Barguna District (; ) is a district in Barisal Division, in southern Bangladesh. Barguna subdivision was established in 1969 and promoted to a district on 28 February 1984.
Etymology
There is not enough strong proof of naming the district. Some historians say that timber traders of the northern region came here to buy timbers and waited for the favoring flow (Baro - Gone) to overcome and from there the name "Baro-Gana" was derived. Others say that it was named after a famous Rakhine resident of this district while some say that the name came from a bawali named "Barguna".
History
Barguna district was in Sundarban area. In the evolution of time, people started clearing the forest by cutting down the trees and started to live here. Wood merchants used to come here to collect woods from the forest.
Geography
The Barguna District has a total area of 1939.39 km<sup>2</sup>. It was established as a district on 28 February 1984. It is bounded on the north by the districts of Jhalkathi, Barisal, Pirojpur and Patuakhali. In the east, it borders the Patuakhali district. On the south, Barguna is bounded by the Patuakhali district, and the Bay of Bengal. On the western side, it borders Pirojpur and Bagerhat districts. There are six upazilas, six thanas, four municipalities, 42 unions and 560 villages. Important rivers include the Paira River, Bishkhali River, Khakdon river, Baleshwar River and Haringhata river. The total area of the river is 160 km<sup>2</sup> which is 22% of the total area of the district. Moreover, there are 300 natural canals in the district. The average annual temperature is 33.3 °C and annual lowest temperature is 12.1 °C. Annual rainfall of the district is 2506 mm. Total area of reserved forest area is 30533.90 acres.
Demographics
According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Barguna District had 255,390 households and a population of 1,010,531 with an average 3.92 people per household. Among the population, 176,630 (17.48%) inhabitants were under 10 years of age. The population density was 552 people per km<sup>2</sup>. Barguna District had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 80.65%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 1042 females per 1000 males. Approximately, 22.85% of the population lived in urban areas. The ethnic population was 1,137.