Rangpur (Bengali: রংপুর) is one of the major cities in Bangladesh. Rangpur is considered as the centre of northwestern Bangladesh. Recently established public university of Bangladesh named as "Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur" is situated in the southern part of the city. Earlier Rangpur was the headquarter of Greater Rangpur district. Later the Greater Rangpur district was broken down into Rangpur, Kurigram, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat and Gaibandha districts. As a hub of trade, business and non-governmental organisational activities its influence over the districts under Greater-Dinajpur is also considerable. In 2010, Rangpur was announced as a Division of Bangladesh and it is the 7th and last division. There are eight districts under Rangpur division. Those are; Rangpur, Kurigram, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon and Panchagor.
