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Bangladesh
WRITTEN BY
Hugh Russell Tinker See All ContributorsEmeritus Professor of Politics, University of Lancaster, England. Author of India and Pakistan: A Political Analysis and others.
Alternative Titles: Gana Prajātantrī Bangladesh, People’s Republic of Bangladesh
ARTICLE CONTENTS
Bangladesh, country of South Asia, located in the delta of the Padma (Ganges [Ganga]) and Jamuna (Brahmaputra) rivers in the northeastern part of the Indian subcontinent.
BangladeshEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Dhaka, BangladeshNight view of Dhaka, Bangladesh.Meer Abdul Qadir (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Bangladesh
National anthem of Bangladesh
OFFICIAL NAMEGana Prajatantri Bangladesh (People’s Republic of Bangladesh)
FORM OF GOVERNMENTunitary multiparty republic with one legislative house (Parliament [3501])
HEAD OF STATEPresident: Abdul Hamid
HEAD OF GOVERNMENTPrime Minister: Sheikh Hasina Wazed (Wajed)
CAPITALDhaka
OFFICIAL LANGUAGEBengali (Bangla)
OFFICIAL RELIGIONIslam
MONETARY UNITBangladesh taka (Tk)
POPULATION(2019 est.) 166,585,000
POPULATION RANK(2018) 8
POPULATION PROJECTION 2030183,691,000
TOTAL AREA (SQ MI)56,977
TOTAL AREA (SQ KM)147,570
DENSITY: PERSONS PER SQ MI(2018) 3,074.1
DENSITY: PERSONS PER SQ KM(2018) 1,186.9
URBAN-RURAL POPULATIONUrban: (2018) 36.6%Rural: (2018) 63.4%
LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTHMale: (2016) 70.3 yearsFemale: (2016) 72.9 years
LITERACY: PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION AGE 15 AND OVER LITERATEMale: (2016) 75.6%Female: (2016) 69.9%
GNI (U.S.$ ’000,000)(2017) 242,754
GNI PER CAPITA (U.S.$)(2017) 1,470
1Includes 50 indirectly elected seats reserved for women.
The riverine country of Bangladesh (“Land of the Bengals”) is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, and its people are predominantly Muslim. As the eastern portion of the historical region of Bengal, the area once formed, along with what is now the Indian state of West Bengal, the province of Bengal in British India. With the partition of India in 1947, it became the Pakistani province of East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan), one of five provinces of Pakistan, separated from the other four by 1,100 miles (1,800 km) of Indian territory. In 1971 it became the independent country of Bangladesh, with its capital at Dhaka.
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