Khulna (, ) is the third-largest city in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, after

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

and

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

. It is the administrative centre of the

Khulna District Khulna District () is a district of Bangladesh. It is located in the Khulna Division, bordered in the north by Jashore District and Narail District, in the south by the Bay of Bengal, in the east by Bagerhat District, and the west by Satkhira D ...

and the

Khulna Division Khulna Division () is the second largest of the eight divisions of Bangladesh. It has an area of and a population of 17,416,645 at the 2022 Bangladesh census (preliminary returns). Its headquarters and largest city is Khulna city in Khulna Dist ...

. It is the divisional centre of 10 districts of the division. Khulna is also the second largest port city of Bangladesh after

because of

Port of Mongla The Port of Mongla is a link seaport, located at Mongla Upazila, Khulna Division, Bangladesh. It is a sea port of Khulna city, which is located to the north shore of the Bay of Bengal. It is the second largest and second busiest seaport of Bang ...

. There is also a river port within the city named Port of Khulna. Khulna's economy is mainly marine, sea port and local industry based and it is the third-largest in Bangladesh, contributing $53 billion in

gross regional domestic product Gross regional domestic product (GRDP), gross domestic product of region (GDPR), or gross state product (GSP) is a statistic that measures the size of a region's economy. It is the aggregate of gross value added (GVA) of all resident producer unit ...

and $95 billion in purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2020. Khulna is on the Rupsha and

Bhairab River The Bhairab () is a river in south-western Bangladesh, a distributary of the Ganges. It passes through Khulna, dividing the city into two parts. Bhairab River originates from Tengamari border of Meherpur District and passes through Jessore city ...

, a strategic industrial point in southwestern Bangladesh. It is also an important industrial hub in Bangladeshi industry, hosting many of the nation's largest companies. Khulna's economy is affected by the

, Bangladesh's second-largest seaport. A colonial

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

service, which includes the ''Tern'', ''Osrich'' and ''Lepcha'', operates on the river route to the city. Khulna is considered the gateway to the

Sundarbans Sundarbans (; pronounced ) is a mangrove forest area in the Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Hooghly River in India's state of West Bengal ...

, the world's largest

mangrove forest Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangrove trees cannot withsta ...

and home of the

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies and the nominate tiger subspecies. It ranks among the largest wild cats alive today. It is estimated to have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late ...

. It is north of the

Mosque City of Bagerhat The Mosque City of Bagerhat (; historically known as Khalifatabad) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bagerhat District, Bangladesh. It contains 360 mosques, public buildings, mausoleums, bridges, roads, water tanks and other public buildings c ...

, a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

History

Khulna was part of the ancient kingdoms of

Vanga The family Vangidae (from ''vanga'', Malagasy for the hook-billed vanga, ''Vanga curvirostris'') comprises a group of often shrike-like medium-sized birds distributed from Asia to Africa, including the vangas of Madagascar to which the family o ...

Gangaridai Gangaridai (, ) is a term used by the ancient Greco-Roman writers (1st century BCE–2nd century AD) to describe people or a geographical region of the ancient Indian subcontinent. Some of these writers state that Alexander the Great withdrew f ...

and

Samatata Samataṭa (Brahmi script: ''sa-ma-ta-ṭa'') was an ancient geopolitical division of Bengal in the eastern Indian subcontinent. The Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman account of Sounagoura is linked to the kingdom of Samatata. Its territory corres ...

. After the end of the

Pala Empire The Pāla Empire was the empire ruled by the Pala dynasty, ("protector" in Sanskrit) a medieval Indian dynasty which ruled the kingdom of Gauda Kingdom, Gauda. The empire was founded with the election of Gopala, Gopāla by the chiefs of Kingdo ...

