Bangladesh: population density and ethnic composition

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

The national composition of the state, which is among the ten largest in the world in terms of population and population density, but occupies a small territory, is diverse. What is interesting: despite the fact that most of the inhabitants of the republic are indigenous, the state as a whole is represented by many small tribal peoples and is of interest by the ratio of the occupied territory to the density and number of inhabitants of Bangladesh. Population density, population size, area of territory - these and other indicators that affect the demographic situation are considered in this material and analyzed taking into account the situation in other countries.

Bangladesh in brief

The Republic of Bangladesh is a unitary state: all parts of the country are in an equal position and have no special status or rights. A small state surrounded by India, with the exception of the border with Myanmar271 km long and the coast of the Bay of Bengal.

To date, Bangladesh is an agro-industrial country with a developing economy, has a significant ethno-cultural education, but remains one of the poorest states in Asia. From time to time, the population suffers from serious natural disasters and social problems: floods that destroy agricultural land, prolonged droughts or terrorist attacks.

Distinguishes the rich culture of the state of Bangladesh. Population density, by the way, in this case is one of the shaping factors in matters of cultural heritage, religion and peculiar traditions of the region. Such a people, so diverse in ethnic composition and religious affiliation, who are forced to live in a small area, miraculously merges into a unique single whole.

Territory of Bangladesh

The territory of the state is almost 150 thousand square kilometers. An insignificant share is occupied by the area of the water surface - only 6.4 km2 within international borders. In terms of territory, Bangladesh ranks 92nd in the world and 27th in Asia. Compared to the cities of the Russian Federation: the territory of the state corresponds to the area of such cities as Belgorod, Tver or Murmansk, and half the size of Togliatti or Penza.

At the same time, the population does not allow residents of the Republic of Bangladesh to feel completely free. The population density of Russian cities, commensurate in area, respectively, in 20,76 and even 230 times less. Of course, this is not surprising at all, because the Asian state is the seventh most densely populated per square kilometer in the world.

Population of the republic

According to the census data of the state, the population of Bangladesh in 2010 amounted to a little over 140 million people. According to an estimate as of 2016, the figure increased by 30 million inhabitants. The data is proportional to natural annual population growth, but slightly exceeds the demographic forecast.

The population of Bangladesh is amazing. The republic is incomparable in size with the Russian Federation, but in terms of the number of inhabitants it surpasses Russia by 25 million people. Thus, both Bangladesh and Russia are home to 2% of the world's population.

Distribution of population by regions

Bangladesh is a unitary state (all regions are in an equal position in relation to each other and the capital and do not have any exclusive rights) and is divided into eight administrative regions - divisions. Each region is named after its largest city.

Regions, in turn, are divided into districts, subdistricts and police departments. Further, the division depends on the size of the settlement: in large cities, several sections are subordinate to the police department, each of which consists of quarters, in small settlements - several communes.

Most of the population of Bangladesh is employed in agriculture (63%). Therefore, residents who live in large cities (administrative centers of regions and suburbs) are a minority - only 27% of the total number of citizens. At the same time, 7% of the population is concentrated in the capital. In Russia, the ratio of residents of the capital to the total number of citizens is slightly higher: 8.4%, but residents of large cities are over 40%.

Comparison of Russia and Bangladesh in terms of population density in the capitals provides the following data: almost 5 thousand people per 1 km2 in Moscow against a little over 23 thousand inhabitants in Dhaka. The difference of almost five times is not as great as the overall figure for the countries, because the total population density in Russia is 134 times less than the corresponding value of the Asian state.

Changes in demographics

The dynamics of change in the population of Bangladesh has a positive trend. The number of inhabitants is steadily increasing, which is typical for most developing countries. So, at the beginning of the 20th century, almost 30 million citizens lived in the republic, by the beginning of World War II the population exceeded 40 million, and in 1960 the official census recorded 50 million inhabitants.

Since the Cold War, there has been a sharp increase in population: over the last forty years of the twentieth century, the population has slightly more than doubled. At the same time, according tonatural population growth, the republic is in 73rd place in the general list.

Average population density in Bangladesh

The population density of Bangladesh in 2016 is 1165 people per square kilometer. The indicator is calculated as follows: the total population is divided by the territory of the state. As already mentioned, the republic ranks seventh in the world in terms of population density. Bangladesh ahead of Maldives, M alta, Bahrain, Vatican, Singapore and Monaco

For some reason, questions about the population density of Bangladesh (in comparison with other countries) are often found in school textbooks on the geography of Russian eighth graders:

1. ”Where is the highest population density: in the UK, China, Bangladesh?” The answer can be found by referring to reference books. Thus, the population density of the UK is only 380 people per square kilometer, and China - 143. Answer: Bangladesh.
2. “Compare Russia and Bangladesh in terms of population density.” You can answer this way: “The population density of Russia is very low and is approximately 8 people/km². The population density of Bangladesh is one of the highest in the world - 1145 people/km^{2, i.e. 143 times more. The low population density of the Russian Federation is explained by vast uninhabited territories, the high rate in Bangladesh (population density) is typical for most developing countries.”}

Key statistics

Other indicators in the regiondemographics are the distribution of the population by age, gender, literacy rate, birth and death rates, as well as socially significant values: pension and demographic burden, replacement rate, life expectancy.

