| Sylhet | |
| Native Name: | সিলেট জেলা |
| Native Name Lang: | bn |
| Official Name: | Sylhet District |
| Type: | District of Bangladesh |
| Map Caption1: | Expandable map of Sylhet District |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Sylhet in Bangladesh |
| Coordinates: | 24.8833°N 143°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Bangladesh |
| Subdivision Type1: | Division |
| Subdivision Name1: | Sylhet Division |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Established Date: | 1772 |
| Leader Title: | Deputy Commissioner |
| Leader Name: | Md. Mozibor Rahman[1] |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 3452.07 |
| Population Total: | 3857037 |
| Population As Of: | 2022 census |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Demonym: | Sylheti |
| Timezone1: | BST |
| Utc Offset1: | +06:00 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 3100 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | HDI (2018) |
| Blank Info Sec1: | 0.596[3] · 11th of 21 |
Sylhet District (Bengali: সিলেট জেলা), located in north-east Bangladesh, is one of the four districts in the Sylhet Division, which contains Sylhet, the regional capital.
See main article: History of Sylhet. Sylhet District was created in 1772 after this area was acquired by the British in 1767 and Mr. William Thackeray was appointed as the first collector. Current Sylhet District consists of 12 (Twelve) Upazilas. There is an attempt to make this web portal useful to the needs of information seekers. It contains detailed information on various important government departments, resources, publications, education, agriculture, medicine, tourism and housing. The process of continuously enriching the web portal will continue.Sylhet District was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Bengal Province under Dhaka Division. However, in that year, Sylhet was moved to the newly created Assam Province, and it remained as part of Assam up to 1947 (except during the administrative reorganisation of Bengal Province between 1905 and 1912). Sylhet District was divided into five subdivisions and the current Sylhet District was known as the North Sylhet subdivision. In 1947, Sylhet became a part of East Pakistan as a result of a referendum (except 3 thanas of Karimganj subdivision) as part of Chittagong Division. It was subdivided into four districts in 1983–84 with the current Sylhet District being known as North Sylhet. It became a part of Sylhet Division after its formation in 1995. Sylhet has played a vital role in the Bangladeshi economy. Several of Bangladesh's finance ministers have been Members of Parliament from the city of Sylhet.
According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Sylhet District had a population of 3,857,037, 21.9% of whom lived in urban areas. The household size was 5.2. The population density was 1,117 people per km2. The literacy rate (age 7 and over) was 76.3%, compared to the national average of 74.7%.[4]
| 561,124 | 73.34% | 3,180,766 | 92.62% | ||
| 189,226 | 24.73% | 248,154 | 7.23% | ||
| Tribal religion | 14,360 | 1.88% | 2,174 | 0.06% | |
| Others | 361 | 0.05% | 3,094 | 0.09% | |
| Total Population | 765,071 | 100% | 3,434,188 | 100% |
Muslims make up 92.52% of the population while Hindus are 7.32% of the population. Ethnic population is 12,781, mainly Khasi.
Sylhet District is divided into thirteen upazilas.[6]
The upazilas are:
Sylhet has a typical Bangladeshi tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am) bordering on a humid subtropical climate (Cwa) at higher elevations. The rainy season starts from April to October and it is so hot and humid with very heavy showers and thunderstorms almost every day, whilst the short dry season starts from November to February and it is very warm and fairly clear. Nearly 80% of the annual average rainfall of 4200mm occurs between May and September.[7]
The city is located within the region where there are hills and basins which constitute one of the most distinctive regions in Bangladesh. The physiography of Sylhet consists mainly of hill soils, encompassing a few large depressions known locally as "beels" which can be mainly classified as oxbow lakes, caused by tectonic subsidence primarily during the earthquake of 1762.
Geologically, the region is complex having diverse sacrificial geomorphology; high topography of Plio-Miocene age. Available limestone deposits in different parts of the region suggest that the whole area was under the ocean in the Oligo-Miocene. In the last 150 years three major earthquakes hit the city, at a magnitude of at least 7.5 on the Richter Scale, the last one took place in 1918, although many people are unaware that Sylhet lies on an earthquake prone zone.[8]