, it was ruled by the

Sena dynasty The Sena/Sen dynasty was a List of Hindu empires and dynasties, Hindu dynasty during the Classical India, early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak cover ...

during the 12th-century reign of Ballala Sena, and formed part of the Bagri division of Bengal. During the 14th century,

Shamsuddin Firoz Shah Shamsuddin Firuz Shah (, , ''Shams Ad-Dīn Firūz Shāh''; reigned: 1301–1322) was the independent ruler of the Lakhnauti Kingdom. He ascended the throne with the title of ''Al-Sultan Al-Azam Shams Al-Duniya wa Al-Din Abu Al-Muzaffar Firuz Shah ...

was the first Muslim ruler to arrive in the city. Muslim settlements increased during the time of

Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah was the founder of the Sultanate of Bengal and its inaugural Ilyas Shahi dynasty. The Ilyas Shahi Dynasty ruled Bengal for 145 years (1342–1487), except for a 21-year interregnum by the House of Ganesha, descendants of R ...

, and many mosques and shrines were established. A Muslim saint,

Khan Jahan Ali Khan Jahan Ali or Ulugh Khān (), was a Muslim saint and the Khan-i-Azam of Khalifatabad (now in Bangladesh). It is believed that he built the great Mosque City of Bagerhat, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Background and early life He is also ...

, acquired a ''

jagir A jagir (), ( Hindustani: जागीर/جاگیر, ''Jāgīr''), ( Marathi: जहागीर, ''Jahāgīrá'') also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar ( Zamindar ...

'' (fiefdom) encompassing a large part of Khulna Division from the king of Gauḍa during the 15th century and renamed the region as Jahanabad. Ali ruled until he died in 1459. After Ali's death, the city became part of the

Bengal Sultanate The Bengal Sultanate (Middle Bengali: , Classical Persian: ) was a Post-classical history, late medieval sultanate based in the Bengal region in the eastern South Asia between the 14th and 16th century. It was the dominant power of the Ganges- ...

. During the reign of Daud Khan Karrani in the 16th century, Vikramaditya (one of Karrani's chief ministers) obtained a grant in southern Bengal—including Khulna—when Karrani was fighting the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...

. Vikramaditya established a sovereign kingdom with its capital at Iswaripur (in present-day Satkhira District). He was succeeded by his son, Pratapaditya, who gained preeminence over the

Baro-Bhuyan The ''Baro-Bhuyans'' (or ''Baro-Bhuyan Raj''; also ''Baro-Bhuians'' and ''Baro-Bhuiyans'') were confederacies of soldier-landowners in Assam and Bengal in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. The confederacies consisted of loosel ...

s and controlled southern Bengal. Vikramaditya was defeated by Raja

Man Singh I Mirza Raja Man Singh I (21 December 1550 – 6 July 1614) was the 24th Raja, Kachawaha Rajput ruler of the Kingdom of Amber from 1589 to 1614. He also served as the foremost imperial Subahdar of Bihar Subah from 1587 to 1594, then for Ben ...

, a Hindu Rajput general of the Mughal emperor

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

, in 1611. Khulna was ruled by autonomous Bengali

nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

s until 1793 when the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

abolished ''nizamat'' (local rule) and took control of the city. Becoming part of Jessore District in 1842, it became the headquarters of Khulna District (the Khulna and Bagerhat subdivisions of Jashore District, the Satkhira subdivision of

24 Parganas 24 Parganas (Pron: pɔrɡɔnɔs; abbr. 24 PGS), or sometimes Twenty Four Parganas, is a former district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Alipore. On 1 March 1986, the district was bifurcated into two separate districts namel ...

district, and the Sundarbans) in 1882. Khulna had a ''pouroshava'' (

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

) in 1884, which became a

municipal corporation Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally o ...

in 1984. Before 19 August 1947, Khulna District was part of undivided Bengal. Khulna first declared itself as part of India in 1947, and the Indian flag was flown on 15 August. Syed Mohammad Abdul Halim (an official of the Bengali civil service) requested Khulna's inclusion in Pakistan, and the boundary commission declared that the city was part of

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

. Sher e Bangla A.K.Fazlul Haq, Muslim League leaders Khan A Sabur, Advocate Hamidul Haq Chowdhury, A. F. M. Abdul Jalil, and Abdul Mojid Khan were also involved in the process. During the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

, the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

created the 314th ''ad hoc'' Brigade to hold Khulna. The city's

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

fighters were part of sector 8 under the command of Major Abu Osman Chowdhury and, later, under Major

Mohammad Abdul Monjur Muhammed Abul Manzur (24 February 1940 – 1 June 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer who commanded the Bangladesh Forces operations in Sector 8 during the Bangladesh Liberation War against Pakistan in 1971. He was allegedly involved in t ...

