Bangladesh

The riverine country of Bangladesh (“Land of the Bengals”) is one of the most densely populated
countries in the world, and its people are predominantly Muslim. As the eastern portion of the historical
region of Bengal, the area once formed, along with what is now the Indian state of West Bengal, the
province of Bengal in British India. With the partition of India in 1947, it became the Pakistani province
of East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan), one of five provinces of Pakistan, separated from the
other four by 1,100 miles (1,800 km) of Indian territory. In 1971 it became the independent country of
Bangladesh, with its capital at Dhaka.

Land
Physical features of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is bordered by the Indian states of West Bengal to the west and north, Assam to the
north, Meghalaya to the north and northeast, and Tripura and Mizoram to the east. To the southeast,
it shares a boundary with Myanmar (Burma). The southern part of Bangladesh opens into the Bay of
Bengal.

Relief

Stretching northward from the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh constitutes roughly the eastern two-thirds
of the deltaic plain of the Padma (Ganges [Ganga]) and Jamuna (Brahmaputra) rivers. Except for small
higher areas of jungle-covered old alluvium (rising to about 100 feet [30 metres]) in the northwest and
north-centre—in the Barind and the Madhupur Tract, respectively—the plain is a flat surface of recent
alluvium, having a gentle slope and an elevation of generally less than 30 feet (9 metres) above sea
level. In the northeast and southeast—in the Sylhet and Chittagong Hills areas, respectively—the
alluvial plains give place to ridges, running mainly north-south, that form part of the mountains that
separate Bangladesh from Myanmar and India. In its southern region, Bangladesh is fringed by
the Sundarbans, a huge expanse of marshy deltaic forest.

The Barind is a somewhat elevated triangular wedge of land that lies between the floodplains of the
upper Padma and Jamuna rivers in northwestern Bangladesh. A depression called the Bhar Basin
extends southeast from the Barind for about 100 miles (160 km) to the confluence of the Padma and
Jamuna. This area is inundated during the summer monsoon season, in some places to a depth
exceeding 10 feet (3 metres). The drainage of the western part of the basin is centred in the vast
marshy area called the Chalan wetlands, also known as Chalan Lake. The floodplains of the Jamuna,
which lie north of the Bhar Basin and east of the Barind, stretch from the border with Assam in the
north to the confluence of the Padma and Jamuna in the south. The area is dominated by the Jamuna,
which frequently overflows its banks in devastating floods. South of the Bhar Basin is the floodplain of
the lower Padma.

In north-central Bangladesh, east of the Jamuna floodplains, is the Madhupur Tract. It consists of an
elevated plateau on which hillocks ranging in height from 30 to 60 feet (9 to 18 metres)
give contour to cultivated valleys. The Madhupur Tract contains sal trees, whose hardwood is
comparable in value and utility to teak. East of the Madhupur Tract, in northeastern Bangladesh, is a
region called the Northeastern Lowland. It encompasses the southern and southwestern parts of the
Sylhet area (including the valley plain of the Surma River) and the northern part of
the Mymensingh area and has a large number of lakes. The Sylhet Hills in the far northeast of the
region consist of a number of hillocks and hills ranging in elevation from about 100 feet (30 metres) to
more than 1,100 feet (330 metres).

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In east-central Bangladesh the Brahmaputra River in its old course (the Old Brahmaputra River) built
up the flood basin of the Meghna River, the region that includes the low and fertile Meghna-Sitalakhya
Doab (the land area between those rivers). This area is enriched by the Titas distributary, and land
areas are formed and changed by the deposition of silt and sand in the riverbeds of the Meghna River,
especially between Bhairab Bazar and Daudkandi. Dhaka is located in this region.

In southern Bangladesh the Central Delta Basins include the extensive lakes in the central part of the
Bengal Delta, to the south of the upper Padma. The basin’s total area is about 1,200 square miles
(3,100 square km). The belt of land in southwestern Bangladesh bordering the Bay of
Bengal constitutes the Immature Delta. A lowland of some 3,000 square miles (7,800 square km), the
belt contains, in addition to the vast mangrove forest known as the Sundarbans, the reclaimed and
cultivated lands to the north of it. The area nearest the Bay of Bengal is crisscrossed by a network of
streams that flow around roughly oblong islands. The Active Delta, located north of the Central Delta
Basins and east of the Immature Delta, includes the Dhaleswari-Padma Doab and the estuarine
islands of varying sizes that are found from the Pusur River in the southwest to the island
of Sandwip near Chittagong in the southeast.

