Teknaf ( ''Ṭeknaf'') is an

upazila An ''upazila'' ( pronounced: ), formerly called ''thana'', is an administrative division in Bangladesh, functioning as a sub-unit of a district. It can be seen as an analogous to a county or a borough of Western countries. Rural upazilas ...

Cox's Bazar District Cox's Bazar District () is a district in the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh. It is named after Cox's Bazar town. It is located south of Chittagong. Cox's Bazar is also known by the names ''Panowa'' ("yellow flower") and ''Palongkee''. T ...

in the Division of

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 ...

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 forms the southernmost point in mainland

(

St. Martin's Island Saint Martin's Island () is a small coral island in the north-eastern part of the Bay of Bengal, about 9 km south of the tip of the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf peninsula, and forms the southernmost part of Bangladesh. It has an area of only 3 ...

is the southernmost point overall). The name of the region comes from the

Naf River The Naf River ( ''Naf Nodi'' ; ; ) is an international river marking part of the Bangladesh–Myanmar border, border of southeastern Bangladesh and northwestern Myanmar. Geography The Naf's average depth is , and maximum depth is . Its width ...

which forms the eastern boundary of the upazila. It shares a

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

with

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

, opposite the town of

Maungdaw Maungdaw (, ) is a town in Rakhine State, in the western part of Myanmar (Burma). It is the administrative seat of Maungdaw Township and Maungdaw District. Bordering Bangladesh, Maungdaw is home to one of 2 official border trade posts with Bang ...

Geography

Teknaf is located at . It has 23,675 households and a total area of 388.66 km². The tidal range at the Teknaf coastal area is strongly influenced by the Naf river estuary. The area has a warm tropical climate and sufficient rainfall to enable it to support wide biological diversity. Sea Birds of Teknaf

Teknaf Peninsula is one of the longest sandy beach ecosystems (80 km) in the world. It represents a transitional ground for the fauna of the Indo-Himalayan and Indo-Malayan ecological sub-regions. Important habitats at the site include mangrove, mudflats, beaches and sand dunes, canals and lagoons and marine habitat. Mangrove forest occurs in Teknaf Peninsula both as natural forest with planted stands and mostly distributed in the inter-tidal zone. The Teknaf Peninsula mangroves support the habitat of 161 different species of fish. Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the oldest reserved forests in Bangladesh.

Climate

Teknaf has a

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 ' ...

(Am) with warm, dry winters and warm, extremely rainy summers.

Demographics

As of the

2022 Bangladeshi census The 2022 Bangladeshi census () was a detailed enumeration of the Bangladeshi population constituting the sixth national census in the country. It was scheduled to be held in June 2022, was conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, and th ...

, Teknaf Upazila had 66,597 households and a population of 333,865. The literacy rate (age 7 and over) was 64.4% and the sex ratio was 102.6 females per 100 males. 208,911 (62.6%) of the population lived in urban areas. The ethnic population was 4010 (1.2%), of whom 2337 were Chakma, 992 Rakhine and 467 Tanchangya. According to the

1991 Bangladesh census In 1991, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, conducted a national census in Bangladesh. They recorded data from all of the districts and upazilas and main cities in Bangladesh including statistical data on population size, households, sex and a ...

, Teknaf had a population of 152,557. Males constituted 51.81% of the population, and females 48.19%. The population aged 18 or over was 64,417. Teknaf had an average literacy rate of 16.6% (7+ years), against the national average of 32.4%.

Administration

Teknaf Upazila is divided into Teknaf Municipality and six

union parishad Union council (), also known as union parishad, rural council, rural union and simply union, is the smallest rural administrative and local government unit in Bangladesh, with zila parishads (district councils) being the largest rural authori ...

s: Baharchara, Nhila, Sabrang,

Saint Martin Saint Martin may refer to: People * Saint Martin of Tours (c. 316–397), Bishop of Tours, France * Saint Martin of Braga (c. 520–580), archbishop of Bracara Augusta in Gallaecia (now Braga in Portugal) * Pope Martin I (c. 595–655), bishop of R ...

,Teknaf, and Whykong. The union parishads are subdivided into 12 mauzas and 146 villages. Teknaf Municipality is subdivided into 9 wards and 16

mahalla is an Arabic word variously translated as district, Quarter (country subdivision), quarter, Ward (country subdivision), ward, or neighborhood in many parts of the Arab world, the Balkans, Western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and nearby nations. ...

Places of interest

* Teknaf Beach *

St. Martin Island St. Martin Island is located off the Garden Peninsula in Delta County, Michigan, Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the southernmost island in Michigan that is part of a line of islands at the mouth of the bay of Green Bay (Lake Mi ...

Chhera Island Chhera Island, also called Chhera Dwip, Cheradia Island or Cheridia Island (Bengali : ছেঁড়া দ্বীপ) , is an uninhabited island and extension of St. Martin's Island at the mouth of the Naf River in the Bay of Bengal, within th ...

Shapuree Island Shapuree, Shahpori, Shah Parir, Shapura, or Shinmabyu Island (; ) is located in Bangladesh at the mouth of the Naf River, a maritime-boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Historically, it was claimed by the British during the First Anglo-Burmese ...

* Jaliardwip * Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary *

Naf Tourism Park Naf Tourism Park is a planned economic zone in Jaliardwip island, Cox's Bazar. Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) is developing this as part of its plan to build 100 special economic zones throughout the country. As of 2023, construction ...

Teknaf Land Port Teknaf Land Port aka ''Teknaf Port'' is one of the major ports in Bangladesh. It is located at Teknaf in Cox's Bazar District. The Myanmar side of the port is known as Maungdaw Port. History In 5 September 1995, border trade opened. The Maungda ...

Cox's Bazar–Teknaf Marine Drive Cox’s Bazar–Teknaf Marine Drive () is an 80-kilometre-long road from Cox’s Bazar to Teknaf along the Bay of Bengal and it is the world’s longest marine drive. It was inaugurated on 6 May 2017, by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. History Th ...

Nayapara refugee camp The Nayapara refugee camp () is a refugee camp in Teknaf Upazila, Cox's Bazar District, Chittagong Division, Bangladesh. It is inhabited almost exclusively by Rohingya people who have fled from religious persecution in neighbouring Myanmar. It i ...

Leda makeshift settlement Leda makeshift settlement is a refugee camp constructed for Rohingya refugees on government-owned land in Nhilla Union of the Teknaf sub-district in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. The camp is located some from Teknaf town. History The UK-based cha ...

Notable People

AHA Gafur Chowdhury AHA Gafur Chowdhury is a Jatiya Party politician and a former member of parliament for Cox's Bazar-4 in 1986. Career Chowdhury was elected to parliament from Cox's Bazar-4 as a Jatiya Party candidate in the 1986 Bangladeshi general electio ...

* Abdul Gani *

Mohammad Ali (Bangladeshi politician) Mohammad Ali ( – 13 November 2020) was a Bangladesh Awami League politician who was a member of parliament for Cox's Bazar-4. Career Ali was elected to parliament from Cox's Bazar-4 as a Bangladesh Awami League candidate in 2001. Death Ali ...

* Abdur Rahman Bodi * Ilias Kobra

References

External links

* * * {{Border Crossings of Myanmar Upazilas of Cox's Bazar District Bangladesh–Myanmar border crossings