Geography

Khulna is Bangladesh's third-largest city, after

and

. It is in the southwestern part of the country, on the Rupsha and

s. Even though the city corporation area is 45.65 square Kilometres, The total city area covers ,Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; Area, Population and Literacy Rate by Paurashava – 2001 (''pdf-file'')
Retrieved on 29 September 2008. and

covers . Khulna is south of

Jessore Jessore (, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District in Khulna Division. It lies in southwestern Bangladesh. It is home to the first flight training school of the Bangladeshi Air Force, established in 1971. Jessore city consists of 9 wa ...

and

Narail District Narail District () is a district in south-western Bangladesh. It is a part of Khulna Division. History Narail town was named after a feudal lord (a zamindar). The zamindars established a market at Roopgonj, also named after a zamindar. They est ...

, east of Satkhira District, west of

Bagerhat Bagerhat is a city in southern Bangladesh and the headquarters of Bagerhat district. Located on the banks of the Bhairab river, Bagerhat has a population of around 50,000. It is located near the old city of Khalifatabad The Mosque City of Bag ...

and north of the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

. It is part of the

Ganges Delta The Ganges Delta (also known the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, the Sundarbans Delta or the Bengal Delta) is a river delta predominantly covering the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Be ...

, the world's largest

river delta A river delta is a landform, archetypically triangular, created by the deposition of the sediments that are carried by the waters of a river, where the river merges with a body of slow-moving water or with a body of stagnant water. The creat ...

, the world's largest

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

forest, is in the southern part of the delta. Tidal-flat ecosystems are adjacent to the city. Khulna is in the northern part of the district, and the Mayur River is the western boundary of its metropolitan area.

Climate

In the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Khulna has a

tropical wet and dry climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

. The city is hot and humid during summer, and pleasantly warm during winter. Khulna is significantly affected by the

Monsoon of South Asia The Monsoon of South Asia is among several geographically distributed global monsoons. It affects the Indian subcontinent, where it is one of the oldest and most anticipated weather phenomena and an economically important pattern every year fro ...

. Khulna gets less rainfall than other parts of Bangladesh due to its location and the effects of the

south of the city. Its annual average rainfall is h about 87 percent falling between May and October. Khulna also receives heavy rain from

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

s which form in the

. The city has an annual average temperature of , with monthly averages ranging from on January mornings to during April afternoons.

Administration

Khulna Municipal Council was founded on 12 December 1884. It became a

in 1984 and a

city corporation Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally ow ...

in 1990.

Khulna City Corporation Khulna City Corporation ( - in short: KCC), is a local governing body that administers all civic services in Khulna, a area of Bangladesh. The KCC administration is elected by a popular vote every five years. It is headed by a mayor, who presides ...

(KCC) is a self-governing corporation run by an elected mayor, who governs the city's 31 wards. The

Khulna Metropolitan Police The Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP), is a metropolitan police unit of the Bangladesh Police for the Khulna Metropolitan Area based in Khulna City. History The Khulna Metropolitan Police was established on 1 July 1986 by the Khulna Metropoli ...

(KMP) maintains law and order and regulates traffic in the metropolitan area. It has eight police stations: Khulna Kotwali Thana, Sonadanga Thana, Khalishpur Thana, Daulatpur Thana, Khan Jahan Ali Thana, Aranghata Thana, Harintana Thana and Labanchara Thana. The Metropolitan Magistrate Court (CMM) adjudicates the city's legal issues. The

Khulna Development Authority Khulna Development Authority (KDA) is a governing body that is responsible for planned development in Khulna City, Bangladesh. It was established by an ordinance of the Government of East Pakistan called the Khulna Development Authority Ordinance ...

(KDA) plans and coordinates the city's development. Khulna Water Supply & Sewerage Authority (KWASA) parallels the KCC. Khulna city area has two parliamentary seats. They are *

Khulna-2 Khulna-2 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh. Since 6 August 2024 the constituency is vacant. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Kotwali Thana (Khulna), Khulna Sadar and Sonadanga Thana, ...

