Barisal Division with an area of 13295.55 sq km, is bounded by dhaka division on the north, bay of bengal on the south, chittagong division on the east and khulna division on the west. Main rivers are arial khan, bishkhali, burishwar, tentulia, Paira, Haringhata, Baleshwar, kirtankhola, katcha, Agunmukha.

Barisal (Town) consists of 30 wards and 50 mahallas. It has an area of 16.36 sq km. The town has a population of 202242; male 53.28%, female 46.72%. Literacy rate among the town people is 65 %. Barisal municipality was established in 1876 and it was elevated into a city corporation in 2000.

Administration Barisal division was established in 1 January 1993. It consists of six districts, 38 upazilas, 353 union parishads, 3159 mouzas, 12 municipalities, 25 wards and 4163 villages. The districts are barisal, jhalokati, pirojpur, bhola, patuakhali and barguna.

Religious institutions Mosque 12804, tomb 23, temple 3110, church 49, pagoda 22 and math 5

Population 7462644; male 50.67%, female 49.33%; Muslim 88.06%, Hindu 11.7%, Christian 0.18% and others 0.06%.

Literacy and educational institutions Average literacy 35.25%; male 39.67%, female 30.76%. Educational institutions: university 2, government college 13, non-government college 98, medical college 1, government high school 19, non-government high school 852, junior high school 180, polytechnic institute 2, law college 3, cadet college 1, teacher's training college 4, madrasa 1616, government primary school 2583, non-government primary school 1982.

Main occupations Agriculture 40.96%, fishing 3.4%, agricultural labourer 18%, wage labourer 4.59%, commerce 11.92%, transport 1.73%, construction 1.34%, service 7.39%, others 10.67%.

Main crops Paddy, betel leaf, potato, sugarcane, oil seed, onion, garlic, vegetables.

Main fruits Coconut, amra, guava, betel nut, banana.

Health centres Hospital 9, upazila health complex 37, union health centre 158, health and family planning centre 198, satellite clinic 72, private clinic 78, diabetic hospital 1. [Sajahan Miah]

See Map in bangladesh.