West Bengal
West Bengal is a state located in the eastern region of India. It was established on 26-Jan-1950. The capital of the state is Kolkata. The official languages are Bengali, English. Additional official languages include Nepali, Hindi, Odia, Punjabi, Santali, Telugu, Urdu, Kamatapuri, Rajbanshi, Kurmali, Kurukh. Major rivers of West Bengal include Hooghly, Damodar, Teesta, Jaldhaka, Mahananda.
As per Census 2011, West Bengal has a total geographical area of 88,752 square kilometres, including 83,626 square kilometres of rural area and 5,126 square kilometres of urban area.
The state has a unicameral legislature with 42 Lok Sabha seats, 16 Rajya Sabha seats, 294 Vidhan Sabha seats. Judicial matters are handled by the Calcutta High Court. West Bengal shares borders with Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Sikkim, and has an international border with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan.
List of Districts in West Bengal
West Bengal is divided into 23 districts for administrative purposes. The following table provides the complete list of districts in West Bengal along with their headquarters and total area in square kilometres.
| Sl. No. | District | Headquarters | Area (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alipurduar | Alipurduar | — |
| 2 | Bankura | Bankura | 6,882 |
| 3 | Birbhum | Suri | 4,545 |
| 4 | Cooch Behar | Cooch Behar | 3,387 |
| 5 | Dakshin Dinajpur | Balurghat | 2,219 |
| 6 | Darjeeling | Darjeeling | 3,149 |
| 7 | Hooghly | Chinsurah | 3,149 |
| 8 | Howrah | Howrah | 1,467 |
| 9 | Jalpaiguri | Jalpaiguri | 6,227 |
| 10 | Jhargram | Jhargram | — |
| 11 | Kalimpong | Kalimpong | — |
| 12 | Kolkata | Kolkata | 185 |
| 13 | Malda | English Bazar | 3,733 |
| 14 | Murshidabad | Baharampur | 5,324 |
| 15 | Nadia | Krishnanagar | 3,927 |
| 16 | North 24 Parganas | Barasat | 4,094 |
| 17 | Paschim Bardhaman | Asansol | — |
| 18 | Paschim Medinipur | Midnapore | 9,368 |
| 19 | Purba Bardhaman | Bardhaman | 7,024 |
| 20 | Purba Medinipur | Tamluk | 4,713 |
| 21 | Purulia | Purulia | 6,259 |
| 22 | South 24 Parganas | Alipore | 9,960 |
| 23 | Uttar Dinajpur | Raiganj | 3,140 |
Population of West Bengal
According to the 2011 Census, West Bengal had a total population of 9,12,76,115 people. The state had a sex ratio of 950 females per 1,000 males, a population density of 1,028 people per km², and an overall literacy rate of 76.26%. The table below provides a rural-urban comparison of these statistics.
| Category | Total | Rural | Urban |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Population | 9,12,76,115 | 6,21,83,113 | 2,90,93,002 |
| Male Population | 4,68,09,027 | 3,18,44,945 | 1,49,64,082 |
| Female Population | 4,44,67,088 | 3,03,38,168 | 1,41,28,920 |
| Households | 2,03,80,315 | 1,38,13,165 | 65,67,150 |