* Khulna-3

Military

Khulna is one of two principal naval command centers for the

Bangladesh Navy The Bangladesh Navy () is the naval warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, responsible for the defence of Bangladesh's of maritime territorial area from any external threat, the security of sea ports and exclusive economic zones of Ban ...

. The

BNS Titumir BNS ''Titumir'' () is a naval base of the Bangladeshi Navy, founded after the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, and located in Khulna. Till 1971 it was titled as PNS Titumir as Bangladesh was then part of Pakistan. Career Naval base Titumir is ...

naval base is in the city.

Jahanabad Cantonment Jahanabad Cantonment is a cantonment of the Bangladesh Army located in Khulna, Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, e ...

, containing the Army Service Corps Center and School (ASCC&S) is situated in Gilatola area of the Khulna metropolitan. Also

Khulna Shipyard The Khulna Shipyard Limited () is a Bangladeshi state-owned defense contractor based in Khulna, Bangladesh. It is located on of land at Labanchara, Khulna, Bangladesh. It is about 45 km north from the Port of Mongla. The shipyard has the c ...

is a renowned military naval Institute in Khulna region

Demographics

As of the 2022 census, Khulna City Corporation had 188,579 households and a population of 719,557. 14.97% of the population was under 10 years of age. Khulna had a literacy rate of 88.07% for those 7 years and older and a sex ratio of 102.91 males per 100 females. In the 2011 census, Khulna City Corporation had a population of 751,237 in 177,852 households. Khulna had a sex ratio of 923 females to 1000 males and a literacy rate of 72.7%. Like the rest of Bangladesh, most of the city's population is

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

. Khulna's native residents are known as Khulnaiya. Its population also consists of people from neighboring districts. Most residents speak

(the national language), its dialects, and regional languages. English is understood by a large segment of the population, especially in business. An Urdu-speaking population, descendants of Muslims displaced from Bihar in 1947 who sought refuge in

, lives in the city's Khalishpur area.

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

is Khulna's major religion, practiced by 89.06% of the population. Other religions are

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

(practiced by 9.86%), and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

(1.04%).

Economy

Khulna is Bangladesh's third-largest economic center. North of the

, it has a variety of industries. Major sectors are

jute Jute ( ) is a long, rough, shiny bast fibre that can be Spinning (textiles), spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', of the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ...

chemicals A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

, fish and seafood packaging,

food processing Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing takes many forms, from grinding grain into raw flour, home cooking, and complex industrial methods used in the mak ...

, sugar milling, power generation and

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

. The Khulna Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) regulates commerce through its Licensed Measurers' Department (LMD) and certification, attestation, and publicity departments. The region has an

Export Processing Zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to ...

, attracting foreign investment. The city is home to branch offices of several national companies, including M. M. Ispahani Limited,

BEXIMCO Bangladesh Export Import Company Limited ( Bangla transliteration: বাংলাদেশ এক্সপোর্ট ইমপোর্ট কোম্পানি লিমিটেড), commonly known by its trade name BEXIMCO ( Bangla: � ...

James Finlay Bangladesh JF (Bangladesh) Limited, previously known as James Finlay Bangladesh, is a prominent shipping and logistics business in Bangladesh. It is a successor firm of James Finlay Limited, a leading Scottish trading company in the British Empire. History ...

, Summit Power and the Abul Khair Group. Khulna's largest companies include

Bangladesh Cable Shilpa Limited Bangladesh Cable Shilpa Limited or BCSL is a state owned company A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit ...

, Bangladesh Oxygen, Platinum Jubilee Mills, Star Jute Mills, and the Khulna Oxygen Company.

