Demographics of Bangladesh

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Bangladesh, including population density, ethnicity, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Demographics of Bangladesh
Population:	158,570,535 (July 2011 est.)[1]
Growth rate:	1.292% (2009 est.)
Birth rate:	24.68 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Death rate:	8 deaths/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Life expectancy:	60.25 years
–male:	57.57 years
–female:	63.03 years (2009 est.)
Fertility rate:	2.6 children born/woman (2011 est.)
Infant mortality rate:	59.02 deaths/1,000 live births
Age structure:
0-14 years:	34.6% (male 24,957,997/female 23,533,894)
15-64 years:	61.4% (male 47,862,774/female 45,917,674)
65-over:	4% (male 2,731,578/female 2,361,435) (2006 est.)
Sex ratio:
At birth:	1.04 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Under 15:	1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	0.9 male(s)/female
65-over:	0.94 male(s)/female
Nationality:
Nationality:	noun: Bengali(s) adjective: Bangladeshi
Major ethnic:	Bengali
Minor ethnic:	Santhal, Chakma, Garo, Bihari, Oraon, Munda, Rohingya
Language:
Official:	Bengali
Spoken:	Bengali, Sylheti, Chittagonian, Urdu, Tribal languages and English

Bangladesh is largely ethnically homogeneous. Indeed, its name derives from the Bengali ethno-linguistic group, which comprises 98% of the population. Bengalis, who also predominate in the West Bengal province of India, are one of the most populous ethnic groups in the world. Variations in Bengali culture and language do exist of course. There are many dialects of Bengali spoken throughout the region. The dialect spoken by those in Chittagong and Sylhet are particularly distinctive. In 2009 the population was estimated at 156 million. Religiously, about 90% of Bangladeshis are Muslims and the remainder are mostly Hindus.

Bangladesh has the highest population density in the world, excluding a handful of city-states and small countries with populations under 10m, such as Malta and Hong Kong.

Most of the demographic statistics below are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

The mid-2009 estimate for total population was 156,050,883 which ranks Bangladesh 7th in the world (CIA).

Naturally there is some uncertainty about the population, especially in a developing country such as Bangladesh with high illiteracy and a large rural population. For instance, in 2005 there was not a consensus whether Bangladesh or Russia had a larger population. The UN's ESA ranked Russia 7th in the world and Bangladesh 8th. However, the CIA World Factbook ranked Bangladesh 7th and Russia 8th in the same year. The point is now moot as the population of Russia is in decline while that of Bangladesh is growing.

The baseline for population studies on Bangladesh is the official census which is conducted every 10 years, the last being in 2011.

Census^[2]

Demographic evolution of the territory of Bangladesh (1900-2010).

Population of Bangladesh

Census date	census population (thousands)	adjusted population (thousands)
1901	28 928
1911	31 555
1921	33 255
1931	35 602
1941	41 997
1951	41 932
1961	50 840
1974	71 479	76 398
1981	87 120	89 912
1991	106 313	111 455
2001	124 355	130 523
15 Mar 2011 (p)	142 319

p=provisional figure

UN estimates^[3]

	Total population	Population aged 0-14 (%)	Population aged 15-64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	37 895	41.2	54.8	3.9
1955	43 444	42.4	54.1	3.5
1960	50 102	43.6	53.1	3.3
1965	57 792	44.7	52.0	3.3
1970	66 881	44.7	51.8	3.4
1975	70 582	45.8	50.7	3.5
1980	80 624	45.0	51.4	3.6
1985	92 284	43.9	52.5	3.6
1990	105 256	42.5	53.8	3.7
1995	117 487	40.3	55.9	3.8
2000	129 592	37.3	58.7	4.0
2005	140 588	34.3	61.4	4.3
2010	148 692	31.3	64.1	4.6

Other sources

The following table lists various recent estimates of the population.

Source	Year	Population (millions)
US State Dept[4]	2005	144
Population Reference Bureau[5]	2005	144
World Bank[6]	2008	160
CIA World FactBook[7]	2010	156
World Population Reference[8]	2010	164

According to the OECD/World Bank population in Bangladesh increased from 1990 to 2008 with 44 million and 38 % growth in population compared to 34 % growth in India and 54 % growth in Pakistan. The annual population growth 2007-2008 was 1.4 % compared to India 1.35 %, Pakistan 2.2 %, Dem. Rep. of Congo 2.9 %, Tanzania 2.9 %, Syria 3.5 % or Yemen 4.0 %. According to the OECD/World Bank population statistics between 1990-2008 the world population growth was 27 % and 1,423 million persons.^[9]

Population growth rate

Bangladesh had high rates of population growth in the 1960s and 1970s. Since then however it has seen a marked reduction in its total fertility rate. Over a period of three decades it dropped from almost 7 to 2.4 in 2005-2010^[3].