Lying to the south of the Feni River in southeastern Bangladesh is the Chittagong region, which has
many hills, hillocks, valleys, and forests and is quite different in aspect from other parts of the country.
The coastal plain is partly sandy and partly composed of saline clay; it extends southward from the
Feni River to the town of Cox’s Bazar and varies in width from 1 to 10 miles (1.6 to 16 km). The region
has a number of offshore islands and one coral reef, St. Martin’s, off the coast of Myanmar. The hilly
area known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts, in the far southeast, consists of low hills of soft rocks, mainly
clay and shale. The north-south ranges are generally below 2,000 feet (600 metres) in elevation.

Drainage of Bangladesh

Dhaka, Bangladesh: Burhi Ganga River

Boat traffic on the Burhi Ganga River, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The most significant feature of the Bangladesh landscape is provided by the rivers, which have molded
not only its physiography but also the way of life of the people. Rivers in Bangladesh, however, are
subject to constant and sometimes rapid changes of course, which can affect the hydrology of a large
region; consequently, no description of Bangladesh’s topography retains its absolute accuracy for
long. One spectacular example of such a change occurred in 1787, when the Tista River underwent
exceptionally high flooding; its waters were suddenly diverted eastward, where they reinforced
the Brahmaputra. The swollen Brahmaputra in turn began to cut into a minor stream, which by the
early 1800s had become the river’s main lower course, now known as the Jamuna. A much smaller
river (the Old Brahmaputra) now flows through the Brahmaputra’s former course.

Each year between June and October, the rivers overflow their banks and inundate the countryside,
rising most heavily in September or October and receding quickly in November. The inundations are
both a blessing and a curse. Without them, the fertile silt deposits would not be replenished, but severe
floods regularly damage crops and ruin hamlets and sometimes take a heavy toll on human and animal
populations.
The rivers may be divided into five systems: (1) The Padma (or Ganges) and its deltaic streams, (2)
the Meghna and the Surma river system, (3) the Jamuna and its adjoining channels, (4) the North
Bengal rivers, and (5) the rivers of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the adjoining plains.

The greater Ganges is the pivot of the deltaic river system of the historical region of Bengal. The
greater Ganges Delta covers some 23,000 square miles (60,000 square km), the bulk of it in
southwestern Bangladesh. The Ganges in Bangladesh is known as the Padma, and it is divided into
two segments, the upper Padma and the lower Padma. The river enters Bangladesh from the west
and constitutes, for about 90 miles (145 km), the boundary between Bangladesh and West Bengal. As
it flows farther into Bangladesh, the upper Padma forms numerous distributaries and spill channels
and reaches its confluence with the Jamuna west of Dhaka, after which their combined waters make
up the lower Padma—which, from a hydrological perspective, is the Padma proper. The lower Padma
flows southeast to join the Meghna near Chandpur and enters the Bay of Bengal through the Meghna
estuary and lesser channels. Except where it is confined by high banks, the upper Padma’s main
channel changes course every two or three years. Its waters appear muddy owing to the volume of silt
carried by the river. Silt deposits build temporary islands that reduce navigability but are so highly
fertile that they have been for decades a source of feuds among peasants who rush to occupy them.

The Meghna is formed by the union of the Sylhet-Surma and Kusiyara rivers. These two rivers are
branches of the Barak River, which rises in the Nagar-Manipur watershed in India. The main branch
of the Barak, the Surma, is joined near Azmiriganj in northeastern Bangladesh by the Kalni and farther
down by the Kusiyara branch. The Dhaleswari, a distributary of the Jamuna River, joins the Meghna a
few miles above the junction of the lower Padma and the Meghna. As it meanders south, the Meghna
grows larger after receiving the waters of several rivers, including the Buriganga and the Sitalakhya.

The Jamuna and its adjoining channels cover a large area from north-central Bangladesh to the
Meghna River in the southeast. A number of rivers enter the Jamuna, especially from the west, and,
with their notoriously shifting channels, they not only prevent permanent settlement along the Jamuna’s
banks but also inhibit communication between the northern area of Bangladesh and the eastern part,
where Dhaka is situated.

The Tista is the most important water carrier of northwestern Bangladesh. Rising in
the Himalayas near Sikkim, India, it flows southward, turning southeast near Darjiling (Darjeeling) to
enter Bangladesh, where it eventually meets the Jamuna. The shoals and quicksand that surround the
junction of the two rivers render navigation of the Tista’s lower reaches difficult.