Transport

Road

Rickshaw Rickshaw originally denoted a pulled rickshaw, which is a two- or three-wheeled cart generally pulled by one person carrying one passenger. The first known use of the term was in 1879. Over time, cycle rickshaws (also known as pedicabs or tr ...

s are the most popular means of public transport in Khulna for short trips, and

auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...

s are also common. Nagar Paribahan buses have frequent service between Rupsha and Phultala, with stops throughout Khulna. Motorcycles are popular among the middle class, but wealthier people prefer a private car. The N7 highway connects Khulna with the rest of Bangladesh, and the Khulna City Bypass is a major road. The R760 connects Satkhira and western Khulna Districts. There are several nationwide bus services available in Khulna (most privately owned), and the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation operates inter-district buses from the city. Sonadanga Bus Terminal is Khulna's main bus terminal. Major bus routes include Khulna-Jessore-Dhaka; Khulna-Goplaganj-Dhaka; Khulna-Jessore-Kushtia; Khulna-Satkhira; Khulna-Bagerhat; Khulna-Mongla; Khulna-Narail; Khulna-Barisal; Khulna-Rajshahi; Khulna-Faridpur; Khulna-Kuakata, and Khulna-Dhaka-Chittagong.

Rail

Khulna Railway Station is the city's main station.

Bangladesh Railway Bangladesh Railway () is the state-owned rail transport agency of Bangladesh. It operates and maintains all railways in the country, and is overseen by the Directorate General of Bangladesh Railway. The Bangladesh Railway is governed by the Mi ...

operates six intercity trains: the

Sundarban Sundarbans (; pronounced ) is a mangrove forest area in the Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Hooghly River in India's state of West Bengal to t ...

and Chitra Expresses (to

), the Kapotaksha and Sagardari Expresses (to

Rajshahi Rajshahi (, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major Urban area, urban, administrative, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi Distr ...

), and the Rupsa and Seemanta Expresses to Chilahati. Two commuter express trains serve

Benapole Benapole () is a town at Sharsha Upazila in the Jessore District of Bangladesh. The Petrapole Customs station of India is situated across the border and since 1947, many people have travelled between what is now Bangladesh and India through Ben ...

, in addition to mail trains to Parbatipur,

Chapainawabganj Chapai Nawabganj or Chapainawabganj District () is a district of Rajshahi Division. It is located in the north-western part of Bangladesh. The north and western-part of Chapainawabganj is bounded by Malda district, Malda and Murshidabad distr ...

and

Goalanda Goalanda may refer to the following places: * Goalanda Upazila, a subdistrict of Dhaka, Bangladesh * Goalundo Ghat Goalundo Ghat (also spelled Goalanda and Goalondo; ) is a small town and Municipality#Municipalities as lower-level governance ...

. The international

Bandhan Express The Bandhan Express train () is an international express rail service which runs between the Indian city Kolkata and the Bangladeshi city Khulna every week. It is the second modern day, fully air conditioned passenger train link between the In ...

runs to

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. The city has four other railway stations, and two more (in addition to the Rupsha Rail Bridge) are newly inaugurated as part of the Khulna–Mongla Port Railway project.

Air

Jashore Airport, north of Khulna, has flights to

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Biman Bangladesh Airlines, commonly known as Biman ( , ), is the national flag carrier of Bangladesh. With its main hub at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, the airline also operates flights from its secondary hubs at Shah Am ...

US-Bangla Airlines US-Bangla Airlines () is the largest airline in Bangladesh by fleet size. It is headquartered in Dhaka and based at Shahjalal International Airport under the umbrella companies of US-Bangla Group. History Foundation and early years US-Bangla ...

and

Novoair Novoair () is a Bangladeshi airline based in Dhaka operating mostly domestic flights. It operates 25 flights each day from Dhaka to eight destinations. History Novoair was established in October 2007 as an aviation service provider as the busin ...

, with air-conditioned bus service from the airport to the city.

Khan Jahan Ali Airport Khan Jahan Ali Airport is an planned airport in Bagerhat, Bangladesh. As it is very close to Khulna, it was planned to mainly serve the Khulna Khulna (, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the adminis ...

, is an airport under construction near Khulna city to serve Khulna region.

Water

Several passenger launches and cargo services operate from the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority launch terminal in the city.

Public transport

There is public transportation in Khulna city through the mid 19's. Buses of that urban transportation of Khulna city were called 'Murir Tin'. Today besides the urban transportation buses,

Cycle rickshaw The cycle rickshaw is a small-scale local means of transport. It is a type of tricycle designed to carry passengers on a vehicle for hire, for-hire basis. It is also known by a variety of other names such as bike taxi, velotaxi, pedicab, bi ...

auto rickshaws An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...

are playing a vital role in transport within Khulna city and the adjoining metro area. Famous ride sharing services like

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. is an American multinational transportation company that provides Ridesharing company, ride-hailing services, courier services, food delivery, and freight transport. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, a ...

