View source for Dhaka

{{Short description|Capital and largest city of Bangladesh}}
{{About|the capital city|the division|Dhaka division|the district|Dhaka district|other uses|Dhaka (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|text=Senegal’s capital city [[Dakar]]}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{use Bangladeshi English|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- Basic info -->| name                     = Dhaka
| native_name              = ঢাকা
| other_name               = Dacca
| settlement_type          = [[Capital city]]
| image_skyline            = {{Photomontage|position=center
| photo1a                         = Bangladesh Bank (33398162476).jpg|175x175px
| photo2a                         = National Assembly of Bangladesh (06).jpg
| photo2b                         = DG 91 - 09 AHSAN MANJIL 18 CENTURY DHAKA IMG 3022.jpg   
| photo3a                         = Lalbag Fort Front.jpg
| photo3b                         = Curzon Hall - Northern Facade - University of Dhaka - Dhaka 2015-05-31 1992.JPG
| photo4a                         = Dhaka 21st March (25870222381).jpg
| spacing                         =  
| color_border                    = white
| color                           =   
| size                            = 260  
| foot_montage =  {{nobreak|From top: Skyline of [[Motijheel Thana|Motijheel]]}}, [[Sangsad Bhaban]] in [[Sher-e-Bangla Nagar]], [[Ahsan Manzil]] in [[Old Dhaka]], [[Lalbagh Fort]], [[Curzon Hall]] of the [[University of Dhaka]], aerial view of [[Hatirjheel]] lakefront}}
| image_seal               = Dhaka City Corporation logo Trans.svg
| shield_size              = Dhaka City Corporation logo Trans.svg
| motto                    = 
| image_map                = 
| mapsize                  = 
| map_caption              = 
| pushpin_map              = Bangladesh Dhaka#Bangladesh Dhaka division#Bangladesh#Asia#Earth
| pushpin_label_position   = centre
| pushpin_map_caption      = Location of Dhaka in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh
| coordinates              = {{coord|23|45|50|N|90|23|20|E|region:BD-13|display=it}}
| subdivision_type         = Country
| subdivision_name         = [[Bangladesh]]
| subdivision_type1        = [[Divisions of Bangladesh|Division]]
| subdivision_type2        = [[Districts of Bangladesh|District]]
| subdivision_name1        = [[Dhaka Division]]
| subdivision_name2        = [[Dhaka District]]
<!-- Politics ----------------->| established_title        = Establishment
| established_date         = 1608 [[Common Era|CE]]
| established_title2       = 
| established_date2        = 
| established_title3       = <!-- Incorporated (city) -->
| established_date3        = <!-- Area  --------------------->
| government_footnotes     = 
| government_type          = [[Mayor-Council government|Mayor - Council]]
| governing_body           = {{nowrap|[[Dhaka North City Corporation|DNCC]] and [[Dhaka South City Corporation|DSCC]]}}
| unit_pref                = Metric <!-- Enter: Metric, if Metric (imperial) is desired -->
| area_footnotes           = <ref>{{cite news |author1=Partha Pratim Bhattacharjee |author2=Mahbubur Rahman Khan |date=7 May 2016 |title=Govt to double size of Dhaka city area |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/govt-double-size-dhaka-city-area-1219972 |newspaper=The Daily Star |access-date=1 March 2017 |archive-date=2 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302025916/http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/govt-double-size-dhaka-city-area-1219972 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Dhaka City expands by more than double after inclusion of 16 union councils |url=http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2016/05/09/dhaka-city-expands-by-more-than-double-after-inclusion-of-16-union-councils |newspaper=bdnews24.com |date=9 May 2016 |access-date=1 March 2017 |archive-date=2 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302025316/http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2016/05/09/dhaka-city-expands-by-more-than-double-after-inclusion-of-16-union-councils |url-status=live }}</ref>
| area_total_km2           = 
| area_land_km2            = 
| area_water_km2           = 