Today, most of the population (61%) are people of working age, the ratio of men to women is approximately 1:1 (respectively 50.6% and 49.4%). Average life expectancy for both sexes is 69 years, just 2 years short of the global average.

The birth rate in Bangladesh exceeds the death rate, the natural population growth is positive and amounts to 16‰ (or +1.6%). Despite social, economic and food problems, demographic security (protection of the size and composition of the population from external and internal threats) in Bangladesh remains at a sufficient level.

Social burden on society

Bangladesh is experiencing a fairly significant social burden on society: each employed person must ensure the production of one and a half times more goods and services than is required for himself. The child load ratio, i.e. the ratio of the population below working age to adult citizens, is 56%. The pension burden ratio (the ratio of residents of retirement age to the working-age population) corresponds to most developing countries and is at the level of 7.6%.

National composition and languages

The population density in Bangladesh per 1 km2 is quite high (1145 people), which contributes to the mixing and close interaction of cultures, religions and ethno-cultural formations. The vast majority are Bengalis (98%), the remaining percentage of the population is from North India.

Practically all residents of the country are fluent in Bengali, which is the official language. People from the Indian state of Bihar use the Urdu language in everyday life. Part of the population (especially young people and high-ranking citizens) speaks English fluently.

The group of small peoples living in Bangladesh includes 13 main tribes and several other tribal peoples. Classify them by language:

1. Indo-European language family: it includes Bengali and Biharis, who make up the majority in the national composition of Bangladesh.
2. Sino-Tibetan language family: the peoples of the Tibeto-Burmese language family are widely represented (tribes of Garo, Marma, Burmese, Mizo, Chakma and others). In total, they make up almost a million residents of Bangladesh, to which are added 300,000 refugees from neighboring Myanmar (Burmese).
3. Austroasiatic language family: Munda (Santals, Munda, Ho) and Khasi language groups differ. The tribes live in small groups in the western part of Bangladesh.
4. Dravidian language family: the northeastern group of the language family is represented by only one nationality -oraons or kuruh (self-name). In terms of cultural and everyday features, the Kurukhs are close to the Munda peoples.

Thus, the ethno-cultural diversity of the republic is significant. At the same time, Bangladeshi society has not lost its collective character.

Religiosity of the population of the republic

The diversity of nationalities is the basis for differences in the religious affiliation of the inhabitants. The republic is developing along the path of a secular state (at least the government is making every effort to do so), but Bangladesh remains a de facto religious country. In 1972, the process of forming a religious state was stopped by the Supreme Court, which returned the development of the republic to the mainstream of the Constitution.

The state religion - Islam - is practiced by almost ninety percent of the population. The Islamic community of Bangladesh has about 130 million people, making it the fourth largest in the world after Indonesia, India and Pakistan.

The adherents of Hinduism are 9.2% of the population, Buddhism - 0.7%, Christianity - 0.3%. Other religions and tribal cults make up only 0.1%, but boast an unprecedented heterogeneity due to the large number of disunited tribes.

Problems of the Republic

Bangladesh suffers from natural disasters and terrorism. In 2005-2013, terrorist acts claimed the lives of 418 residents of the republic, terrorists and intelligence officers. But much sadder is the situation with poverty, famine, droughts, floods and other natural disasters.disasters. Thus, the cyclone in 1970 caused the death of half a million people, the famine of 1974-1975 and the catastrophic flood of 1974 claimed the lives of two thousand people, left millions of people homeless and destroyed 80% of the annual crop.

Comparing Bangladesh to developed countries

Bangladesh is a typical developing country. This fact confirms not only the historical past, but also the present socio-demographic and economic state of the republic.

Signs of a developing state	Bangladesh
Colonial past	Independence from Pakistan was proclaimed in 1971, until 1947 Bangladesh was a British colony
High social tension	Tension is confirmed by the high level of social and child pressure, social problems
Heterogeneity in the structure of society	The population of Bangladesh is represented by many nationalities that have differences in cultural and everyday characteristics
High population growth	Developing countries are characterized by average rates of natural growth at the level of 2% per year, in Bangladesh the value is 1.6%
The predominance of the agricultural sector over the industrial sector	Bangladesh is an agricultural state,63% of the population is employed in agriculture
Low per capita income	In Bangladesh, the figure is $1,058 (2013), while the global national income per capita is $10,553, in Russia it is $14,680
Predominance of the percentage of the working-age population over pensioners	For Bangladesh, the aging of the nation is uncharacteristic: people of retirement age are only 4% of the total population, while in developed countries the figure is 20-30%
High population density	The Republic ranks seventh in the world in terms of population density, the population density of Russia and Bangladesh differs by 143 times

Thus, Bangladesh is a typical developing country. Moreover, it is the poorest state among the overpopulated. The population density of Bangladesh is one of the highest in the world, and the number is larger than in Russia. At the same time, the territory of states cannot be compared.