, Pathao, Obhai also available in the city. There are also bus and mini-bus services on some routes, connecting suburban areas of the city. Plenty of rental car agencies operate within the city and metro area, where sedans, SUVs, and micro-buses are available to hire hourly or daily.

Education

Educational institutions in the city include

Khulna University of Engineering & Technology Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (), commonly known as KUET, formerly BIT Khulna, is a public technological university located in Khulna, Bangladesh. It emphasizes education and research in engineering and technology. It was founde ...

(KUET). The university, earlier known as Bangladesh Institute of Technology, Khulna, is the only engineering university in Khulna and was listed in the 2019 edition of ''

QS Asian University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with ''Times Hig ...

''. Brajalal College, founded in 1902, is the city's oldest higher-education institution.

Khulna University Khulna University () is a public university, public research university at Gollamari in Khulna, Bangladesh. It was established in 1991. The university campus is near the river Moyur, on the Sher E Bangla Road (Khulna-Satkhira highway). The acad ...

is the only public university in Bangladesh where student politics is prohibited. There is also an agriculture university, named Khulna Agricultural University (KAU) was founded in 2019. Khulna Medical University and

Khulna Medical College The Khulna Medical College (KMC) () is a government medical school in Khulna, Bangladesh. It is affiliated with Sheikh Hasina Medical University. It is located in the city of Khulna, near the inter-district Bus Stand at the entrance to the city ...

(KMC) are public medical institutions, while

North Western University, Bangladesh North Western University (NWU) (), established in 2012, is the first private university of Khulna Khulna (, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of the Khulna District and the ...

(NWU) and the Northern University of Business & Technology (NUBT) and Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah University,these universities are private. Bangladesh Army University of Science and Technology is also a renowned private university in Khulna. High schools in Khulna include: * Khulna Zilla School. *Govt. Model High School, Khulna. * St. Joseph's High School, Khulna. * Govt. Model School and College, Boyra, Khulna. * Khulna Collectorate Public School & College * Khulna Public School and College.

Sports

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

are the two most popular sports in Khulna, and the

Khulna Division cricket team The Khulna Division cricket team is a first-class team representing the Khulna Division in south-west Bangladesh, one of the country's eight administrative regions. The team competes in the National Cricket League and was a participant in the n ...

's home ground is in the city. Khulna's cricket

Bangladesh Premier League Bangladesh Premier League (), also known as Dutch-Bangla Bank BPL for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Bangladesh organised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). It was formed in 2011 by the BCB, after the su ...

Khulna Titans Khulna Tigers () is a franchise Twenty20 cricket team representing the Khulna division in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), a Twenty20 cricket tournament. The franchise was owned by Gemcon Sports and was founded in 2016 as a replacement for ...

was formerly the Khulna Royal Bengals. The Khulna Abahani Club played in the Bangladesh Football Premier League for several seasons before its relegation in the 2008–09 season.

Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium Khulna Divisional Stadium, (, previously known as Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium and Bir Shrestha Shahid Flight Lieutenant Motiur Rahman Stadium) is a test cricket venue in Khulna, Bangladesh. History Khulna, situated in the south-western corner of ...

, the city's international sports venue (hosting

test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

and

Twenty20 International Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...

matches), became Bangladesh's seventh test-cricket venue on 21 November 2012; it also hosts several Bangladesh Premier League matches.

Khulna District Stadium Khulna District Stadium, established in 1958, is a football stadium which is located near the Khulna Shishu Hospital, Khulna, Bangladesh. See also *Stadiums in Bangladesh *List of football stadiums in Bangladesh * Football in Bangladesh *Sport in ...

hosts other domestic sports and cultural events.

Media

Print media include the ''Daily Purbanchal'', ''Daily Janmabhumi'', ''Daily Shomoyer Khobor'' and ''Dakhinanchal Protidin''. The ''Daily Tribune'' is the only English-language newspaper. Electronic media include the ''Khulna Gazette'', ''Protidin Shebok'', ''Shomoyer Khobor''. Radio stations are

Bangladesh Betar Bangladesh Betar (; ), is the state-owned radio broadcaster of Bangladesh, initially established as the Dhaka station of All India Radio in 1939. It was later made part of Radio Pakistan. After the independence of the country in 1971, Radio Pakis ...

