Bangladesh — map and facts

About Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a densely populated republic in South Asia, sharing borders with India on three sides and Myanmar to the southeast, with the Bay of Bengal to the south. With a population of approximately 170 million people in an area of around 147,570 square kilometres, it is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Dhaka is the capital and largest city. Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan on 26 March 1971, following the Liberation War in which an estimated 300,000 to 3 million people died. The country operates as a parliamentary republic and is a major garment-producing nation, with the ready-made garment industry accounting for the majority of export earnings. Bangladesh has made significant strides in reducing poverty and improving health outcomes since independence. The country is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels, cyclones, and flooding, which periodically displace millions of people. The official language is Bengali, and Islam is the state religion.

Geography and Landscape

Bangladesh occupies the lower delta region of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system, one of the largest and most active river deltas in the world. The country is almost entirely flat, with over 80 percent of its land forming part of the vast alluvial floodplain lying less than 10 metres above sea level. The Jamuna, Padma, and Meghna rivers are the three principal waterways, forming a web of channels, tributaries, and wetlands across the landscape. The Sundarbans mangrove forest, shared with India, extends across approximately 10,000 square kilometres of the southwestern coastal zone and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site home to Bengal tigers. The only significant elevated terrain is the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the southeast, reaching around 1,052 metres at Keokradong. The country experiences a tropical monsoon climate with three seasons: a cool dry winter, a hot pre-monsoon period, and a long monsoon season from June to October that delivers the majority of annual rainfall.

History

The Bengal region has been inhabited for over 4,000 years, with the ancient Pundra kingdom among the earliest recorded states. Buddhism flourished under the Pala Dynasty from the 8th to 12th centuries, establishing major monasteries including Somapura Mahavihara at Paharpur. Islam arrived with Sufi missionaries and Turkish-Afghan armies from the 12th century onward. The Mughal Empire incorporated Bengal in 1576, and the region became one of the wealthiest provinces in Asia. The British East India Company gained control following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, and Bengal was administratively partitioned in 1905. Partition of India in 1947 created East Pakistan, separating the predominantly Muslim Bengali population from India. Cultural suppression by the West Pakistani government, particularly restrictions on the Bengali language, fuelled a pro-independence movement. The Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, supported by India, led to independence on 16 December 1971. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader, was assassinated in 1975, initiating decades of political instability and military rule.