Panihati is the 117th most populous city in India with a total population of 3,77,347. Panihati is a city in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal and the highest employment in the district is in Agriculture, Leather, Jute products, Rubber & Plastic products, Cotton Textiles, Readymade Garments, Engineering and other household industries. The district has 25% of the workforce employed in the Agricultural Sector, 71% in the Industrial Sector and the remaining 4% are Household workers. The major field crops produced are Rice, Jute, Oilseeds, Potato, Wheat. Apart from these, horticultural crops like Mango, Banana, Brinjal, Cucurbits etc. are also produced. Panihati has an average elevation of 13 metres (42 feet). North 24 Parganas district has been identified as one of the areas where groundwater is affected by arsenic contamination. The famous scientist Kishori Mohan Bandyopadhyay who had assisted Ronald Ross in his malaria research work and was awarded a Gold Medal in 1903 for his pioneering work by King Edward VII of Britain was a resident of Panihati.