Khulna,

Radio Today Radio Today is a 24 hours radio station in Bangladesh that started airing in May 2006. It is currently available in Dhaka, Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Khulna, Bogra, Sylhet, Mymensingh, Barishal, Kushtia, Comilla. History Radio Today started as ...

(89.6 MHz), Radio Foorti (88.0), and Radio Khulna FM (88.8).

Television

State-owned

Bangladesh Television Bangladesh Television (), commonly known by its acronym BTV (), is the state-owned television network of Bangladesh. The network was originally established as the East Pakistan branch of Pakistan Television Corporation, Pakistan Television in 1 ...

has a relay station in the Khalishpur Thana of Khulna, established in 1977. There were several attempts at converting it to a full-fledged television station, but this has not been successful as of today. Privately-owned

Ekushey Television Ekushey Television (; , in reference to 21 February), also known by its acronym ETV, is a Bangladeshi Bengali-language privately owned satellite and cable television channel. It is headquartered in Kawran Bazar, Dhaka, and is Bangladesh's first ...

, which formerly broadcast on terrestrial, had a station in Khulna which broadcast on VHF channel 8 as of August 2002.

Tourism

The

, in Khulna District, is home to the

and the world's largest virgin mangrove forest. It is a

. The

, in

Bagerhat District Bagerhat District () is a district in south-western Bangladesh. It is a part of Khulna Division. Geography Bagerhat district has a total area of 44,959.11 square kilometres. It is bounded by Gopalganj District and Narail District on the north, ...

about south-east of Khulna, is also a World Heritage Site. Rabindra Complex is in the village of Dakkhindihi, from Khulna. Tagore visited the home of

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

's father-in-law, Beni Madhab Roy Chowdhury, several times. The museum has been renovated and is administered by Bangladesh's Department of Archaeology. The Khulna Divisional Museum, founded in 1998, was established by the country's Department of Archaeology.

Notable residents

–

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

saint * Khan A Sabur – Politician * Prafulla Chandra Ray – Chemist *

Sheikh Razzak Ali Sheikh Razzak Ali (28 August 1928 – 7 June 2015) was a Bangladeshi politician, Deputy Law Minister of State and Deputy Speaker and two time Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad, Speaker of Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad. Ali died on 7 June 2015. Early l ...

– Lawyer, politician, deputy speaker, and speaker of the

Jatiyo Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the unicameral legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for women. Elected ...

* Tanvir Mokammel – Filmmaker and writer * Firoz Mahmud- Visual artist and painter *

Nilima Ibrahim Neelima Ibrahim (11 October 1921 – 18 June 2002) was a Bangladeshi educationist, littérateur and social worker. She is well known for her scholarship on Bengali literature but even more so for her depiction of raped and tortured women in the ...

- Educationist, littérateur and social worker *

Prafulla Chandra Sen Prafulla Chandra Sen (10 April 1897 – 25 September 1990) was an Indian politician and freedom fighter. He was the Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1962 to 1967. Background Prafulla Chandra Sen was born in the village Senhati in the Khulna ...

– Former

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

chief minister * Sheikh Abu Naser – Politician * Rudra Mohammad Shahidullah - Poet * Qazi Imdadul Haq – Writer * Humayun Kabir Balu – Renowned journalist, Freedom fighter and Ekushey Padak winner in journalism *

SM Shafiuddin Ahmed Sheikh Mohammad Shafiuddin Ahmed (born 1 December 1963) is a retired Bangladeshi Four-star rank, four star general who was Chief of Army Staff (Bangladesh), chief of army staff of the Bangladesh Army. He served as the quartermaster general an ...

– 17th Chief of Army Staff (CAS) of

Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army () is the land warfare branch, and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to defend the land of Bangladesh from any external attack. Control of personnel and operations is ad ...

