Sylhet (; ) is a metropolitan city in the north eastern region of

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 ...

. It serves as the administrative center for both the

Sylhet District Sylhet District (), located in north-east Bangladesh, is one of the four districts in Sylhet Division, which contains Sylhet, the regional capital. History Sylhet District was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Benga ...

and the

Sylhet Division Sylhet Division () is a northeastern Divisions of Bangladesh, division of Bangladesh, renowned for its lush tea gardens, rolling hills and vibrant cultural heritage. Covering an area of approximately 12,298 square kilometres, it is bordered by t ...

. The city is situated on the banks of the

Surma River The Surma () is a major river in Bangladesh, part of the Surma-Meghna River System. It starts when the Barak River from northeast India divides at the Bangladesh border into the Surma and the Kushiyara rivers. It ends in Kishoreganj District, ...

and, as of 2025, the metro area population of Sylhet is estimated to be 1,033,000, reflecting a 3.4% increase from 2024. Making it third-largest urban area. Sylhet is known for its tea plantations and natural scenery. The region has been inhabited since ancient times, and since the city's establishment in the 14th century has been ruled by various dynasties including 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 ...

, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, and the

Nawabs of Bengal The Nawab of Bengal (, ) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the ''de facto'' independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa which constitute the mod ...

. The city is also home to several important landmarks, such as one of the Islamic sites in Bangladesh, the

Shah Jalal Dargah The Shah Jalal Dargah () is the Sufi shrine and burial place of the 14th-century Sufi saint Shah Jalal. The ''dargah'' complex, constructed in Common Era, CE, that incorporates four mosques, a madrasa, the mausoleum and a public cemetery, is loc ...

, which attracts thousands of pilgrims annually. Sylhet is also the first city in the country to have a road with no overhead cable. Sylhet is one of the most economically important cities in Bangladesh 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 ...

. A major commercial and financial center, Sylhet is home to several multinational companies and industries, including the tea industry, which generates a significant amount of revenue for the city. Sylhet has diverse transport infrastructure, with a modern airport, railway station, and bus terminals that connect it to other parts of the country. The city also has several educational institutions, including

Sylhet Agricultural University Sylhet Agricultural University (SAU) () is a public university of Bangladesh. This agricultural research university located in Sylhet division formally started functioning on 2 November 2006. It currently runs undergraduate, masters and PhD pro ...

Shahjalal University of Science and Technology The Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, abbreviated as SUST, is a Public university, public research university in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Established in 1986, it is one of the leading universities in pioneering research and education ...

and Sylhet Cadet College.

Etymology and names

Sylhet is the

anglicisation Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

of (''Śilhôṭ''), one of the archaic native names for the city. The local name is generally thought to be directly derived from (''Śrīhaṭṭa''), the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

name of the city. The city of Śrīhaṭṭa takes its name from ''Śrīhaṭṭanātha'', the

tutelary deity A tutelary (; also tutelar) is a deity or a Nature spirit, spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept ...

of the Nātha dynasty who promoted the early settlement of Nāthas in the Surma and

Barak Barak ( or ; ; Tiberian Hebrew: '' Bārāq''; "lightning") was a ruler of Ancient Israel. As military commander in the biblical Book of Judges, Barak, with Deborah, from the Tribe of Ephraim, the prophet and fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israe ...

valleys between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, founding the Śrīhaṭṭa ''

janapada The Janapadas () () (c. 1100–600 BCE) were the realms, republics (ganapada) and kingdoms (sāmarājya) of the Vedic period in the Indian subcontinent. The Vedic period reaches from the late Bronze Age into the Iron Age: from about 1500 BCE to ...

'' and establishing '' Śrīhaṭṭanātha'' idols across the region. The later

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

s of Sylhet, such as

Gour Govinda Govinda Fenchu (), better known by his regnal title Gour Govinda () and also known by the sobriquet Shomudro Tonoy (), was the 21st and final king of medieval Sylhet's Gour Kingdom. He is described as a very conservative Hindu ruler whose reign ...

