Khulna,the south-western divisional city in Bangladesh, is situated between 21.38' and 23.1 north latitude and 88.58 east longitude and is 12 ft above mean sea level. According to the census of 1991, Khulna city, an area of ---- sq km, and district, an area of ------ sq km have 1.4 million and --- million people respectively.

The city as well as the district is named after its headquarters. As per myth, there was a shrine called Khullaneswari temple on the bank of the river Bhairab, about one and a half kilometers to the east of the present Khulna city, and the town is called Khulna after the name of Khullaneswari. The district was formed in 1882 comprising of the then Khulna and Bagerhat subdivisions of Jessore district, Satkhira subdivision of 24 Parganas district ( India ) and the Sundarbans. Khulna , a subdivision of Jessore district, was formed as the first subdivision in Bengal in 1842.

The jurisdiction of Khulna Sub-division was then extended over the present Khulna district and a great part of the present Bagerhat district. Now the boundary of present Khulna district, formed in 1984 (?), is on the North by the Jessore district, on the South by the Bay of Bengal , on the east by Bagerhat district and by the Satkhira district in the west.Nearly one third of southern Khulna is covered by thick mangrove forest on muddy saline tidal banks namely Sundarbans.The Sundarbans, the largest single track mangrove forests in the world, forms the lower part of the Ganges delta.The forests occupy a flat deltaic swamp. This area is intersected by a network of channels and creeks. The ebb tide and flow tide control the formation of the island.

A number of large scale industrial units were set up in this district during the period of 1950-70. These industrials units are located mainly in present Khulna City Corporation and its adjacent areas. Khulna Newsprint Mills Ltd, Khulna Hardboard Mills Ltd, Khulna Textile Mills Ltd, Khulna Power Station and seventeen jute mills were established by the bank of Bhairab river. Another important industrial unit -Khulna shipyard Ltd was established in 1957. But now, Khulna Newsprint Mills, Textile Mills and a number of jute mills have already been closed as per government decision. On the other hand, Khulna shipyard Ltd was handed over to Bangladesh Navy for running its operation.