Gender ratio

At birth: 1.04 male(s)/female

Under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15–64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female

Total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Urban and rural

The sprawling mega-city of Dhaka has a huge population, but the majority of the people nonetheless still live in villages in rural areas.

Urban population: 27% of total population (2009 est.)

Rate of urbanization: 3.5% annual rate of change (2005-2010 est.)

Vital statistics

Births and deaths ^[3]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*
1950-1955	1 963 000	852 000	1 111 000	48.3	20.9	27.4	6.36	165.0
1955-1960	2 252 000	921 000	1 332 000	48.2	19.7	28.5	6.62	156.5
1960-1965	2 560 000	994 000	1 566 000	47.5	18.4	29.1	6.80	151.2
1965-1970	2 950 000	1 090 000	1 860 000	47.3	17.5	29.8	6.91	144.4
1970-1975	3 193 000	1 847 000	1 346 000	46.5	26.9	29.6	6.91	175.6
1975-1980	3 381 000	1 153 000	2 229 000	44.7	15.2	29.5	6.65	138.3
1980-1985	3 670 000	1 151 000	2 519 000	42.4	13.3	29.1	5.99	122.5
1985-1990	3 767 000	1 115 000	2 652 000	38.1	11.3	26.8	5.02	104.4
1990-1995	3 709 000	1 057 000	2 653 000	33.3	9.5	23.8	4.10	90.6
1995-2000	3 598 000	986 000	2 612 000	29.1	8.0	21.1	3.41	73.8
2000-2005	3 432 000	934 000	2 498 000	25.4	6.9	18.5	2.87	59.3
2005-2010	3 107 000	905 000	2 202 000	21.5	6.3	15.2	2.38	49.0

• CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Health

Life expectancy at birth

Total population: 60.25 years

country comparison to the world: 183

Male: 57.57 years

Female: 63.03 years (2009 est.)

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

county comparison to the world: 102

People living with HIV/AIDS: 12,000 (2007 est.)

county comparison to the world: 85

Deaths: fewer than 500 (2007 est.)

country comparison to the world: 8s

Major infectious diseases

Degree of risk: high

Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever

Vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria are high risks in some locations

Water contact disease: leptospirosis

Animal contact disease: rabies (2005)

Ethnic groups

See also: Ethnic groups in Bangladesh

The vast majority (about 98.5%) of Bangladeshis, as the nation's name would imply, hail from the Bengali ethno-linguistic group. This group also spans the neighboring Indian province of West Bengal. Minority ethnic groups include Meitei, Khasi, Santhals, Chakma, Garo (tribe), Biharis, Oraons, Mundas and Rohingyas.

Biharis are Urdu-speaking, non-Bengalis who emigrated from the state of Bihar and other parts of northern India during the 1947 partition. They are concentrated in the Dhaka and Rangpur areas and number some 300,000.^[10][11] In the 1971 independence war many of them sided with Pakistan, as they stood to lose their positions in the upper levels of society.^[12] Hundreds of thousands went to Pakistan and those that remained were interned in refugee camps. Their population declined from about 1 million in 1971 to 600,000 in the late 1980s.^[12] Refugees International has called them a "neglected and stateless" people as they are denied citizenship by the governments of Bangladesh and Pakistan.^[13] As nearly 40 years has passed, two generations of Biharis have been born in the these camps. Biharis were granted Bangladeshi citizenhip and voting rights in 2008.^[14]

Bangladesh's tribal population was enumerated at 897,828 in the 1981 census.^[12] These tribes are concentrated in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and around Mymensingh, Sylhet, and Rajshahi. They are of Sino-Tibetan descent and differ markedly in their social customs, religion, language and level of development. The speak Tibeto-Burman languages and most are Buddhist or Hindu.^[12] The four largest tribes are Chakmas, Marmas, Tipperas and Mros. Smaller groups include the Santals in Rajshahi and Dinajpur, and Khasis, Garos, and Khajons in Mymensingh and Sylhet regions.^[12]

There are small communities of Meitei people in the Sylhet district, which is close to the Meitei homeland across the border in Manipur, India.