Four main rivers constitute the river system of the Chittagong Hills and the adjoining plains—the Feni,
the Karnaphuli, the Sangu, and the Matamuhari. Flowing generally west and southwest across the
coastal plain, they empty into the Bay of Bengal. Of these rivers the longest is the Karnaphuli, which
is dammed at Kaptai, about 30 miles (50 km) upstream from its mouth near the city of Chittagong.

None of the major rivers of Bangladesh originates within the country’s territory. The headwaters of the
Surma are in India; the upper Padma rises in Nepal and the Jamuna in China, but they too reach
Bangladesh across Indian territory. Thus, Bangladesh lacks full control over the flow of any of the
streams that irrigate it. The construction of a barrage upstream at Farakka in West Bengal has led to
the diversion of a considerable volume of water from the Ganges in India, and the flow to western
Bangladesh is insufficient in the dry season, from November to April. The equitable distribution of the
river’s waters has been since the 1970s a source of friction between India and Bangladesh.

Soils

There are three main categories of soils in Bangladesh: the old alluvial soils, the recent alluvial soils,
and the hill soils, which have a base of sandstone and shale. The fertile recent alluvial soils, found
mainly in flooded areas, are usually clays and loams, variously pale brown, sandy, chalky, and mica-
laden. They are deficient in phosphoric acid, nitrogen, and humus but not in potash and lime. The old
alluvial soils in the jungles of the Barind and Madhupur regions are dark iron-rich brown or reddish
clays and loams. They are sticky during the rainy season and hard during the dry periods. The hill soils
are generally permeable and can support dense forest growth.

Climate

Bangladesh has a typical monsoon climate characterized by rain-bearing winds, moderately warm
temperatures, and high humidity. In general, maximum temperatures in the summer months, from April
to September, are in the low to mid-90s F (mid-30s C). April is the warmest month in most parts. The
range of high temperatures in the winter months, from November to March, is greater than in the
summer months. January is the coolest month, with high temperatures averaging in the mid- to upper
70s F (mid-20s C).

The conditions of lowest atmospheric pressure occur in Bangladesh in June and July, the storm
season. Winds are mostly from the north and northeast in winter, blowing gently in northern and central
areas and somewhat more aggressively near the coast. During the period of the northwesters (strong
winds from the northwest) from March to May, however, wind speeds may rise to 40 miles (65 km) per
hour.

Bangladesh receives heavy rainfall; except for some parts in the west, it generally exceeds 60 inches
(1,500 mm) annually. Large areas of the south, southeast, north, and northeast typically receive from
80 to 100 inches (2,000 to 2,500 mm), and the northern and northwestern parts of the Sylhet area
usually receive from 150 to 200 inches (3,800 to 5,000 mm). The maximum rainfall occurs during the
monsoon period, from June to September or early October.

Storms of very high intensity often occur early in the summer (in April and May) and late in the monsoon
season (September to October, and sometimes November). These disturbances may produce winds
with speeds exceeding 100 miles (160 km) per hour, and they may generate waves in the Bay of
Bengal that crest as high as 20 feet (6 metres) before crashing with tremendous force onto the coastal
areas and the offshore islands, causing heavy losses of life and property. Since the early 18th century,
when records were first kept, more than 1,000,000 people have been killed in such storms, some
815,000 of them in just three storms occurring in 1737, 1876, and 1970.

Plant and animal life

Bangladesh in general possesses a luxuriant vegetation, with villages appearing to be buried in groves
of mango, jackfruit, bamboo, betel nut, coconut, and date palm. However, only a small portion of
the country’s land surface is covered with forests.

Bangladesh has four different areas of vegetation. The eastern zone, consisting of parts of
the Sylhet and Chittagong areas, has many low hills covered with jungles of bamboo and rattan (a
species of climbing palm). The most common plant is a large type of bamboo that forms the basis of
the country’s paper industry. The central zone, covering parts of the country to the north of Dhaka,
contains many lakes and supports swampy vegetation; the soil of part of this zone produces the
Madhupur jungles. The area lying to the northwest of the Jamuna and to the southwest of the Padma
forms a flat plain, the vegetation of which consists mostly of cultivated plants and orchards. Babul
(Acacia arabica) is the most conspicuous tree. The southern zone along the Bay of Bengal contains
the vast wetlands of the Sundarbans, with their distinctive mangrove vegetation. Several of the
mangrove species are commercially valuable, including the sundari (Heritiera fomes or H. minor), for
which the Sundarbans are named, and the goran (Ceriops roxburghiana). Also valuable are
the gewa or gengwa (Excoecaria agallocha) trees, which yield a softwood used for making newsprint.
Among the astounding variety of flowers are water lilies (locally called shapla, the country’s national
flower), marigolds, tuberoses, and Chinese hibiscus. The bokul (Mimusops elengi) is a common shrub
that produces small red berries.

