Shariatpur District

Shariatpur District () is a district in Dhaka Division of central Bangladesh. Shariatpur is named after the Islamic revivalist, Haji Shariatullah.

Etymology

Shariatpur was named after Haji Shariatullah (1781–1840), who was the founder of the Faraizi Movement and an eminent Islamic reformer/revivalist during the British Raj.

Geography

Shariatpur is a district in central Bangladesh lying in the centre of Bangladesh. It is bordered by the Padma River to the north which separates it from Munshiganj District, the Meghna River to the east which separates the district from Chandpur, Barisal district to the south and Madaripur district to the west. The land is mostly low-lying alluvial deposits and contains many small streams formed by the movement of the Padma as it moves southeast. A small part of the district lies north of the Padma, but the most part remains to the south. The northeast corner of the district lies roughly where the Padma and Meghna join and contains several chars.

History

Shariatpur shares much of the history of the rest of the Faridpur and Barisal region. Formerly at the border of the regions of Vanga and Samatata, it passed through the hands of various local dynasties before Muslim rule in the late 13th century. A fort of Zamindars Chand Rai and Kedar Rai, of the Baro Bhuyans, was constructed in Shariatpur area. It was established as a district on 1 March 1984.

Area of Shariatpur district is .

Demography

According to the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, Shariatpur District had 308,964 households and a population of 1,294,562. The population density was 1,103 people per km². Shariatpur District had a literacy rate (age 7 and over) of 72.90%, compared to the national average of 74.80%, and a sex ratio of 1083 females per 1000 males. 265,911 (20.54%) inhabitants were under 10 years of age. Approximately, 23.90% of the population lived in urban areas. The ethnic population was 438.