, continued to pay tribute to the deity as ''Hāṭkeśvara'' or ''Haṭṭanātha'' as evident from the Devipurana and copper-plate inscriptions.

History

In 1303, the Sultan of Lakhnauti

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 ...

conquered Sylhet by defeating

. Sylhet became a 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- ...

. In the

16th century The 16th century began with the Julian calendar, Julian year 1501 (represented by the Roman numerals MDI) and ended with either the Julian or the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian year 1600 (MDC), depending on the reckoning used (the Gregorian calend ...

, Sylhet was controlled by the

Baro-Bhuiyan 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 ...

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

s and later became a sarkar (district) of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, 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 ...

. Sylhet emerged after 1612 as the Mughals' most significant imperial outpost in Bengal east of Dhaka, and its importance remained as such throughout the seventeenth century.

British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

began in the 18th century under the administration of the

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 ...

. Sylhet became a key source of

lascar A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland or other lands east of the Cape of Good Hope who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the mid-20th centur ...

s in the British Empire due in part to its ancient seafaring tradition. The Sylhet municipal board was established in 1867. Originally part of the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

and later

Eastern Bengal and Assam Eastern Bengal and Assam was a Presidencies and provinces of British India, province of British India between 1905 and 1912. Headquartered in the city of Dacca, it covered territories in what are now Bangladesh, Northeast India and North Bengal, ...

, the town became part of Colonial Assam in 1874. A devastating earthquake demolished almost the entire town on 12 June 1897 following which a modern and European model new town was built on the wreckage. From the beginning of the 20th century, the importance of Sylhet increased with the establishment of the tea industry. In 1947, following a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

and the

partition of British India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Pakistan is the Islam ...

, Sylhet became part of East Pakistan. In 1995, the Government of Bangladesh declared Sylhet as the sixth divisional headquarters of the country. Sylhet has played a vital role in the

Economy of Bangladesh The economy of Bangladesh is a major developing nation, developing mixed economy. — — —Siddiqi, Dina M. "Miracle Worker or Womanmachine? Tracking (Trans)National Realities in Bangladeshi Factories." Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 35, ...

. Several of Bangladesh's

finance ministers A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

have been members of parliament from the city of Sylhet. Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran was a long time mayor of Sylhet.

Humayun Rashid Choudhury Humayun Rasheed Choudhury (; 11 November 1928 – 10 July 2001) was a Bangladeshi career diplomat and Speaker of the Bangladesh National Parliament from 1996 to 2001. He was elected president of the 41st session of the UN General Assembly in 19 ...

, a diplomat from Sylhet, served as President of the UN General Assembly and Speaker of the Bangladesh National Parliament. In 2001, the municipality was upgraded to the

Sylhet City Corporation Sylhet City Corporation ( - in short: SCC), is a local governing body that manages all civic services in the Sylhet, the city of Bangladesh. The SCC government is elected by popular vote every five years. It is headed by a mayor In many cou ...

. It was made a metropolitan city in 2009.

Geography and climate

Sylhet is located in the northeastern region of Bangladesh within the Sylhet Division, the Sylhet District, and Sylhet Sadar Upazila. Sylhet has a typical Bangladeshi

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Am'') bordering on a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(''Cwa'') at higher elevations. The rainy season runs from April to October, and is generally hot and humid with heavy showers and thunderstorms almost every day. The shorter dry season runs from November to February, with very warm and fairly clear weather. Nearly 80% of the annual average rainfall of occurs between May and September. The city is located within a topographically distinctive region of Bangladesh characterized by dramatic hills and basins. The

physiography Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, h ...

of Sylhet consists mainly of hill soils and encompasses a few large depressions known locally as "

beel A beel (Bengali language, Bengali and Assamese language, Assamese: বিল) is a billabong or a lake-like wetland with static water as opposed to moving water in rivers and canals - typically called in Bengali, in the Ganges - Brahmaputra ...

s," which are frequently

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

s caused by tectonic subsidence during the earthquake of 1762. Geologically, the region is complex and diverse; higher-elevation regions date partly to the Plio-

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

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 have hit the city with magnitude of at least 7.5 on the

Richter Scale The Richter scale (), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and pr ...

