Bongaigaon district is a district of the Assam state with its administrative headquarters located at Bongaigaon town. The name of both the district and district headquarters are derived from the name of an old village called Bongaigaon or Bong-ai-gaon, situated on the southern border of the town. The most remarkable date in the history of the Bongaigaon district is 29th September, 1989 when for the first time Bongaigaon was emerged as a separate district by including some areas of the districts of Goalpara and Kokrajhar of Assam state. The main reason behind the formation of the new district was the political and administrative demands. But, at the very beginning the demand raised by the natives of Bongaigaon and its nearby areas was only to form a new sub-division with its headquarters to be located at Bongaigaon town. Initially, the demand of creating the Bongaigaon as a new district has faced numerous hurdles. The history of the district can be traced back to the formation of the original Goalpara district in AD 1822 by David Scott, an employee of East India Company and also the first Commissioner of newly created North East Rangpur district. At that time the newly created Goalpara district was also tagged with North-East Rangpur district for the smooth administration. The earlier region of the Bijni Kingdom that enclosed the undivided Garo Hills district area which also constituted the original Goalpara district area in the year 1822. Again, in 1866 Garo Hills was separated from the Goalpara district and in the same year a new district was formed "Greater Koch Behar". After sometime in 1874 the British government created a new province named Assam Valley Province and then the Goalpara district area was withdrawn from Koch Behar. They as well tagged with Assam Province which continues till the present day. Currently, from the original Goalpara district five more districts has came out namely-(i) Goalpara (ii) Dhubri (iii) Kokrajhar (iv) Bongaigaon and (v) Chirang.

Ambika Charan Choudhury, an eminent Assamese litterateur, historian and activist was born on 16th August, 1930 at Borpara in the Bongaigaon district. He is popularly known as “Kamataratna”. The government of Assam has honoured him with many prestigious awards likewise Assam Government Literary Pension in 1994, Mahendra Nath Karan Award in 2003 and Bir Chilarai Award in 2008.

Geographically, the district lies at 26°47'N latitude and 90°56'E longitude. The altitude in the district is 54 m. In the year 2021, there was a total 22.94% forest area of total geographical area. The district encompasses a geographical area of 1,093 sq km. and it is bounded by Barpeta on the east, the Brahmaputra River on the south and Kokrajhar on the north and west. The principal river that flow through the district is Brahmaputra River. The climate of the district can be characterized as humid subtropical climate with hot summers and fairly cold winters. Most of its rainfall occurs in the monsoon season. The actual rainfall in the district was 2029.6 mm in the year of 2021-22.

Administration wise, the district is divided into 4 sub-divisions namely Bongaigaon (Sadar), Bijni, North Salmara and Manikpur. It has 5 revenue circles likewise, Bongaigaon, Boitamari, Bijni, Dangtol and Srijangram. Moreover, it comprises 5 towns and 563 villages. The administrative language in the district is Assamese and English.

According to 2011 census, the district has a population of 7,38,804 including 3,75,818 are males and 3,62,986 are females. The district has sex ratio of 966 (females for every 1000 males). During the year 2001-2011 the population growth rate in the district was -18.35% including -19.22% were males and -17.43% were females. As per 2011 census the major religion in the district is Hindu and Muslim with 48.61% and 50.22% of the total population. The population density in the district is 676 (persons per sq. km.). As per 2011 census the principal languages in the district are Assamese, Bengali with 49.00% and 44.84%. In the year 2020 the number of live births in the district was 18,612 out of which 9,721 were males and 8,891 were females. In the same year the number of deaths in the district was 4,576 out of which 2,246 were males and 2,330 were females.

The economy of the district is mainly dependent on agricultural sector. More than half of its population are engaged in agriculture in order to earn their livelihood. The chief agricultural products in the district are Paddy, rice and different kinds of pulses. In spite of launching many modern agricultural schemes by the government yet till today its farmers are sticks to their old methods of agriculture. Every year a huge chunk of revenue comes from the agricultural products in the district helps in its economy to a great extent. The district is scantily industrialised since it has only a few agro-based industries. In 2006 the Indian government declared Bongaigaon as one of the country's 250 most backward districts and currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). In the year 2018-19 the gross domestic product in the district was Rs. 7,84,703 lakhs at current price and Rs. 5,77,666 lakhs at constant prices in the year 2011-2012. The net domestic product in the district during the period 2007-08 was Rs. 1,72,720 lakh at current price and Rs. 1,37,352 lakh at constant prices in the year 1999-2000. The Per Capita Income or NDDP, At Factor Cost during the period 2018-19 was Rs. 94,897 at current price and Rs. 69,701 at constant prices in the year 2011-2012.

The district is well known as an abode of several reputed educational institutions. It provides a platform for higher education. Some of its most recognised educational institutions are Bongaigaon Refinery HS School, Birjhora Higher Secondary School, Bongaigaon Railway Higher Secondary School, DPS Dhaligaon, Bongaigaon Refinery, Kendriya Vidyalaya New Bongaigaon, Bongaigaon High School English Medium, Santi Dham Kalibari High School, Vivekananda Vidhyapith Higher Secondary School, Hindi Higher Secondary School, Little Flower School, St. Albert's High School, Bongaigaon College, Birjhora Mahavidyalaya, Bongaigaon Law College, Bongaigaon B.Ed College, Birjhora Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Upendranath Brahma College, etc. As per 2011 census the literacy rate in the district is 69.74% including 74.87% are males and 64.43% are females. The literates in the district are 4,34,078 out of which 2,37,114 are males and 1,96,964 are females. The illiterates in the district are 3,04,726 out of which 1,38,704 are males and 1,66,022 are females.

The district has several centres of attraction which allures many travellers from different parts of the country as well world. Koyakujia Bil or Koya Kujia Eco Park, a project undertaken by the Assam Tourism Development Corporation is located in the nearby place of Abhayapuri at a distance of 15 kms from Bongaigaon. During the winter season, a great variety of migratory birds come to this place. Sri Surya Pahar, a significant but relatively unknown archaeological site is located in the district of Assam. The site is full of some hilly terrain where the visitors can enjoy several rock-cut Shivalingas, votive stupas and the many deities of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain pantheon. Manas National Park, an important national park, UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, a Project Tiger reserve, an elephant reserve and a biosphere reserve is located in the Bongaigaon town. Manas National Park is famous for its population of the wild water buffalo. Some other notable places of interest in the district are Lalmati-Duramari Ganesh Temple, Rock Cut Caves, Manas River Point, Bagheswari Temple, Bagheswari Hill, Kachugaon Game Reserve, Kakoijana Reserved Forest, Aai River Sand, Roumari Dam, Bongaigaon City Garden and many more.