Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia (Plurinational State of) Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia Democratic People's Republic of Korea Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran (Islamic Republic of) Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia (Federated States of) Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Macedonia Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Republic of Korea Republic of Moldova Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka State of Palestine Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Tajikistan Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Türkiye Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland United Republic of Tanzania United States of America Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Viet Nam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe
Bangladesh
Women in decision-making positions
23%
Members of local deliberative bodies are women (15,644 elected women)
No woman is Head of State or Government
21%
Parliamentarians are women
18%
Ministers are women

Government organization

Spheres of government

Bangladesh is a unitary republic with two spheres of government: central and local.

One tier of central government and one or three tiers of local government: single tier: municipalities and city corporations; three tiers: Hill Districts/Districts, subdistricts and unions.

  • Head of State: The President is elected by the members of Parliament.
  • Head of Government: The Prime Minister is a member of Parliament who appears to command the support of the majority of the members of Parliament, as appointed by the President.
  • Legislative body: The Parliament (the House of the Nation) is a unicameral legislature which is composed of directly elected members as well as reserved seats for women.
  • Executive body: The Cabinet is composed of the Prime Minister and ministers appointed by the President.

  • Organization: Local government is organized into one tier in urban areas and three tiers in rural areas.
  • In urban areas, there is one tier of 316 municipalities and 11 city corporation-level local government units. Municipalities are urban areas with populations of over 50,000 inhabitants. City corporations are larger urban municipalities with a special status.
  • In rural areas, there is an upper tier of three hill districts and 64 district-level local government units, an intermediate tier of 492 subdistrict-level local government units, and a lower tier of 4,573 union-level local government units. The Khagrachari Hill District, the Rangamati Hill District, and the Bandarban Hill District are tribal areas, while the 61 other districts are non-tribal areas.
  • Competencies: Local government is responsible for the administration and the work of public officers, the maintenance of public order, and the preparation and implementation of plans relating to public services and economic development.
  • Ministerial oversight: Ministry of Hill Tract Affairs (for hill districts); Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, and Co-operatives

Overview of local government

Local government composition

Deliberative body: The hill district council is composed of a council chairperson, ten elected tribal, and twenty non-tribal members. The council chairperson is elected to preside over the hill district council; the council chairperson is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The council chairperson is the executive of the hill district level of government.

Deliberative body: The district council (zila parishad) is composed of a council chairperson, 15 elected members, and five reserved seat members. The council chairperson is elected to preside over the district council; the council chairperson is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The council chairperson, assisted by a chief executive officer appointed by the central government, is the executive of the district level of government.

Deliberative body: The subdistrict council (upazila parishad) is composed of a chairperson, the chairperson of every union council within the subdistrict, the mayor of every municipal corporation within the subdistrict, and reserved seat members. The council chairperson is elected to preside over the subdistrict council; the council chairperson is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The council chairperson, assisted by an upazila nirbahi officer appointed by the central government, is the executive of the subdistrict level of government.

Deliberative body: The union council (union parishad) is composed of a council chairperson, nine elected members, and three reserved seat members. The council chairperson is elected to preside over the union council; the council chairperson is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The council chairperson is the executive of the union level of government.

Deliberative body: The municipal council (paurasabha) is composed of a mayor, elected members, and reserved seat members. The mayor is elected to preside over the municipal council; the mayor is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The mayor, assisted by a chief executive officer appointed by the central government, is the executive of the municipal level of government.

Deliberative body: The city corporation council is composed of a mayor, elected members, and reserved seat members. The mayor is elected to preside over the city corporation council; the mayor is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The mayor, assisted by a chief executive officer appointed by the central government, is the executive of the city corporation level of government.

Local government elections

Electoral system for local deliberative bodies: majority/plurality (first-past-the-post)

  • Direct local elections take place at the hill district, district, union, municipal, and city corporation levels of government; the members of the subdistrict council are not directly elected by voters.
  • Cities, municipalities, and unions are divided into single-member wards for the purpose of local elections. Unions are divided into nine wards for general elected member elections, and into three wards for reserved seat member elections.

Electoral system for council chairpersons and mayors: majority/plurality (first-past-the-post)

  • The council chairperson/mayor is directly elected by voters.

