Presidency division is an administrative division within the Indian state of West Bengal. The headquarters and the largest city of the Presidency division is Kolkata, the state capital. Presidency division is bounded by Medinipur division to South-West, Burdwan division to North-West and Malda division to North. The whole east side of the division is covered by India–Bangladesh border.[3]

Presidency
Location of Presidency division in West Bengal
Location of Presidency division in West Bengal
Coordinates: 22°34′22″N 88°21′50″E / 22.5726723°N 88.3638815°E / 22.5726723; 88.3638815
Country India
State West Bengal
HeadquartersKolkata
Government
 • DistrictsHowrah, Kolkata, Nadia, North 24 Paraganas, South 24 Parganas
Area
 • Total20,654 km2 (7,975 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total32,741,224
 • Density1,600/km2 (4,100/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialBengali[1][2]
 • Additional officialEnglish[1]
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
Websitewb.gov.in

Geography

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Districts

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It consists of 5 districts:[4]

Code[5] District Headquarters[6] Established[7] Subdivisions[4] Area[6] Population 2011[6] Population Density Map
HR Howrah Howrah 1947 1,467 km2 (566 sq mi) 4,850,029 3,306/km2 (8,560/sq mi)
 
KO Kolkata Kolkata 1947 185 km2 (71 sq mi) 4,486,679 24,252/km2 (62,810/sq mi)
 
NA Nadia Krishnanagar 1947 3,927 km2 (1,516 sq mi) 5,168,488 1,316/km2 (3,410/sq mi)
 
PN North 24 Parganas Barasat 1986[8] 4,094 km2 (1,581 sq mi) 10,082,852 2,463/km2 (6,380/sq mi)
 
PS South 24 Parganas Alipore 1986[8] 9,960 km2 (3,850 sq mi) 8,153,176 819/km2 (2,120/sq mi)
 
Total 23 24,957 km2 (9,636 sq mi) 32,741,224 1,312/km2 (3,400/sq mi)
 

Demographics

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According to the 2011 census of India, Presidency Division had a population of 32,741,224, roughly equals to the population of Malaysia or the U.S. state of California.

With a population of about 33 million, Presidency Division is the second-most-populous second-level country subdivision in the world, as well as the most populous division of India and West Bengal.

Religions

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Religions in Presidency Division (2011)

  Hinduism (70.90%)
  Islam (27.69%)
  Other religion or irreligion (1.41%)

Hindus form the majority of the population. Muslims form the largest minority in this division. They are mainly concentrated in Basirhat subdivision of Uttar 24 Pargana district, Tehatta subdivision and Krishnanagar Sadar subdivision of Nadia district and Diamond Harbour subdivision and Baruipur subdivision of Dakshin 24 Pargana district.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Fact and Figures". Wb.gov.in. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  2. ^ "52nd Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India" (PDF). Nclm.nic.in. Ministry of Minority Affairs. p. 85. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Divisional Commissioners/ West Bengal". Office of the Resident Commissioner- Govt. of WB. 4 June 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Directory of District, Sub division, Panchayat Samiti/ Block and Gram Panchayats in West Bengal, March 2008". West Bengal. National Informatics Centre, India. 19 March 2008. p. 1. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  5. ^ "NIC Policy on format of e-mail Address: Appendix (2): Districts Abbreviations as per ISO 3166–2" (PDF). Ministry Of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India. 18 August 2004. pp. 5–10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
  6. ^ a b c "Districts : West Bengal". Government of India portal. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
  7. ^ Here 'Established' means year of establishment as a district of West Bengal. The state of West Bengal was established in 1947 with 14 districts of erstwhile Bengal province of British India.
  8. ^ a b Mandal, Asim Kumar (2003). The Sundarbans of India: A Development Analysis. Indus Publishing. pp. 168–169. ISBN 81-7387-143-4. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  9. ^ Population by religious community: West Bengal. 2011 Census of India.