The state of West Bengal is situated between the latitudes 21.5CN
and 24.5°N and the longitudes 86CE and 89°E. Its location is in the northern
part of Bay of Bengal; between the state of Orissa in the south and
Bangladesh in the east.
West Bengal, with an area of 87,853 sq. km accounts for 2.6% of
the geographical area of India. For administrative purposes, the state is
divided into 3 Divisions : Burdwam Division, Presidency Division and
Jalpaiguri Division. Within each division the districts form administrative
units. There are 16 districts of which two are coastal. The coastal districts
are Midnapore and 24 Parganas. These together have a coastline of 65.0 km,
forming 1.0% of the coastline of India
