sub-districts of Dighinala (65,389 of the 103,392 inhabitants), Khagrachhari Sadar (68,952 of the 111,833 inhabitants), Lakhsmichhari (20,913 of the 25,994 inhabitants), Mahalchhari (35,252 of the 50,757 inhabitants) and Panchhari (41,797 of the 62,198 inhabitants) they are clearly in the majority. In the sub-districts of Dighinala and Lakhsmichhari, the Marma are the majority of the population with 57,598 people (57.60 percent of the population), respectively. 14,680 people (56.47 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 relative majority is Islamic. But in contrast to the rest of the Muslim-dominated country, Khagrachhari has a significant number of Buddhists and Hindus. In three of the eight Upazilas, Muslims are in the majority. In three Upazilas the Buddhists represent the absolute majority, in two further Upazilas the relative majority of the respective population.

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	139.166	49.98%	637	0.23%	48.160	17.29%	89,630	32.19%	868	0.31%	278,461	100.00%
1991	121,631	35.51%	939	0.27%	57,158	16.69%	162.504	47.45%	256	0.07%	342,488	100.00%
2001	206.473	39.28%	3745	0.71%	86,351	16.43%	228.753	43.52%	342	0.06%	525,664	100.00%
2011	231,309	37.68%	4070	0.66%	103.195	16.81%	274.258	44.67%	1085	0.18%	613.917	100.00%
Source: Zila Khagrachhari in the 2011 census, Table PT-14, page 22

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

Population in the district's Upazilas by religion
Upazila	TOTAL	Muslims		Hindus		Buddhists		Christians		Other
	Residents	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of	number	proportion of
Dighinala	103.392	34,641	33.50%	9,650	9.33%	58,679	56.75%	416	0.40%	6th	0.01%
Khagrachhari Sadar	111,833	36,599	32.73%	28,590	25.56%	44,574	39.86%	2049	1.83%	21st	0.02%
Lakhsmichhari	25,994	4662	17.93%	653	2.51%	20638	79.40%	28	0.11%	13	0.05%
Mahalchhari	50,757	13,662	26.92%	5348	10.54%	31,465	61.99%	230	0.45%	52	0.10%
Manikchhari	61,589	40,536	65.82%	6277	10.19%	14.308	23.23%	432	0.70%	36	0.06%
Matiranga	126,477	84.026	66.44%	28,996	22.93%	12,721	10.06%	465	0.37%	269	0.21%
Panchhari	62.198	18,816	30.25%	12,364	19.88%	30,294	48.71%	286	0.46%	438	0.70%
Ramgarh	71,677	41,316	57.64%	11,317	15.79%	18,630	25.99%	164	0.23%	250	0.35%
Source: 2011 census result

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 66.72 percent of 5-9 year olds and 80.47 percent of 10-14 year olds attended school (2011). What is rather unusual for the region is the fact that in percentage terms more girls than 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 more than 3 out of 5 people can read and write in urban areas, 1 in 3 people can read and write in rural areas. The following table shows the development:

Literacy in the Khagrachhari district
unit	1991 census	2001 census	2011 census
	proportion of	proportion of	number	proportion of
TOTAL	24.3%	38.6%	235.128	46.11%
Men	32.0%	46.2%	135.288	51.88%
Women	15.5%	30.1%	99,840	40.07%
TOTAL CITY	35.2%	50.3%	103,862	56.95%
City men	44.0%	57.3%	59,197	62.18%
City women	24.1%	41.7%	44,665	51.23%
TOTAL COUNTRY	19.1%	32.8%	131,266	40.08%
Country men	25.9%	40.3%	76.091	45.96%
Country women	11.7%	24.7%	55,175	34.06%
Source: Zila Khagrachhari in the 2011 census, tables PT-15, page 22 and P-07, page 187

administration

The Khagrachhari district is currently divided into eight so-called Upazilas : Dighinala, Khagrachhari Sadar, Lakhsmichhari, Mahalchhari, Manikchhari, Matiranga, Panchhari and Ramgarh. Within this administrative subdivision there are three self-governing cities ( municipality ), 38 Union Parishads (village councils) and 1706 villages with Khagrachhari Sadar, Matiranga and Ramgarh .

economy

The majority of the employed work in agriculture. In total there are (2011) 458,211 people who are older than 10 years. Of these, 125,495 people are in school, 6,339 people are looking for work and 138,650 people work in a household. 187,727 people are employed. Of these, 121,539 (= 64.7 percent) people work in agriculture and fishing, 6620 in industry and 59,568 in services.

The main agricultural products are rice, corn, ginger and turmeric ( turmeric ). The most common types of fruit are papayas, bananas, pineapples, jackfruit , mangoes, litchis , coconuts and limes. The main export products are rubber, cotton products, ginger , turmeric, pineapple and wood.

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 the Khagrachhari district by Barendro Lal Tripura at Banglapedia
• Khagrachhari at the 2011 census
• Zila Khagrachhari at the 2011 census