Country Profiles: Bangladesh

Official name: People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Official language: Bengali

Land area: 55,598 sq mi/14,998 sq km

Population: 161,315,000

Dominant religion: Islam

Capital: Dhaka

Current leader: Prime Minister Sheik Hasina Wajed

Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India to the west, north and east, Myanmar to the southeast and the Bay of Bengal to the south. It is one of the world’s most densely populated countries with more than 160 million people living in an area slightly smaller than the state of Illinois, which only has 12.8 million. With the Indian state of West Bengal, Bangladesh forms a region known as Bengal. The name Bangladesh means Bengal nation.

 Bangladesh is one of the world’s most impoverished nations. Most of the population lives in rural areas where farmers have to struggle to make a living. Most of the work force lives on only about $1 a day. The country also has one of highest illiteracy rates.

 Making matters worse for the country is the fact that it is also one of the lowest-lying countries, making it a frequent victim of massive flooding. Many crops and villages have been destroyed in the past.

 The capital, Dhaka, has a population of about 5.3 million, making it also the country’s largest city. The second largest city, Chittagong, has about 2.1 million people. Dhaka and Chittagong are the only two cities with over a million inhabitants. Most families in the cities and small towns live crowded together in small houses. While some wealthy families can afford better-looking dwellings most of the poor live in homes made of cardboard, tin or plastic sheeting or scraps of wood.

 Bangladesh once formed British India. It gained independence when, in 1947, the British partitioned India into two countries, India and Pakistan. The area that is now Bangladesh was East Pakistan, separated from West Pakistan by more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) of Indian territory. West Pakistan controlled the country’s government, economy and armed forces and two shared very little in common. In 1971, following a civil war, East Pakistan declared independence and renamed the country Bangladesh.