Bangladesh

Local government information correct as of 2009

Keyfacts

POPULATION (census 2001): 124,355,263
AREA: 143,998 sq km
CAPITAL: Dhaka
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTION TO GDP: -
CURRENCY: taka (BDT)
HEAD OF STATE: President Zillur Rahman
HEAD OF GOVERNMENT: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed
FORM OF GOVERNMENT: democratic republic
PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM: unicameral
STATE STRUCTURE: unitary
LANGUAGES: Bangla (official)
NATIONAL ELECTIONS: last: 2009; turnout: 74.9%; next: 2014
LOCAL ELECTIONS: upazila parishad last: 2009;  next: 2014
municipal and city last: 2008;  next: 2013

Summary

Bangladesh is a democratic republic with two spheres of government: national and local. Local government is enshrined in the constitution and the main legislative texts include several 2008 local government Ordinances, the Zila Parishad Act 2000 and the Hill District Local Government Parishad Act 1989. The Local Government Division within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development and Cooperatives is responsible for local government, with the exception of the hill district parishads, which are under the Ministry of Hill Tract Affairs. There are 64 administrative districts and below this a tiered
system of local government comprising singletier urban authorities comprising six city corporations and a number of town pourashavas; and three tiered rural local government comprising 61 zila (district) parishads, 469 upazila (sub-district) parishads, 4,484 union parishads, and three hill district parishads. All local governments have the power to levy taxes and rates and the range of functions for which each type of authority is responsible varies widely from amongst many other things public health and hospitals, education and social welfare for city  for city corporations and pourashavas to implementation of development projects, public libraries and roads for upazila and union parishads.

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Additional information since publication:

no information at present