Sources: Local Government (Municipalities) Act, 2009 (amended through 2026), article 20; Local Government (Union Parishad) Act, 2009 (amended through 2026), article 10; District Council Act, 2000 (amended through 2026), articles 4 and 14; Upazila Parishad Act, 1998 (amended through 2026), article 6.

Gender quotas: Reserved seats

  • The following seats in each local deliberative body are reserved for women:
  • District Council:
    • 5 seats (25%) of the total number of District Council members;
    • One third of the Chairperson’s Office.
  • Subdistrict Council:
    • One third of the total number of Union Councils and Municipal Corporations in every Subdistrict is equivalent to the number of seats reserved for women; and
    • Half of the Chairperson’s Office.
  • Union Council:
    • 3 seats (25%); and
    • One third of the Chairperson’s Office.
  • Municipal Council:
    • One third of the total number of Union Councils and Municipal Corporations in every Subdistrict is equivalent to the number of seats reserved for women; and
    • One third of the Chairperson’s Office.
  • City Council:
    • One third of the total number of Union Councils and Municipal Corporations in every Subdistrict is equivalent to the number of seats reserved for women; and
    • One third of the Chairperson’s Office.

Additional quotas: Tribal members

  • In the hill district council, there are twenty tribal members:
    • a) ten persons shall be elected from the Cakma tribe;
    • b) four persons shall be elected from the Marma tribe;
    • c) two persons shall be elected from the Tancainga tribe;
    • d) one person shall be elected from the Tripura tribe;
    • e) one person shall be elected from the Lusai tribe;
    • f) one person shall be elected from the Pankhu tribe;
    • g) one person shall be elected from the Kheyan tribe.
  • The chairperson is elected from among the tribal persons.

Sources: Local Government (City Corporations) Act, 2009 (amended through 2026), articles 5 and 20; Local Government (Union Parishad) Act, 2009 (amended through 2026), articles 3, 10 and 33; Local Government (Municipalities) Act, 2009 (amended through 2026), articles 7 and 40; District Council Act, 2000 (amended through 2026), articles 4, 13 and 14; Upazila Parishad Act, 1998 (amended through 2026), article 6; Rangamati Hill District Parishad Act, 1989 (amended through 2014), article 4.

  • Term length: 3 years (in hill districts); 5 years
  • Last local elections: varies by locality: 2024
  • Next local elections: varies by locality: 2027

Bangladesh Election Commission

National legal framework on local government

  • Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, 1972 (amended through 2018);
  • Local Government (City Corporations) Act, 2009 (amended through 2026);
  • Local Government (Municipalities) Act, 2009 (amended through 2026);
  • Local Government (Union Parishad) Act, 2009 (amended through 2026);
  • District Council Act, 2000 (amended through 2026);
  • Upazila Parishad Act, 1998 (amended through 2015);
  • Rangamati Hill District Parishad Act, 1989 (amended through 2000);
  • Representation of the People Order, 1972 (amended through 2008).

There are constitutional provisions that establish local government in Bangladesh. According to Articles 59 and 60 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh of 1972 (amended through 2018), “local government in every administrative unit of the Republic shall be entrusted to bodies, composed of persons elected in accordance with law. Everybody such as is referred to in clause (1) shall, subject to this Constitution and any other law, perform within the appropriate administrative unit such functions as shall be prescribed by Act of Parliament, which may include functions relating to - (a) administration and the work of public officers; (b) the maintenance of public order; (c) the preparation and implementation of plans relating to public services and economic development. For the purpose of giving full effect to the provisions of article 59 Parliament shall, by law, confer powers on the local government bodies referred to in that article, including power to impose taxes for local purposes, to prepare their budgets and to maintain funds.”

The National Assembly is responsible for establishing the national legal framework on local government. The key pieces of legislation that regulate local government are the Local Government (City Corporations) Act of 2009 (amended through 2026), the Local Government (Municipalities) Act of 2009 (amended through 2026), the Local Government (Union Parishad) Act of 2009 (amended through 2026), the District Council Act of 2000 (amended through 2026), the Upazila Parishad Act of 1998 (amended through 2026), the Rangamati Hill District Council Act of 1989 (amended through 2014), and the Representation of the People Order of 1972 (amended through 2023).

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2025.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 1 December 2025.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2025.

4. UN Women: Data on share of women Cabinet ministers as of 1 January 2025.

5. Information on local government organization as of 21 July 2026.