Tangail District

Tangail District (Bengali: টাঙ্গাইল জেলা, romanized: Ṭāṅgāil Jēlā) is a district (zila) in the central region of Bangladesh. The establishment of the Tangail began with 3269 square kilometres of land requisitioned from Mymensingh. Earlier it was a Mahakuma of Mymensingh district.. The district consists of 237 square kilometers of the prior mahakuma and with 3,269 square kilometers of land from Mymensingh district. It is the largest district of Dhaka Division by area and second largest by population (after Dhaka district). The population of Tangail zila is about 4 million and its area is 3,414.28 square kilometres (1,318.26 sq mi). The main city of the district is Tangail. It is surrounded by Jamalpur District on the north, Dhaka and Manikganj Districts on the south, Mymensingh and Gazipur on the east, and Sirajganj on the west.

The history of Tangail follows that of the greater part of East Bengal. Ruled by the Bengal Sultanate, it fell under Mughal domination in the 17th century. It became part of Atia pargana under the Sarkar of Bazhua of the Bengal Subah, before falling to the British East India Company. It was ruled by several zamindars including the Nawabs of Dhanbari.

Until 1969, Tangail was a part of Greater Mymensingh. In 1969 the Tangail District was established. Tangail district was created by Tangail Mohokuma from its 237 square kilometers of land and 3,177 square kilometers of land acquired from Mymensingh district. The main rivers that cross the Tangail district are the Jamuna, Dhaleshwari, Jhenai, Bangshi, Louhajang, Langulia, Elongjani, Jugni, Pouli, Fotikjani and the Turag.

The subdivision of Tangail was established in 1870. It was turned into a district on 1 December 1969. The district consists of 11 municipalities, 108 wards of these municipalities, 109 Union Parishads and 2,516 villages.

Tangail district is subdivided into 12 Upazilas:

According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Tangail District had 1,061,746 households and a population of 4,037,316 with an average 3.75 people per household. Among the population, 696,537 (17.25%) inhabitants were under 10 years of age. The population density was 1,188 people per km². Tangail District had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 69.75%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 1075 females per 1000 males. Approximately, 22.60% of the population lived in the urban areas. Ethnic population was 23,708 (0.59%), of which 12,610 were Garo, 5,219 Barman and 4,845 Koch.

In 2011, Muslims made up 92.72% and Hindus 6.83% of the district's population. There is a small population of Christians near Madhupur National Park, mainly Garo tribals, while other ethnic communities: the Koch and Barman, are mainly Hindu and animist.

The total area of the zila is 3,414.28 km² (1318.00 sq mi), of which 497.27 km² (192.00 sq mi) is forested. The zila lies between 24° 01′ and 24° 47′ north latitudes and between 89° 44′ and 90° 18′ east longitudes.