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Where is Bangladesh?
About Bangladesh
The Land
The People
Life and Death
Health, Energy and the Environment
Education and Work
Travel, Communication and the Media

Bangladesh is an above average size country in the centre of southern mainland Asia.

Bangladesh has a border on the Bay of Bengal.

The land is mostly flat with some hills in the wouth east.

The geographical coordinates for the centre of Bangladesh, also known as lines of latitude and longtitude, are:-
Latitude - 24 00N
Longitude - 90 00E

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Check the weather in Dhaka now.

This is the time in Dhaka now

The Bangladeshi flag is green with a large red disc almost in the centre but slightly to the flag pole side.

The capital of Bangladesh is Dhaka.

Bangladesh is a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of the government.

In elections everyone over the age of 18 can vote.

The currency in Bangladesh is the taka. Bangladesh is a member of the Commonwealth.

Bengali is the official language.

Hear the National Anthem


These are the anthem words

The words ×

These are the words to the Bangladeshi National Anthem called My Golden Bengal. It was adopted as the National Anthem in 1971. This is a translation of the words.

If anthem fails to play click here

My Bengal of gold, I love you.
Forever your skies, your air set my heart in tune as if it were a flute.
In spring, O mother mine, the fragrance from your mango groves makes me wild with joy,
Ah, what a thrill!
In autumn, O mother mine, in the full blossomed paddy fields I have seen spread all over sweet smiles.
Ah, what beauty, what shades, what an affection, and what tenderness!
What a quilt have you spread at the feet of banyan trees and along the banks of rivers!
O mother mine, words from your lips are like nectar to my ears.
Ah, what a thrill!
If sadness, O mother mine, casts a gloom on your face, my eyes are filled with tears!

We have already written our own history of England but are asking schools in Bangladesh to provide us with a detailed history of their own country. Check how here.


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The total land area of Bangladesh is 130,170 sq kms which is the 29th largest in Asia.

Bangladesh has lakes, rivers and canals which total 18,290 sq kms.

Bangladesh has boundaries with 2 countries

• India 4,142 kms
• Myanmar 271 kms

Bangladesh has a coastline of 580 kms which is the 25th longest in Asia.

The highest point in Bangladesh is Keokradong at 1,230 metres.

The pie chart below shows how the land is split between agricultural land (crops and pastures), forests and other, which can be towns, villages, desert or frozen waste called tundra.

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The total population of Bangladesh is 156.19 million people, making it the 5th largest country in Asia by population.

Of this number 79.18 million are females and 77.01 million are males.

A person from Bangladesh is called a Bangladeshi.

To be a citizen of Bangladesh, one of your parents must be a citizen of Bangladesh. It is not sufficient to be born in Bangladesh. You have to live in Bangladesh for 5 years before you can begin to apply for citizenship.

The largest five cities in Bangladesh, by population are:-

• Dhaka 10,356,500 people
• Chittagong 3,920,222
• Khulna 1,342,339
• Rajshahi 700,133
• Comilla 389,411

For each country we will give you a diagram showing the population density. This is the average number of people for each square kilometre. Each little Owlbut is 1 person and the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.



34.3% of the people live in cities or towns.

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The birth rate in Bangladesh is 19.0 births per 1,000 of population

The death rate in Bangladesh is 5.3 deaths per 1,000 people.

Check this against the birth rate. If the death rate is higher than the birth rate then the population will decrease unless immigrants arrive in the country.

There are 30.4 deaths of girls under 1 year per 1,000 of births and 35.2 deaths of boys.

The median age for females is 27.3 and for males is 26.0. The median age is that age which divides the population exactly in half so there are the same number of people above the median age as below it.

The average age of a woman when she has her first child is 18.5.

The elderly dependency ratio is 7.7. This is the number of elderly people (ages 65+) per 100 people of working age (ages 15-64).

The potential support ratio is 13.0. This is the number of working-age people (ages 15-64) per one elderly person (ages 65+). As a population ages, the potential support ratio tends to fall, meaning there are fewer potential workers to support the elderly.

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Bangladesh spends 2.8% of its total income on health care.

There are 0.36 doctors per 1,000 people.

There are 0.6 hospital beds per 1,000 people.

3.6% of the population are estimated as obese.

86.5% of the urban population and 87.0% of the rural population have drinking water that is either piped into their home or they have access to a public tap, a protected borehole, well, spring or protected rainwater collection facility.

57.7% of the urban population and 62.1% of the rural population have access to a flushing toilet that is connected to a sewer. a pit latrine (that is a permanent hole in the ground that is looked after) or a composting toilet.

Bangladesh releases 66.0 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels in the process of producing and consuming energy. This puts it as the 24th highest in Asia.

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Bangladesh spends 2.2% of its total income on education.

Children usually start school at age 6 in Bangladesh. Primary education is for five years until age 11. This is the end of compulsory education. Lower secondary education can continue till 14 and higher secondary education until 18. This may be followed by further education at a university or college.

Generally the school year consists of 3 terms and starts in January and finishes in December. There is usually a 2 week break at Christmas and Easter, and a one week break in the middle of each of the first two terms.

70.1% of females and 75.7% of males are able to read and write by the age of 15.

11.4% of all people aged between 16 and 24 are not in work. Among females 14.1% are unemployed while with males 10.1% can't find work.

The total number of people available for work in Bangladesh is 73.41 million.

They work in the following sectors.

• Agriculture includes farming, fishing and forestry work
• Industry includes mining, manufacturing, construction and energy workers
• Services is everything else

4.1% of the workforce are unemployed.

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There are 16 paved airports in Bangladesh, which is the 31st highest number in Asia.


There are 2,460 kilometres of railways in Bangladesh, the 19th longest in Asia.


There are 2,021 kilometres of roads in Bangladesh, which means Bangladesh is in 47th place for the most kilometres of roads in Asia.

There are 8 major national newspapers in Bangladesh.

There are 135.98 million mobile phone users.

1% of the people have a fixed landline.



28.5 million people have access to the internet at home via any device (computer or mobile).

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