Sheikh Salahuddin Shaikh Salahuddin may refer to: *Sheikh Salahuddin (Karachi politician) (born 1956) *Shaikh Salahuddin (Hyderabad politician) (fl. 2008) *Sheikh Salahuddin (cricketer) (1969–2013) {{hndis, Salahuddin, Shaikh ...

– Former cricketer *

Bishnu Chattopadhyay Bishnu Chattopadhyay popularly known as ''Bistu Thakur'' (April 1910 – April 11, 1971) was a Bangladeshi politician who was killed in the Bangladesh Liberation war. He was an Indian independence activist and leader of the peasant movement. ...

– Freedom fighter and peasant leader *

Abdur Razzak ʻAbd al-Razzāq (ALA-LC romanization of ) is a male Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Razzāq'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to the Muslim theophori ...

– Cricketer * Manjural Islam Rana – Cricketer * Popy (Sadia Parvin Popy) – Actress, model *

Moushumi Arifa Pervin Zaman (born 3 November 1973), known by her stage name Moushumi, is a Bangladeshi film actress and director. Regarded as one of the most popular and successful actresses of Bangladesh Film Industry, she established herself as one of ...

(Arifa Pervin Moushumi) – Actress, model *

Salma Khatun Salma Khatun (; born 1 October 1990) is a Bangladeshi cricketer who plays for the Bangladesh women's national cricket team, Bangladesh cricket team. She plays as right-handed Batting (cricket), batter and right-arm off spin, off break Bowling ( ...

– Cricketer *

Rumana Ahmed Rumana Ahmed () (born 29 May 1991) is a Bangladeshi cricketer who plays for the Bangladesh women's national cricket team, Bangladesh cricket team. She plays as a right-handed Batting (cricket), batter and right-arm leg spin, leg break Bowling (c ...

– Cricketer * Mehedi Hasan – Cricketer *

Bibhuti Roy Bibhuti Roy is an engineer and professor. He is a researcher at the University of Bremen at the ITB in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and a visiting professor at international universities. His research interests include C ...

– Engineer * Puja Cherry Roy – Actress * Afif Hossain – Cricketer * Nurul Hasan Sohan – Cricketer *

Ayasha Rahman Ayasha Rahman Shukhtara Boishakhi () (born 2 February 1994) is a Bangladeshi cricketer who plays for the Bangladesh cricket team. She plays as a right-handed batter and right-arm off break bowler. Rahman was born in Khulna, Bangladesh. Career ...

– Cricketer * Tahin Tahera – Cricketer * Shakil Ahmed – Sports shooter * Md. Rafiqul Islam - Editor/ Secretary General: Parliament Watch *

Ziaur Rahman Ziaur Rahman (19 January 193630 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of t ...

– Cricketer * Amit Majumder, Cricketer * Sheikh Mohammad Aslam, Footballer *

Abdus Salam Murshedy Abdus Salam Murshedy (born 6 October 1963) is a Bangladeshi politician, entrepreneur and former national team football player. He is a member of Bangladesh Awami League and a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Khulna-4 constituency d ...

, Footballer, Politician * Mamun Joarder, Footballer *

Kazi Jasimuddin Ahmed Joshi Kazi Jasimuddin Ahmed (; born 2 November 1963), known by his nickname Joshi, is a former Bangladeshi football player and coach. Early life Joshi was born on 2 November 1963 in Khulna, Bangladesh to Shafi Uddin Ahmed and Kazi Arefa Ahmed. He grew ...

– Footballer আত্মচরিত (প্রফুল্লচন্দ্র রায়) 005.tif, alt=A young Prafulla Chandra Ray, Prafulla Chandra Ray Razzak_Ali_ambassador_in_UK.jpg, alt=See caption, Sheikh Razzak Ali meeting with Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

এস এম শফিউদ্দিন আহমেদ.jpg, alt=17th Chief of Army Staff (CAS) of Bangladesh Army, General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed Firoz_Mahmud.jpg, alt=A serious-looking Firoz Mahmud in profile, Firoz Mahmud Tanvir_Mokammel.jpg, alt=Tanvir Mokammel, in a light-blue shirt, Tanvir Mokammel

References

External links

Official Website
of Khulna City Corporation
Govt. website of Khulna

Khulna District
on Banglapedia

{{Authority control Khulna, Populated places in Khulna Division