Bangladesh has an abundance of wildlife, including more than 100 species of mammals, although
the population of some species has diminished significantly since the early 20th century. Elephants,
living in herds of fewer than a dozen to nearly 100, are found in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and in the
northeastern Sylhet region. Domesticated water buffaloes (Bubalis bubalis) are used for plowing and
pulling carts. Of the different kinds of deer, the small muntjac (genus Muntiacus; also called barking
deer) and the large sambar deer (Cervus unicolor), with its maned neck, are well known. The samba
lives in the eastern jungles of the country. The medium-sized spotted deer (C. axis) was once common
in many parts of the country but by the early 21st century had become limited to the Sundarbans
region. The barasingha (C. duvauceli) also once inhabited the Sundarbans but became extinct in
Bangladesh in the 20th century. Similarly, the hog deer (Axis procinus) has disappeared from the
country.

Of the carnivores, the royal Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is the best known. The common leopard
(P. pardus) is native to the region, as is its smaller relative, the rare clouded leopard (Neofelis
nebulosa), with its dark gray oblong-spotted fur. The ferocious leopard cat (Felis bengalensis) is about
the size of the domestic cat but with longer legs.

Bears in Bangladesh include the sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus;
also called Himalayan black bear), and sun bear (U. malayanus). The sloth bear is the most
common. Jackals (Canis aureis), whose eerie howling at night is a familiar sound in Bangladesh, are
abundant, as are various species of mongooses. The Bengal, or rhesus, monkey (Macaca mulatta) is
about the most common primate in the country.

Bangladesh is inhabited by hundreds of species of birds. Common house crows are found everywhere,
and their cries are detested by many people of Bangladesh, who regard crows as a bad
omen. Bulbuls, magpie-robins, and a wide variety of warblers are also found; some are migrants that
appear only in winter. Several kinds of flycatchers occur, and there are mynah birds of several kinds.
Other species of birds include various game birds, parakeets, cuckoos, hawks, owls, kingfishers,
hornbills, hoopoes, woodpeckers, and vultures. Among the eagles, the crested serpent eagle and the
ring-tailed fishing eagle are the most common. There also are an array of water birds, including herons,
storks, ducks, and wild geese.
People

Ethnic groups

The vast majority of the population of Bangladesh is Bengali—a term describing both an ethnic and a
linguistic group. The Bengali people are historically of diverse origin, having emerged from
the confluence of various communities that entered the region over the course of many centuries.
The Vedda peoples were perhaps the earliest group to settle in the area. According to some
ethnologists, they were followed by peoples from the Mediterranean and neighbouring areas,
particularly those who spoke Indo-European languages. During the 8th century CE, persons of Arab,
Persian, and Turkish origin moved in large numbers to the subcontinent. By the beginning of the 13th
century, they had entered what is now Bangladesh. The contention that contemporary
Bengali Muslims are all descended from lower-caste Hindus who had converted to Islam, then, is
clearly incorrect; a substantial proportion are descendants of Muslims who reached the subcontinent
from elsewhere.

Non-Bengalis—consisting primarily of smaller indigenous groups—constitute only a tiny fraction of the

population. Most of these peoples inhabit the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the southeast, the most sparsely
settled area of the country. Some of the groups are related to the peoples of Myanmar (Burma), and
many follow Buddhism, although both Hinduism and Christianity also have a significant following. Of
the dozen or so ethnolinguistic groups of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the largest are the Chakma,
the Marma (Magh or Mogh), the Tripura (Tipra), and the Mro; the Khomoi (Kumi), the Kuki, and
the Mizo (formerly called Lushai) are among the smaller groups. Since the mid-1970s
ethnic tensions and periodic violence have marked the Chittagong Hill Tracts, where many peoples
long resident in the area have objected to the influx of Muslim Bengali settlers.
Indigenous minority peoples in other parts of Bangladesh include the Santhal, the Khasi, the Garo,
and the Hajang. The Santhal peoples live in the northwestern part of Bangladesh, the Khasi in Sylhet
in the Khasi Hills near the border with Assam, India, and the Garo and Hajang in the northeastern part
of the country.