, most recently in 1918. Tea garden 31118

Administration

Robert Lindsay, who served as the District Collector of Sylhet from 1778 to 1790, mentioned Sylhet in his autobiography, ''Oriental Miscellanies: Anecdotes of Indian Life'', as 'a small bazaar (market)'. He wrote, "The town was then merely a small market. The inhabitants’ houses were situated on the hills and hidden behind forests and jungles." Exactly 100 years after his tenure, in 1878, Sylhet was upgraded into a municipality with an approximate area of about 1.75 square kilometers. The civic body of Sylhet was formed according to the Sylhet City Corporation Act, 2001, which came into effect on April 10, 2001. On July 28, 2002, Sylhet Municipality board was upgraded to a City Corporation, which covered an area of 26.50 square kilometers and was divided into 27 wards. Currently, the city is administered by the ''

''. On August 31, 2021, a gazette notification was issued to expand the area of Sylhet City Corporation. According to the gazette, several

mouza In Bangladesh, Pakistan and parts of India, a mouza or mauza (also mouja) is a type of administrative district, corresponding to a specific land area within which there may be one or more settlements. Before the 20th century, the term referred to a ...

s from four unions of Sylhet Sadar Upazila and three unions of Dakshin Surma Upazila were included in the City Corporation. Subsequently, the expanded areas were reorganized and boundaries were defined on a ward basis under Sections 29 and 30 of the Local Government (City Corporation) Act, 2009. Currently, the City Corporation consists of 42 wards and covers an area of 79.5 square kilometers. At present, Sylhet is the district-headquarters as well as the divisional headquarters of the districts of

Sunamganj Sunamganj (, is a town in the Sylhet Division of northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative headquarters and largest town of Sunamganj District. It is located on the banks of the Surma River, approximately west-northwest of Sylhet, the ...

, Habiganj,

Moulvibazar Moulvibazar (), is a town in north-eastern Bangladesh just south of Sylhet. It is the capital of Moulvibazar Sadar Upazila and Moulvibazar District, and is located on the banks of the Manu River, Tripura, Manu River. History In 1771, Moulvi S ...

and

. The Sylhet City Corporation is responsible for the services that are provided within the city which includes traffic, roads, garbage collection, water supply, registrations and many others. The corporation consists of the Mayor and 22 other commissioners, and focuses on the development of the city. Sylhet is divided into 6 metropolitan ''thanas'' (police stations), 42 wards, and 1224 mahallas.

Military

Sylhet is strategically important for the

Bangladesh Armed Forces The Bangladesh Armed Forces () is the Armed forces, military force of Bangladesh. It consists of three uniformed organizations, they are the Bangladesh Army, the Bangladesh Navy, and the Bangladesh Air Force. The Armed Forces is under the juri ...

. The

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 ...

's 17th Infantry Division is based at

Jalalabad Cantonment Jalalabad Cantonment () is a cantonment located in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Jalalabad Cantonment is the home of the Bangladesh Army's 17th Infantry Division (Bangladesh), 17th Infantry Division, the School of Infantry and Tactics, School of Infantry ...

in Sylhet. The cantonment is also home of the School of Infantry and Tactics (SI&T) and the

1st Para-commando Battalion The Para Commando Brigade () is a special operations force of the Bangladesh Army. This special forces brigade is headquartered at Jalalabad Cantonment, Sylhet. It is composed of two para commando battalions. The involvement of special operati ...

, an elite

commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

unit of the Bangladesh Army.

Healthcare

Sylhet is also home to many hospitals such as the Shahid Shamsuddin Hospital District Hospital, Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College, Jalalabad Ragib-Rabeya Medical College, North East Medical College, and Sylhet Women's Medical College. In 2018, Sylhet Medical University was established in the city, following the Prime Minister's order to found a medical university in each division with the goal of maintaining medical standards in colleges. According to the order, Chittagong and Rajshahi Medical University have already been established, and Sylhet Medical University is the fourth Medical University of the directive.

