Khulna is named after a goddess of the Hindu religion, Khulleshwari. In 1947, the district of Khulna had a Hindu majority of 52%, but now the district's total population is about 70% Muslim.
Economy
Khulna is a port city. Mongla is another major sea port of the country. In Daulatpur there are several jute mills. By road, railway and riverway it is connected to other parts of the country. This infrastructure plays a vital role in the city's economy, which also depends upon fishing and salt industries. Khulna has a newsprint mill that will about reopen in the near future. The Khulna shipyard receives limited support from the Bangladesh Navy by building small, ocean-going ships. The Khulna textile and hardboard mills will reopen soon under private ownership.
The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world. The royal Bengal tiger inhabits the area; it is said that seeing the tiger enables a person to understand what a tiger means. There are many other rare animals in the area, including monkeys, chitra deer, crocodiles, wild cocks, wild pigs and thousands of kinds of birds.