There is a small population of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar near the border in the southeast. There are 28,000 living in two UN refugee camps in Cox's Bazaar as well as some 200,000 "unregistered people of concern" living outside of the camps.^[15] The refugee crisis originated in the early 1990s when the first wave numbering some 250,000 of the predominantly Muslim ethnic group fled persecution from their home in Rakhaine—Myanmar's western-most state. Bangladesh seeks to repatriate the refugees back to Myanmar.^[16]

Language

• Official language: Bengali (also known as Bangla)
• Dialects: Chittagonian and Sylheti (both also regarded as languages in their own right)
• Tribal languages: Khasi-Jainta, Bishnupriya Manipuri, Arakanese, Chakma, Garo, Ho, Kokborok and Kurukh
• Other languages: English (spoken and known widely in upper-class & politics), Arabic ( sometimes spoken and known by many Muslims, due to Islam being the primary religion), Urdu (understood by some, and spoken by Biharis)'

Religion

See also: Islam in Bangladesh, Hinduism in Bangladesh, Buddhism in Bangladesh, Christianity in Bangladesh

According to the 2001 census, the religious profile of the population is: Islam 89.7%, Hinduism 9.2%, Buddhism 0.7%, Christianity 0.3% and others (such as Animists and non-religious) 0.1%.^[17] The majority of the Muslims are Sunni consisting of 95% of the Muslim population, and the remaining are Shi'a and other sects.^{[citation needed]}

Hindus constituted 18.5% of the population in 1961, but their population declined significantly during the Bangladesh Liberation War due to the 1971 Bangladesh atrocities carried out by the Pakistan Army. As a result, millions of Hindus fled to India and their population in Bangladesh fell to 13.5% by 1974. Since then, the Hindu population has not grown as much as the Muslim population.

Genetics

Bangladesh has the world's highest frequency of the M form of mitochondrial DNA. This genetic variant spans many continents, and is the single most common mtDNA haplogroup in Asia.^[18] In Bangladesh it represents about 83% of maternal lineages.^[19]

Education

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Total population: 43.1%

Male: 53.9%

Female: 31.8% (2003 est.)

Education expenditures

2.7% of GDP (2005)

country comparison to the world: 151

See also

• Bangladeshi society

References

•  This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2011 edition".
•  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of State (Background Notes).

1. ^ The World Factbook, CIA, accessed on Aug 15, 2011.
2. ^ 2011 Population & Housing Census: Preliminary Results
3. ^ ^{a b c} Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision
4. ^ "Background Note: Bangladesh". U.S. Department of State. 2005-08. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3452.htm. 
5. ^ "Country Profiles: Bangladesh". Population Reference Bureau. http://www.prb.org/TemplateTop.cfm?Section=PRB_Country_Profiles&template=/customsource/countryprofile/countryprofiledisplay.cfm&Country=395. Retrieved 2006-07-28. 
6. ^ "World Development Indicators". World Bank. http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,contentMDK:20394872~menuPK:1192714~pagePK:64133150~piPK:64133175~theSitePK:239419,00.html. 
7. ^ "CIA World Factbook 2010". CIA. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bg.html. 
8. ^ "World Population Highlights: Key Findings From PRB's 2010 World Population Data Sheet". World Population Reference. http://www.prb.org/Publications/PopulationBulletins/2010/worldpopulationhighlights2010.aspx. 
9. ^ CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion Population 1971-2008 (pdf pages 83-85) IEA (OECD/ World Bank) original population ref e.g. in IEA Key World Energy Statistics 2010 page 57)
10. ^ "Socio-economic Problems of the Urdu Speaking Residents at Mohammadpur". Democracy Watch. http://www.dwatch-bd.org/ggtp/Research%20Reports/research3.pdf. Retrieved 12 April 2011. 
11. ^ Persoob, Tasmia. "The Forgotten Community: Camp Based Urdu Speaking People in Bangladesh". Jahangirnagar University. http://akira-foundation.org/Documents/fellow%20product%20%28Tasmia%29.pdf. Retrieved 12 April 2011. 
12. ^ ^{a b c d e} Ethnic and Linguistic Diversity, Bangladesh: A Country Study, Edited by James Heitzman and Robert Worden, Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1989.
13. ^ Refugees of Nowhere: The Stateless Biharis of Bangladesh, Refugees International, 2006-02-15
14. ^ "Citizenship for Bihari refugees". BBC News. 2008-05-19. 7407757. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7407757.stm. Retrieved 2008-05-21. 
15. ^ 2010 Regional Operations Profile - South-East Asia, UNHCR, 2010.
16. ^ Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh refuse repatriation, AFP, Dec 30, 2009.
17. ^ [1] Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS)
18. ^ Ghezzi et al. (2005), Mitochondrial DNA haplogroup K is associated with a lower risk of Parkinson's disease in Italians, European Journal of Human Genetics (2005) 13, 748–752.
19. ^ Mait Metspalu et al., Most of the extant mtDNA boundaries in South and Southwest Asia were likely shaped during the initial settlement of Eurasia by anatomically modern humans. BMC Genetics, 2004