Demographics

As of the

2011 Bangladesh census In 2011, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics conducted a national census in Bangladesh, which provided a provisional estimate of the total population of the country as 142,319,000. The previous decennial census was the 2001 census. Data were reco ...

, Sylhet has a population of 485,138. The population growth rate of the city is 1.73%, a decrease from 1.93% in 1991.Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Statistical Pocket Book, 2007 (pdf-file)
2007 Population Estimate. Retrieved 29 September 2008. Sylhet has a sex ratio of 861 females to 1000 males and a literacy rate of 67.8%. The majority of the population are

Bengali Muslims Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work.are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest et ...

, while significant minority population groups include the

Bengali Hindus Bengali Hindus () are adherents of Hinduism who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. They make up the majority in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Assam's Barak Valle ...

, Bishnupriya Manipuri and others. Sylheti is spoken by the vast majority of the people, while

Standard Bengali Bengali, also known by its endonym Bangla (, , ), is an Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It is native to the Bengal region (Bangladesh, India's West Bengal and Tripura) of Sou ...

is the official language used by the state government and officials. 2,424 (0.45%) of the population are of an ethnic minority, of which 2,040 are Manipuri. The majority of people in Sylhet are Muslims (86.5%), while other religious groups include Hindus (13.3%) and less than 0.2% of other religions, mainly

Buddhists Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth ...

and

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

. The majority of Muslims in Sylhet are

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

s who follow the

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

school of jurisprudence. Significant numbers of people also follow

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 ...

ideals, particularly the teachings of Abdul Latif Fultali.

Economy

The Sylhet Metropolitan Area is one of Bangladesh's main business centres. Sylhet's economy is closely linked with the

Bangladeshi diaspora The Bangladeshi diaspora () are people of Bangladeshi birth, descent or origin who live outside of Bangladesh. First-generation migrants may have moved abroad from Bangladesh for various reasons including better living conditions, to escape pove ...

, especially the

British Bangladeshi British Bangladeshis () are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots are from Bangladesh. Bengali Muslims have prominently been migrating to the UK since World War II. Migration reached its peak during the 1970s, with ...

community. The city receives a significant portion of the country's annual

remittances A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland. Money sent home by migrants competes ...

, which have driven growth in real estate and construction. A number of shopping centres, restaurants and hotels have opened as a result. Sylhet also relies on

religious tourism Religious tourism, spiritual tourism, sacred tourism, or faith tourism, is a type of tourism with two main subtypes: pilgrimage, meaning travel for religious or spiritual purposes, and the viewing of religious monuments and artefacts, a branch o ...

, with thousands of devotees visiting its

shrines annually, as well as

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

in its broader natural hinterland. Nature

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

s have been built in the city's outskirts. Several important Bangladeshi companies are based in Sylhet, including Jalalabad Gas Transmission and Distribution, Sylhet Gas Fields and Alim Industries.

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 ...

operates several flights from Sylhet to the United Kingdom and the Middle East. Roads connect Sylhet with the Indian states of

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

and Assam. Sylhet's

hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning the 'land behind' a city, a port, or similar. Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated wi ...

plays a vital role in the

economy of Bangladesh The economy of Bangladesh is a major developing nation, developing mixed economy. — — —Siddiqi, Dina M. "Miracle Worker or Womanmachine? Tracking (Trans)National Realities in Bangladeshi Factories." Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 35, ...

. It is home to the country's largest natural gas fields, sole

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...

field, largest tea plantations, rubber,

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick, or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking * Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance * White cane, a mobility or safety device used by blind or visually i ...

agarwood Agarwood, aloeswood, eaglewood, gharuwood or the Wood of Gods, commonly referred to as oud or oudh (from , ), is a fragrant, dark and resinous wood used in incense, perfume, and small Woodworking, hand carvings. It forms in the heartwood of ...

and

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

farms. Rice production in the region is one of the country's highest. Heavy industries include

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

fertilizer A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...

plants, cement plants and

liquefied petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas, also referred to as liquid petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas), is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, Butane, ''n''-butane and isobutane. It can also contain some ...

plants. Other major industries in the region include

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

, machinery and equipment, ready-made garments and pharmaceuticals. Most of the tea production in Bangladesh is based around Sylhet, much of which is eventually exported internationally.

