West Bengal

Capital

Kolkata

Official Language

Bengali, English

Area

88,752 km²

Districts

23

Largest City

Kolkata

Geography & Nature

Himalayan foothills, the Ganga delta, Sundarbans mangroves and Bay of Bengal coast span mountain to estuarine environments.

• Reported area: 88,752 km². Survey of India — Administrative Boundary Data.
• Forest and tree cover: 19,770.45 km²; India State of Forest Report 2023.

Districts & Cities

23 districts listed by the NIC directory on 2026-10-14.

• Major urban centres: Kolkata, Howrah, Siliguri, Asansol, Durgapur.
• Largest city/town: Kolkata. Largest city/town using Census 2011 municipal or town boundaries; urban-agglomeration rankings can differ. Current city names are used.

State Administration

West Bengal has a Governor and an elected government led by a Chief Minister. Its legislature has a Legislative Assembly. The capital is Kolkata.

• Administrative capital: Kolkata.
• Principal official language(s): Bengali, English. Nepali is used officially in specified hill areas; other languages have additional recognition in notified areas.

Government Institutions

Government institutions in West Bengal include executive departments, district administration, public agencies and local bodies. The official directory provides routes to their published websites.

• The Legislative Assembly provides the elected legislative institution.
• District administrations and municipal or village institutions provide local public services.

People & Demographics

The official MoEFCC profile reports approximately 9.13 crore people on a Census 2011 basis. This is a historical, rounded population figure rather than a current population estimate.

• Principal official language(s): Bengali, English.
• Nepali is used officially in specified hill areas; other languages have additional recognition in notified areas.
• Census tables provide the detailed rural/urban, literacy, age and mother-tongue breakdowns.

Economy & Industries

Services, tea, jute, engineering, agriculture, manufacturing and port-linked trade support the economy.

• Economic centres include Kolkata, Howrah, Siliguri.
• Use the government's economic surveys and departmental publications for dated output, employment and investment figures.

Infrastructure

Kolkata and Haldia's port networks, railway corridors, metro systems, airports and inland waterways connect major centres.

• Transport, electricity, water and digital networks support public services and economic activity.
• Project status and operational details are published by the responsible government departments and operators.

Education & Healthcare

University of Calcutta, Jadavpur University and IIT Kharagpur are prominent institutions; government teaching hospitals and AIIMS Kalyani support care.

• Schools, universities, government hospitals and primary care facilities serve different parts of the region.
• Check the relevant institution or department for current programmes, admissions and services.

Culture & History

Durga Puja, Bengali literature, Bishnupur's temples, Baul music and Darjeeling's heritage railway are cultural anchors.

• Heritage sites, languages, crafts and community traditions vary across districts.
• The official tourism and culture portal provides place-specific information.

Schemes & Public Services

The West Bengal government and citizen-service portal provide access to applications, certificates, departmental services and scheme information.

• Common service areas include revenue certificates, welfare applications, education, transport and local-government services; availability varies by portal.
• Open the official service listing for the current application process and requirements.