| area_metro_km2           = 2161.17<ref name="wikimapia.org">{{cite web |url=http://wikimapia.org/26768999/Dhaka-Metropolitan-City-Area |title=Dhaka Metropolitan City Area |access-date=29 September 2017 |archive-date=29 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929093019/http://wikimapia.org/26768999/Dhaka-Metropolitan-City-Area |url-status=live }}</ref>
| area_metro_sq_mi         = 834.432<ref name="wikimapia.org"/>
<!-- Population  ----------------------->| elevation_footnotes      = <ref name="Elevation of Dhaka">{{cite web|url=http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/maps/map_city_dhaka.html|title=Dhaka, Bangladesh Map|work=National Geographic|access-date=6 September 2009|archive-date=7 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107084813/http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/maps/map_city_dhaka.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| elevation_m              = 4
| elevation_ft             = 13.12
| population_urban         = 8,906,039
| population_as_of         = 2011 census / 2021 estimate
| population_footnotes     = <ref>{{cite web|title=Dhaka (Bangladesh): City Districts and Subdistricts - Population Statistics, Charts and Map|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/bangladesh/dhaka/|access-date=2022-01-19|website=www.citypopulation.de}}</ref><ref name="dhakapop1">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbs.gov.bd/WebTestApplication/userfiles/Image/National%20Reports/Union%20Statistics.pdf |title=Population & Housing Census-2011 |publisher=[[Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics]] |page=41 |access-date=15 December 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208044832/http://www.bbs.gov.bd/WebTestApplication/userfiles/Image/National%20Reports/Union%20Statistics.pdf |archive-date=8 December 2015  }}</ref>
| population_rank          = [[List of cities and towns in Bangladesh|1st]]
| population_metro         = 21,741,090
| population_density_km2   = 29,373
| population_density_metro_km2 = auto
| population_metro_footnotes = 
| population_demonym       = [[Dhakaiya]]
| postal_code_type         = [[List of postal codes in Bangladesh|Postal code]]
| postal_code              = 1000, 1100, 12xx, 13xx
| area_code                = 
| website                  = [http://dncc.gov.bd/ Dhaka North City Corporation] <br /> [http://dscc.gov.bd/ Dhaka South City Corporation]
| footnotes                = 
| leader_title1            = [[Mayor of North Dhaka|North Mayor]]
| leader_name1             = [[Atiqul Islam]]<ref name="unofficially">{{cite news |title=Hasan Mahmud states 3 reasons behind low voter turnout |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/dhaka-city-elections-2020/news/hasan-mahmud-states-3-reasons-behind-low-voter-turnout-1862512 |work=The Daily Star |agency=UNB |date=2 February 2020 |access-date=2 February 2020 |archive-date=2 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202132114/https://www.thedailystar.net/dhaka-city-elections-2020/news/hasan-mahmud-states-3-reasons-behind-low-voter-turnout-1862512 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| leader_title2            = [[Mayor of South Dhaka|South Mayor]]
| leader_name2             = [[Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh]]<ref name="unofficially" />
| leader_title3            = [[Dhaka Metropolitan Police|Police Commissioner]]
| leader_name3             = [[Shafiqul Islam (police officer)|Shafiqul Islam]]
| population_blank1_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web|title=Evolving Urban Form: Dhaka &#124; Newgeography.com|url=http://www.newgeography.com/content/003004-evolving-urban-form-dhaka|access-date=2022-01-19|website=www.newgeography.com}}</ref>
| population_blank2_footnotes = <ref name="District Statistics 2011, Dhaka">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbs.gov.bd/WebTestApplication/userfiles/Image/District%20Statistics/Dhaka.pdf|title=District Statistics 2011, Dhaka|publisher=Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics|date=December 2013|access-date=14 May 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424233706/http://www.bbs.gov.bd/WebTestApplication/userfiles/Image/District%20Statistics/Dhaka.pdf|archive-date=24 April 2015}}</ref>
<!-- General information --------------->| timezone                 = [[Bangladesh Standard Time|BST]]
| utc_offset               = +6
| blank_name               = National calling code
| blank_info               = +880
| blank1_name              = [[Telephone numbers in Bangladesh|Calling code]]
