Dhaka sits at 23.8103 degrees north latitude and 90.4125 degrees east longitude in the central region of Bangladesh, positioned on the eastern bank of the Buriganga River. The city serves as the administrative center of both Dhaka Division and Dhaka District. Metropolitan Dhaka covers approximately 306.4 square kilometers, while Greater Dhaka extends across roughly 1,528 square kilometers. The elevation ranges between 2 and 13 meters above sea level, placing most of the city in a flood-prone deltaic plain. The Buriganga River forms the southern boundary, with the Tongi Khal canal to the north, Balu River to the east, and Turag River to the west creating a near-island geography. The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics reported the population of Dhaka metropolis at 10.2 million in the 2022 census, with the greater metropolitan area containing approximately 22.5 million residents. This makes Dhaka the most densely populated major city on Earth, with density measurements in core neighborhoods exceeding 44,000 people per square kilometer. The United Nations Population Division projects metropolitan Dhaka will reach 28 million by 2030.
The city's recorded history begins with mentions in the Hindu epic Mahabharata as Jahangirnagar, though archaeological evidence of settlement dates to the 7th century CE. Dhaka gained prominence in 1608 when Mughal Subahdar Islam Khan established it as the provincial capital of Bengal, renaming it Jahangirnagar after Emperor Jahangir. The city served as the Mughal capital of Bengal until 1717. Under Mughal rule from 1608 to 1717, Dhaka developed as a center of the muslin textile trade, with European trading companies establishing factories along the riverfront. The British East India Company made Dhaka a commercial hub after 1765, though Calcutta replaced it as the regional capital in 1773. The city regained administrative importance in 1905 when the British created Eastern Bengal and Assam province with Dhaka as capital, a status that lasted until 1911. The University of Dhaka was founded in 1921, establishing the city's role as an educational center. After the 1947 partition of India, Dhaka became the capital of East Bengal province in Pakistan. The city served as the focal point of the Bengali Language Movement in 1952, when police killed students protesting the imposition of Urdu as the sole state language on February 21. Following the 1971 Liberation War, Dhaka became the capital of independent Bangladesh on December 16, 1971.
The National Parliament House, designed by American architect Louis Kahn and completed in 1982, stands in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar at the city's geographic center. The complex covers 200 acres and contains nine individual blocks, with the main parliament chamber featuring geometric concrete forms and 415-foot diameter circular assembly space. Construction began in 1961 under Pakistani rule, halted during the Liberation War, and resumed in 1974 at a final cost of 32 million USD. The building uses exposed concrete, red brick, and marble, with Kahn incorporating eight peripheral blocks housing offices, libraries, and prayer halls around the central octagonal assembly chamber. The Architectural Review ranked it among the 20th century's most significant buildings in 2000. The Bangabhaban presidential palace occupies 6.5 acres in Dilkusha Garden, built in 1844 as the residence of the British Governor of Bengal. The colonial-era building features a 35-meter-long facade with Corinthian columns and served as the residence of Pakistan's governor until 1971, when it became the presidential residence of Bangladesh.
Dhaka's transportation infrastructure centers on Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, located 15 kilometers north of the city center in Kurmitola. The airport handled 11.2 million passengers in 2023 according to Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh statistics. The facility operates two terminals across 1,981 acres, with a 10,500-foot primary runway capable of accommodating wide-body aircraft. Biman Bangladesh Airlines maintains its hub at the airport, operating international routes to 18 countries across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. The airport connects to central Dhaka via the Airport Road, a 15-kilometer route that typically requires 45 to 90 minutes depending on traffic density. Kamalapur Railway Station, officially named Dhaka Railway Station, serves as the primary rail terminus, located in the Motijheel commercial district. Built in 1968, the station handles approximately 30,000 passengers daily across 12 platforms. Intercity trains connect Dhaka to Chittagong in 5 to 7 hours, covering 240 kilometers, and to Sylhet in 6 to 8 hours over 225 kilometers. The Sayedabad Bus Terminal in southern Dhaka and Mohakhali Bus Terminal in the north handle long-distance bus services, with operators running routes to all divisional cities. The Dhaka Metro Rail opened its first section on December 28, 2022, operating an elevated 11.73-kilometer route from Uttara North to Agargaon with nine stations. The Mass Rapid Transit Line 6 uses Japanese-supplied rolling stock and carries approximately 180,000 passengers daily as of 2024, with plans to extend south to Kamalapur by 2025.
Urban transport within Dhaka relies on a combination of private vehicles, buses, auto-rickshaws, and ride-sharing services. The city contains approximately 1.2 million registered vehicles as of 2023, operating on a road network totaling 1,840 kilometers. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority counts roughly 500,000 rickshaws operating in Dhaka, though only 85,000 hold valid licenses. Auto-rickshaws powered by compressed natural gas number approximately 42,000 with valid permits. The average traffic speed in central Dhaka measures 6.4 kilometers per hour during peak periods according to 2023 data from the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority. Two companies operate ride-sharing services using mobile applications: Pathao launched in 2016 and Uber operated from 2016 to 2023. Water transport across the Buriganga River connects Dhaka to southern districts, with Sadarghat launch terminal handling approximately 250 passenger ferries daily. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority reports that river transport moves an average of 30,000 passengers per day between Sadarghat and destinations including Barisal, Khulna, and Sundarbans region.
The old city, known as Puran Dhaka or Old Dhaka, occupies the area south of Sadarghat Road along the Buriganga riverfront. This district contains structures dating to Mughal and British periods, with street patterns following 17th-century layouts. Lalbagh Fort sits on the river's eastern bank, constructed between 1678 and 1684 during the reign of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Subahdar Muhammad Azam Shah, son of Aurangzeb, began construction in 1678, but work halted incomplete when Shaista Khan, the subsequent Subahdar, abandoned the project after his daughter Pari Bibi died there in 1684. The fort complex covers 18 acres and includes three principal structures: the Diwan-i-Aam audience hall, Pari Bibi's tomb with its eight-sided central chamber, and Hammam Khana bathing facility with underground water supply systems. The Archaeological Survey of Bangladesh maintains the site, which opened to visitors in 1844 after brief British military use. The fort's western bastion stands 15 meters high with walls 1.5 meters thick built from red brick.
Ahsan Manzil, known as the Pink Palace, stands approximately two kilometers northeast of Lalbagh Fort on the Buriganga's northern bank at Kumartoli. Nawab Abdul Ghani completed the palace in 1872, converting a French trading house built in 1740. The building measures 36 meters long and 20 meters wide, constructed on a raised platform 1.5 meters high. The structure features a 27.5-meter-high central dome, with the main building divided into eastern and western wings containing 31 rooms. The pink paint covering the exterior uses a lime-based mixture applied to the brick surface. After 1952, the palace fell into disrepair until the Bangladesh government acquired it in 1985 and converted it into the National Museum of Bangladesh, which opened in 1992. The museum collection includes 11 galleries displaying furniture, ceramics, and documents from the nawab period spanning 1830 to 1952.