Utilities

Sylhet has high rates of electricity shortages and water shortages. According to the Power Development Board, as of 2009, Sylhet was only receiving 50 MW, half of the required demand of 100 MW. The city corporation was also supplying only 22,500 gallons of water, far less than the demand of about 65,000. The major sources of water to the city are the tube wells and the

. Tests of tube wells in Sylhet District by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 1997 found that about 27.6% contained more arsenic than the acceptable limit set by Bangladesh of 50 micrograms per liter, and 49.2% contained more arsenic than the World Health Organization standard of 10 micrograms per liter. There are about 331 registered restaurants in the city, but only 15% maintain sanitary facilities and 85% have unhygienic conditions that are unsafe for the public.

Media and communications

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 ...

operates a relay station headquartered in the Kazitula neighborhood. From 2000 to 2002, 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 ...

broadcast terrestrially on VHF channel 11 in Sylhet.

Sports

Cricket is the most popular sport in Sylhet. The

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 ...

franchise Sylhet Strikers are based in

Sylhet International Cricket Stadium Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (SICS) () also known as Sylhet Stadium and previously known as Sylhet Divisional Stadium, is a cricket stadium in Sylhet, Bangladesh. SICS is surrounded by hills and has a scenic view and it is the only cric ...

(M.A.G. Osmani Stadium), which was built in 2007 and has a capacity of 18,500 spectators. The Sylhet International Cricket Stadium was renovated in 2013 specifically to host matches for the

2014 ICC World Twenty20 The 2014 ICC World Twenty20 was the fifth edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament, that took place in Bangladesh from 16 March to 6 April 2014. It was played in t ...

. It is situated near lush green tea gardens on the city fringe. In the

National Cricket League The National Cricket League () is the oldest domestic first-class cricket competition in Bangladesh. It is contested by teams representing seven of the eight regional divisions of Bangladesh (there is no team from Mymensingh Division) as well as ...

has not won any titles but did win in the One-Day Cricket League during the 2001–02 season. Notable players from Sylhet who have played for the

Bangladesh national cricket team The Bangladesh men's national cricket team (), commonly known as The Tigers, is the national cricket team of Bangladesh, administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). They are a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with ...

include Rajin Saleh, Enamul Haque Jr, Tapash Baisya, and Alok Kapali. Chess player Rani Hamid was awarded the

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...

Women's International Master (WIM) title in 1985, while her son Kaiser Hamid was the captain of the

Bangladesh national football team The Bangladesh national football team () is the national recognised football team of Bangladesh and is controlled by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) since 1973 and of FIFA sin ...

in the early 90s.

Transport

Road

The main transport systems used in Sylhet are

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 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 (mainly known as baby-taxis or CNGs), buses, mini-buses and cars. About 80,000 rickshaws run each day within the city. Bus service prices have increased up to 30% higher, and as of 2008 prices range from Tk 4 to 15.95. The N2 connects the city with Bangladesh's capital and largest city, Dhaka, as well as with many other parts of the country. The N2 highway is also part of the

Asian Highway Network The Asian Highway Network (AH), also known as the Great Asian Highway, is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to improve their connectivity via hig ...

's two longest routes,

AH1 Asian Highway 1 (AH1) is the longest east-west route of the Asian Highway Network, running from Tokyo, Japan via the Korean Peninsula (South Korea and North Korea), China (Mainland China and Hong Kong), Mainland Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Camb ...

and

AH2 Asian Highway 2 (AH2) is a road in the Asian Highway Network running from Denpasar, Indonesia to Merak, and Singapore to Khosravi, Iran. The route is connected to M10 of the Arab Mashreq International Road Network. The route is as follows: ...

Air

Sylhet is served by

Osmani International Airport Osmani International Airport, Sylhet (, ') in Sylhet, is the third largest airport in Bangladesh after Dhaka and Chittagong. The airport is operated by the Civil Aviation Authority and is served by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the national airl ...

