Template:Infobox subdivision type Odisha, a state on the eastern coast of India, is divided into 30 administrative geographical units called districts.[1][2][3] These 30 districts have been placed under three different revenue divisions to streamline their governance. The divisions are Central, North and South with their headquarters at Cuttack (Central Division), Sambalpur (Northern Division), Berhampur (Southern Division) respectively. Each division consists of 10 districts, and has as its administrative head a Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), a senior rank officer of Indian Administrative Service. The position of the RDC in the administrative hierarchy is that between that of the district administration and the state secretariat. Each District is governed by a Collector & District Magistrate, who is appointed from the Indian Administrative Service. The Collector & District Magistrate is responsible for collecting the revenue and maintaining law and order in the district. Each District is separated into Sub-Divisions, each governed by a Sub-Collector & Sub-Divisional Magistrate. The Sub-Divisions are further divided into Tahasils. The Tahasils are headed by Tahasildar. Odisha has 03 Divisions, 30 Districts, 58 Sub-Divisions, 317 Tahasils and 314 Blocks.
History
On 1 April 1936, when Odisha state was created, it had 6 districts - Cuttack, Puri, Balasore, Sambalpur, Koraput, and Ganjam. Later, 7 more districts were created - Balangir, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Kalahandi, Mayurbhanj, Phulbani (presently renamed to Kandhamal), and Sundargarh.[4]
In 1993, 17 more districts were created, bringing the total to 30.[4]
List of districts by divisions
The districts of Odisha have been placed under three different revenue divisions to streamline their governance. The divisions are Central, North and South with their headquarters at Cuttack (Central Division), Sambalpur (Northern Division), Berhampur (Southern Division) respectively. Each division consists of 10 districts, and has as its administrative head a Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), a senior rank officer of Indian Administrative Service. The position of the RDC in the administrative hierarchy is that between that of the district administration and the state secretariat. The list of districts, organized by divisions:
| Northern Division (HQ – Sambalpur) |
Central Division (HQ – Cuttack) |
Southern Division (HQ – Berhampur) |
|---|---|---|
Administration
Collector & District Magistrate is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officer in charge of revenue collection and administration of a district and Superintendent of Police (SP), an officer of Indian Police Service (IPS) is responsible for maintaining law and order and related issues of a district in Odisha.
Districts
There are 30 districts in Odisha. Mayurbhanj is the largest district and Jagatsinghpur is the smallest district by area. Ganjam is the largest district and Deogarh is the smallest district by population in Odisha. Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha is located in Khordha district. The area and population of the 30 districts are given below:[5][6] Template:Static row numbersTemplate:Sticky header
| Districts | Headquarters | Formation Day[1] | Population (2011 Census[7]) |
Area (km2) | Density in 2011 (/km2) |
Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angul | Angul | 01-April-1993 | 1,273,821 | 6,375 | 200 | .svg)
|
| Balangir | Balangir | 01-November-1949 | 1,648,997 | 6,575 | 251 | .svg)
|
| Balasore | Balasore | 23-October-1828 | 2,320,529 | 3,634 | 638 | .svg)
|
| Bargarh | Bargarh | 01-April-1993 | 1,481,255 | 5,837 | 254 | .svg)
|
| Bhadrak | Bhadrak | 01-April-1993 | 1,506,337 | 2,505 | 601 | .svg)
|
| Boudh | Boudh | 02-January-1994 | 441,162 | 3444.8 | 128 | .svg)
|
| Cuttack | Cuttack | 23-October-1828 | 2,624,470 | 3,932 | 667 | .svg)
|
