Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia that’s known for its lush green hills, rivers, tasty food, and vibrant folklore. Located on the Indian subcontinent, it lies between the Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal. Take a look below for 30 amazing and fun facts about Bangladesh.
1. Bangladesh’s neighbours are India to the West, North and East, Myanmar (Burma) to the south-east and the Bay of Bengal to the south.
2. It has a total area of 56,977 square miles (147,570 square kilometres).
3. The coordinates for Bangladesh are 23.7000° N, 90.3500°.
4. It has a population of 161.4 million (2018).
5. In fact, Bangladesh is such an extremely densely populated country – the majority live in an area the size of Pennsylvania.
6. Over 98% of the people are Bengalis, predominantly Bangla-speaking people.
7. Bangladesh has the 4th largest Muslim population in the world.
8. Bangladesh’s capital is Dhaka, which has an area of 315 square miles (816 square kilometres) and a population of 8.906 million (2011).
9. Dhaka is the 5th largest city in the world and the world’s most densely populated city with 44,500 people per square kilometre.
10. Dhaka’s density is 10 times that of Madrid, and four times higher than the 9th city on the same ranking, Singapore.
11. The name “Bangladesh” is composed of 2 words; “Bangla,” the native name of the Bengali language, and “desh”, country.
12. Bangladesh has its own language called Bangla – Bangla (Bengali) and English are the official languages of Bangladesh.
13. The average life span here is 72.05 years (2017).
14. There were many heroic sacrifices in Bangladesh’s history for the preservation of their native language.
15. On the 21st of February, 1952, many courageous citizens fought to establish “Bangla” as the official language of Bangladesh.
16. UNESCO declared the 21st of February the International Mother Language Day on the 17th of November, 1999. As of the 21st of February, 2000 this day is officially celebrated worldwide.
17. The earliest reference to the region was to a kingdom called Vanga, or Banga (1000 BC).
18. Buddhists reigned for centuries in the region, but by the 10th century, Bengal was primarily Hindu.
19. Bangladesh as a country did not exist before 1971. In the past, the region of Bengal was ruled by a list of Indian, Turkic, and Mughal dynasties as well as the British.
20. In 1576, Bengal became part of the Mogul Empire, and the majority of East Bengalis converted to Islam.
21. Bengal was ruled by British India from 1757 until Britain withdrew in 1947, and Pakistan was established out of the two main Muslim regions of the Indian subcontinent.
22. For almost 25 years after independence from Britain, the country’s history was part of Pakistan’s.
23. West and East Pakistan were unified by religion (Islam), but their people were divided by culture, physical features, and 1,000 miles of Indian territory.
24. Until its independence in 1971, Bangladesh was “East Pakistan”.
25. Under the Mughal rule, in the south-western part of Dhaka, the beautiful fortress Lalbagh Kella (or the Fort Aurangabad) located on the banks of the river Buriganga was built.
26. Some of the main attractions of this historic fortress include the spectacular Lalbagh Mosque, the Audience Hall, the Hammam Khana which was Nawab Shaista Khan’s bathing place, and the grand Tomb of Pari Bibi.
27. Dhaka is also known as “the City of Mosques,” as there are numerous gorgeous mosques in the town.
28. Some of the most stunning mosques are the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, the Chawk Mosque, the Musa Khan Mosque, the Saat Masjid, and the Sitara Mosque.
29. Bangladesh is mostly made up of incredibly flat, low-lying land which is subject to annual flooding from melting snow from the Himalayas.
30. Its landscape is made up of 67% arable land, 16% forest and woodland, 4% meadows and pastures, 2% permanent crops and 11% ‘others’.