, located at the north of the city. It is Bangladesh's third busiest airport, and it became an international airport due to demand driven by expatriate Bangladeshis and their families living in the United Kingdom and the United States. The most prevalent airlines at the airport are

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 ...

. Osmani International Airport received its first international arrival on 3 November 2002, with a Biman plane arriving from

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

via

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

en route to Dhaka. Sylhet's first direct international flight arrived on 15 March 2017 when a Flydubai direct flight from

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

landed at the airport. Work began in 2006 to upgrade the airport to international standards, including a new terminal building, a jetway, a taxiway, and expansion of the runway to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft. In May 2007, Biman announced direct

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

flights originating from the airport later that year. As of 2020, Biman Bangladesh operates direct flight to London from Sylhet. All Bangladeshi airlines operate regular domestic flights to Dhaka and Biman operates regular domestic flights to

Cox's Bazar Cox's Bazar (; ; ) is a city, fishing port, tourism centre, and Cox's Bazar District, district headquarters in south-eastern Bangladesh. Cox's Bazar Beach, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Bangladesh, is the longest uninterrupte ...

. In response to the increase in passenger and cargo demand at the airport, work began in 2020 on a new international passenger terminal building, as well as a cargo building, a control tower, parking areas, and a taxiway.

Rail

The Sylhet railway station is the main railway station providing trains on national routes operated by the state-run

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 ...

. Some train routes originating or terminating in Sylhet include the following.

Towards Dhaka

Towards Chittagong

Towards Akahura

Education

There are two public universities in Sylhet:

and

. There are also private universities such as Leading University and Metropolitan University. Other prominent colleges and schools in Sylhet include Jalalabad Cantonment Public School and College, Jalalabad Ragib Rabeya Medical college, Pathantula Parkview Medical College, MAG Osmani Medical College, Sylhet, Sylhet Women's Medical College, North East Medical College, Sylhet Engineering College, Sylhet Cadet College, Murari Chand College, Institute of Health Technology, Sylhet, Border Guard Public School And College, Scholarshome, Blue Bird High School and College, Sylhet Science And Technology College, Sylhet Polytechnic Institute, and Sylhet Government Women's College.

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

Sylhet is twinned with: *

Bârlad Bârlad () is a city in Vaslui County, Romania. It lies on the banks of the river Bârlad (river), Bârlad, which waters the high plains of Western Moldavia. At Bârlad the railway from Iași diverges, one branch skirting the river Siret (river ...

, Romania *

Ganja ''Ganja'' (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for cannabis flower, specifically marijuana or hashish. Its usage in English dates to before 1689. Etymology ''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi (, IPA: �aːɲd͡ʒa� ...

, Azerbaijan *

Nishapur Nishapur or Neyshabur (, also ) is a city in the Central District (Nishapur County), Central District of Nishapur County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Ni ...

, Iran * Al Qadarif, Sudan *

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany * Sheki, Azerbaijan *

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

, Türkiye *

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, Japan *

Tetovo Tetovo (, ; , sq-definite, Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena (river), Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, wit ...

, North Macedonia *

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

, China *

Ráckeve Ráckeve ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српски Ковин, Srpski Kovin) is a town on Csepel Island in the county of , Hungary. Its residents are mainly Hungarians, Magyars, with a minority of Serbs. The Serbian Kovin Monastery, the oldest in Hungary and ...

, Hungary As of 2009, Sylhet has friendly relations with: *

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, United Kingdom *

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

, United Kingdom The friendship link with St Albans was established in 1988, when the St Albans' district council supported a housing project in Sylhet as part of the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless. Sylhet was chosen because it is the home region for a large ethnic minority population in St Albans. In March 2009 the Mayor of Sylhet, Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to form another friendship link between Sylhet and Rochdale, home to around 10,000 people with Sylheti heritage. The Mayor of Sylhet signed it alongside the Mayor of Rochdale, Cllr Keith Swift, at the

References

External links

*
Official website of Sylhet City Corporation

Sylhet Tourist Places Video
{{Authority control Populated places in Sylhet District Former capital cities in India