| Debagarh | Debagarh | 01-January-1994 | 312,520 | 2,782 | 112 | .svg)
|
| Dhenkanal | Dhenkanal | 01-January-1948 | 1,192,811 | 4,452 | 268 | .svg)
|
| Gajapati | Paralakhemundi | 02-October-1992 | 577,817 | 3,850 | 150 | .svg)
|
| Ganjam | Chhatrapur | 01-April-1936 | 3,529,031 | 8,206 | 430 | .svg)
|
| Jagatsinghapur | Jagatsinghapur | 01-April-1993 | 1,136,971 | 1,759 | 646 | .svg)
|
| Jajpur | Jajpur | 01-April-1993 | 1,827,192 | 2887.69 | 633 | .svg)
|
| Jharsuguda | Jharsuguda | 01-January-1994 | 579,505 | 2,081 | 278 | .svg)
|
| Kalahandi | Bhawanipatna | 01-January-1948 | 1,576,869 | 7,920 | 199 | .svg)
|
| Kandhamal | Phulbani | 01-January-1994 | 733,110 | 7,654 | 96 | .svg)
|
| Kendrapara | Kendrapara | 01-April-1993 | 1,440,361 | 2,644 | 545 | .svg)
|
| Kendujhar | Kendujhar | 01-January-1948 | 1,801,733 | 8,303 | 217 | .svg)
|
| Khordha | Khordha | 01-April-1993 | 2,251,673 | 2,813 | 800 | .svg)
|
| Koraput | Koraput | 01-April-1936 | 1,379,647 | 8,807 | 157 | .svg)
|
| Malkangiri | Malkangiri | 02-October-1992 | 613,192 | 5,791 | 106 | .svg)
|
| Mayurbhanj | Baripada | 01-January-1949 | 2,519,738 | 10,418 | 242 | .svg)
|
| Nabarangpur | Nabarangapur | 02-October-1992 | 1,220,946 | 5,294 | 231 | .svg)
|
| Nayagarh | Nayagarh | 01-April-1993 | 962,789 | 3,890 | 247 | .svg)
|
| Nuapada | Nuapada | 01-April-1993 | 610,382 | 3,852 | 158 | .svg)
|
| Puri | Puri | 23-October-1828 | 1,698,730 | 3,051 | 557 | .svg)
|
| Rayagada | Rayagada | 02-October-1992 | 967,911 | 7,073 | 137 | .svg)
|
| Sambalpur | Sambalpur | 16-October-1905 | 1,041,099 | 6,702 | 155 | .svg)
|
| Subarnapur | Subarnapur | 01-April-1993 | 610,183 | 2,337 | 261 | .svg)
|
| Sundargarh | Sundargarh | 01-January-1948 | 2,093,437 | 9,712 | 215 | .svg)
|
| Odisha | Bhubaneswar | Apr 1, 1936 | 41,974,218 | 154,468.98 | 272 | 
|
Proposed districts
There are demands for at least 31 new districts listed below (north to south, west to east).[8][9][10]
| Existing District | No. of New Districts | Proposed New District(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Mayurbhanj | 4 | West Mayurbhanj, Rairangpur, Khiching, Karanjia or Panchipur |
| Baleshwar (Balasore) | 3 | Nilagiri, Jaleswar, Soro |
| Sundargarh | 2 | Bonai, Rourkela (Vedvyas district) |
| Kendujhar (Keonjhar) | 1 | Anandpur |
| Bargarh | 1 | Padampur |
| Sambalpur | 1 | Kuchinda |
| Angul[11] | 3 | Talcher, Pallahara, Athmallik |
| Balangir | 3 | Titlagarh, Kantabanji, Patnagarh |
| Cuttack | 2 | Athagarh, Chandikhol |
| Khordha | 1 | Bhubaneswar |
| Kalahandi | 1 | Dharmagarh |
| Kandhamal | 1 | Baliguda |
| Ganjam | 5 | Ghumusar, Rushikulya (Aska), Berhampur, Bhanjanagar, Kabisuryanagar |
| Puri | 1 | Nimapara |
| Rayagada | 1 | Gunupur |
| Koraput | 1 | Jeypore |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Districts of Odisha. Government of Odisha. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ↑ Districts of Orissa. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
- ↑ List of Districts. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 31 Demands On Table, Odisha Govt Seeks Proposals For New Districts, odishabytes.com, 19 Feb 2026.
- ↑ Administrative Unit. Revenue & Disaster Management Department, Government of Odisha. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ↑ The Office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
- ↑ List of districts of Orissa. census2011.co.in.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Received proposals for creation of 31 new dists, 66 sub-divisions: Minister, Indian Express, 20 Feb 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 New district demands.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Odisha govt has received proposals for formation of 28 new districts: Minister, PTI. ThePrint(2024-02-07). Retrieved 2025-05-10.
- ↑ Odisha government received proposals for 25 more districts in state, Service, Express News. The New Indian Express(2023-09-29). Retrieved 2025-05-13.