As of the census, the city has a population of , Khulna is an old river port located on the Rupsha and Bhoirob river. It is an important hub of Bangladeshi industry and hosts many national companies. It is served by Port of Mongla , the second largest seaport in the country.
It is also one of the two principal naval command centres of the Bangladesh Navy. Navy base BNS Titumir is located in the city. A colonial steamboat service, including the fleet Tern , Osrich and Lepcha , continues to operate on the river route to the city.
It is regarded as the gateway to the Sundarbans , the world's largest mangrove forest and home of the Bengal tiger. Khulna was part of the ancient kingdoms of Vanga or Samatata. In the 12th century, it came under the Sena dynasty during the reign of Ballal Sena and formed part of the Bagri division of Bengal. The previous name of this region was Jalalabad.
During the 14th century, Shamsuddin Firoz Shah became the first Muslim ruler to arrive in the city. The Muslim settlements in the city increased during the time of Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah.
Subsequently, many mosques and shrines began to be established. Later he started to exercise full rights of sovereignty and continued to do so till his death in During the reign of Daud Khan Karrani in the 16th century, Vikramaditya, one of the chief ministers of the ruler, obtained a grant in the southern Bengal including Khulna when the ruler was busy fighting the Mughals.