| blank1_info              = 02 [For Dhaka city only]
| blank2_name              = [[Gross domestic product|Metro GDP]]
| blank2_info              = 
| blank3_name              = Police
| blank3_info              = [[Dhaka Metropolitan Police]]
| blank4_name              = International airport
| blank4_info              = [[Shahjalal International Airport|Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport]]
| blank5_name              = [[ISO 3166-2:BD|ISO 3166-2]]
| blank5_info              = BD-13
| blank_name_sec1          = [[Human Development Index|HDI]] (2019)
| blank_info_sec1          = 0.711<ref name="GlobalDataLab">{{cite web|url=https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/shdi/BGD/|title=Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab|website=hdi.globaldatalab.org|language=en|access-date=2021-06-21}}</ref><br />{{color|#008000|high}}
| official_name            = 
| area_urban_km2           = 706
| nickname                 = City of magic<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/climate-change/2019/12/10/the-tales-of-urban-street-children-is-there-anything-we-could-do|title = The tales of urban street children: Is there anything we could do?|work=Dhaka Tribune|date = 10 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailystar.net/star-weekend/my-dhaka/are-we-willing-know-more-dhaka-1570981|title = Are we willing to know more of Dhaka?|work=The Daily Star|date = 4 May 2018}}</ref>
| image_flag               = 
}}

'''Dhaka''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|h|ɑː|k|ə}} {{respell|DHA|kə}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|h|æ|k|ə}} {{respell|DHAK|ə}}; {{lang-bn|ঢাকা|Ḍhākā}},  {{IPA-bn|ˈɖʱaka}}), [[List of renamed places in Bangladesh|formerly known as]] '''Dacca''',<ref name="Choguill2012">{{cite book|last=Choguill|first=C.L.|title=New Communities for Urban Squatters: Lessons from the Plan That Failed in Dhaka, Bangladesh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=slvlBwAAQBAJ&pg=PR8|year=2012|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1-4613-1863-7|page=viii|access-date=10 July 2016|archive-date=5 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605175215/https://books.google.com/books?id=slvlBwAAQBAJ&pg=PR8|url-status=live}}</ref> is the [[Capital city|capital]] and [[List of cities and towns in Bangladesh|largest city]] of [[Bangladesh]], as well as the world's largest [[Bengal|Bengali-speaking city]]. It is the [[List of largest cities|eighth largest]] and [[List of cities proper by population density|sixth most densely populated city]] in the world with a population of 8.9&nbsp;million residents as of 2011, and a population of over 21.7 million residents in the [[Greater Dhaka Area]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Population & Housing Census-2011 |volume=2: Union Statistics |url=http://www.bbs.gov.bd/WebTestApplication/userfiles/Image/National%20Reports/Union%20Statistics.pdf |website=Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208044832/http://www.bbs.gov.bd/WebTestApplication/userfiles/Image/National%20Reports/Union%20Statistics.pdf |archive-date=8 December 2015 |access-date=2021-05-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-world-s-most-densely-populated-cities.html|title=The World's Most Densely Populated Cities|website=WorldAtlas}}</ref> According to a [[Wendell Cox|Demographia]] survey, Dhaka has the most densely populated built-up urban area in the world, and is popularly described as such in the news media.<ref>{{cite conference |title=Demographia World Urban Areas 17th Annual Edition: 202106 |url=http://www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf |conference=Demographia |publisher=Demographia }}</ref><ref name="Ferreira 2021">{{cite web | last=Ferreira | first=Luana | title=Here's How Many People Live In The Most Densely Populated City On Earth | website=Grunge.com | date=2021-09-03 | url=https://www.grunge.com/594981/heres-how-many-people-live-in-the-most-densely-populated-city-on-earth/ | access-date=2022-02-02}}</ref> Dhaka is one of the major cities of [[South Asia]] and a major global [[List of largest cities in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member countries|Muslim-majority city]]. As part of the [[Bengal delta]], the city is bounded by the [[Buriganga River]], [[Turag River]], [[Dhaleshwari River]] and [[Shitalakshya River]].

The area of Dhaka has been inhabited since the first millennium. An [[early modern]] city developed from the 17th century as a provincial capital and commercial centre of the [[Mughal Empire]]. Dhaka was the capital of a [[proto-industrialization|proto-industrialised]] [[Mughal Bengal]] for 75 years (1608–39 and 1660–1704). It was the hub of the [[muslin trade in Bengal]] and one of the most prosperous cities in the world. The Mughal city was named Jahangirnagar (''City of Jahangir'') in honour of the erstwhile ruling emperor [[Jahangir]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.thedailystar.net/forum/2008/august/jahangirnagar.htm |title=Forum |publisher=Archive.thedailystar.net |date= |accessdate=2022-03-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Islam_Khan_Chisti |title=Islam Khan Chisti |website=Banglapedia |date=2021-06-18 |accessdate=2022-03-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last=Khondker |first=Kamrun Nessa |date=December 2012 |title=Mughal River Forts in Bangladesh (1575-1688): An Archaeological Appraisal |type=PhD |publisher=School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University |url=https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/46748/1/2013khondkerknmphil.pdf}}</ref> It hosted the seat of the Mughal [[Subahdar]], [[Naib Nazim of Dhaka|Naib Nazims]], [[Nawab of Dhaka|Dhaka Nawabs]], and [[Dewan]]s. The pre-colonial city's glory peaked in the 17th and 18th centuries when it was home to merchants from across [[Eurasia]]. The [[Port of Dhaka]] was a major trading post for both riverine and seaborne trade. The Mughals decorated the city with well-laid gardens, tombs, mosques, palaces and forts. The city was once called the ''[[Venice of the East]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hough |first=Michael |year=2004 |orig-year=First published 1995 |title=Cities and Natural Process: A Basis for Sustainability |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pj8cderhbr8C&pg=PA57 |edition=2nd |publisher=Psychology Press |page=57 |isbn=978-0-415-29854-4 |access-date=26 August 2017}}</ref> Under [[British Raj|British rule]], the city saw the introduction of [[electricity]], [[railway]]s, [[Movie theater|cinema]]s, Western-style universities and colleges and a modern water supply. It became an important administrative and educational centre in the British Raj, as the capital of [[Eastern Bengal and Assam]] province after 1905.<ref name=dani>{{citation| title=Dacca – A record of its changing fortunes| first=Ahmad| last=Dani| publisher=Mrs. Safiya S Dani| year=1962| page=119| url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/22374453/Dacca-by-Ahmad-Hasan-Dani| access-date=9 September 2017| archive-date=30 May 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530073417/https://www.scribd.com/doc/22374453/Dacca-by-Ahmad-Hasan-Dani| url-status=live}}</ref> In 1947, after the end of British rule, the city became the administrative capital of [[East Pakistan]]. It was declared the legislative capital of Pakistan in 1962. In 1971, after the [[Bangladesh Liberation War|Liberation War]], it became the capital of independent Bangladesh.

A [[Global city|beta-global city]],<ref>{{cite web |title=The World According to GaWC 2020 |url=https://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/world2020t.html |website=GaWC - Research Network |publisher=Globalization and World Cities |access-date=31 August 2020 |archive-date=24 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824031341/https://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/world2020t.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Dhaka is the center of political, economic and culture life in Bangladesh. It is the seat of the [[Government of Bangladesh]], many [[List of companies of Bangladesh|Bangladeshi companies]] and leading Bangladeshi educational, scientific, research and cultural organizations. Since its establishment as a modern capital city; the population, area and social and economic diversity of Dhaka have grown tremendously. The city is now one of the most densely industrialized regions in the country. The city accounts for 35% of [[Economy of Bangladesh|Bangladesh's economy]].<ref name="Rezaul Karim" /> The [[Dhaka Stock Exchange]] has over 750 listed companies. Dhaka hosts over 50 [[List of diplomatic missions in Bangladesh|diplomatic missions]] as well as the headquarters of [[BIMSTEC]] and [[CIRDAP]]. The city's culture is known for its [[rickshaw]]s, [[Bangladeshi cuisine|cuisine]], [[Bangladeshi art|art festivals]] and religious diversity. The [[Old Dhaka|old city]] is home to around 2000 buildings from the Mughal and British periods.