Languages of Bangladesh
Bengali (Bangla), the national language of Bangladesh, belongs to the Indo-Aryan group of languages
and is related to Sanskrit. Like Pali, however, and various other forms of Prakrit in
ancient India, Bengali originated beyond the influence of the Brahman society of the Aryans.
The Pala rulers of Bengal (8th to 12th century)—who were Buddhists and whose religious language
was Pali—did not inhibit the emergence of a colloquial tongue known as Gaudiya Prakrit, the language
from which Bengali developed.

Bengali is the mother tongue of almost the entire population of Bangladesh. However,
the indigenous minority groups have their own languages and dialects, some of which are Tibeto-
Burman languages. English, an Indo-European language, is spoken in urban centres and among
educated groups.

The Bengali language has two distinct styles: sadhu bhasa, the literary style, which contains many
words derived from Sanskrit, and calit bhasa, the colloquial style, which is the standard medium of
informal discourse, both spoken and written. Until the 1930s sadhu bhasa was used for all printed
matter, but calit bhasa is now the basic form used for contemporary literature. There also are a number
of dialects. Bengali contains many loanwords from Portuguese, English, Arabic, Persian, and Hindi.

Religion

Most of the people of Bangladesh follow the religion of Islam, which was made the official religion by
a 1988 constitutional amendment. The arrival of Muslims in Bengal at the beginning of the 13th century
and the rapid increase in their strength and influence permanently changed the character
and culture of the area. When the Muslims first arrived, Hinduism was by far the dominant religion,
although there were pockets of Buddhists and a few adherents of local religions. The Hindus remained
in the majority through the Mughal period (16th to 18th century). Even as late as the early 1870s, there
were more than 18 million Hindus in Bengal, compared with about 16 million Muslims. From the 1890s
onward, however, the weight began to shift toward the Muslims.

There were several reasons for the increase in the proportion of the Muslim population. Perhaps the
most significant was the activity of ascetics and Sufis (practitioners of Sufism, a mystical form of Islam),
who won converts among lower-caste Hindus. Also significant was an influx of Muslims from northern
India and from other countries.

Most Muslims are Sunni, but there are a small number of Shiʿis, primarily descendants of immigrants
from Iran. Hindus form a significant minority, while Roman Catholics and Buddhists constitute just a
tiny fraction of the population. Of the tribes in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the Chakma, Marma, and Mro
are mostly Buddhists. Portions of the Kuki, Khomoi, and Mro communities practice local religions.
While most of the Mizo are Christians, the Tripura are Hindus.

Settlement patterns

The extremely high overall population density of Bangladesh, averaging more than 2,500 persons per
square mile (1,000 per square km) in the early 21st century, varies widely according to the distribution
of flatland. The highest density occurs in and around Dhaka, which is also the centre of
the country’s most fertile zone; the lowest population density occurs in the hills of Chittagong.

Rural settlement

The rural area throughout Bangladesh is so thickly settled that it is often difficult to distinguish any well-
defined pattern of individual villages. There are, however, some noticeable features. The inundation
of most of the fields during the rainy season makes it necessary to build houses on higher
ground. Continuous strings of settlements along roads are common in areas south of the upper Padma
River and in the floodplains of the Mahananda, Tista, Jamuna, lower Padma, and Meghna rivers.
Similar settlements are found in the Chittagong Hills and in the hilly segment of the
southern Sylhet region. Settlements are more scattered, however, in areas in southwestern
Bangladesh along the Bay of Bengal, in the floodplains of the Old Brahmaputra, in the lower-lying
areas of eastern and southern Sylhet, and in parts of Chittagong. In central and western Sylhet and in
some areas of the Chittagong Hills, settlements occur in a nucleated, or clustered, pattern. With the
addition of prefabricated one- or two-story structures scattered among thatched bamboo huts, the
character of rural villages has changed since the mid-20th century. Supplies of electricity and safe
drinking water, however, have remained inadequate in some regions.

Urban settlement

Although industrial development has prompted migration to the cities, Bangladesh is one of the least-
urbanized areas in South Asia. In the 2010s about one-third of the population lived in urban areas.
There are three major cities: Dhaka, Chittagong, and Khulna. Dhaka, the capital, is the largest.
Chittagong, the country’s major port, is second in importance. A number of industrial areas, such as
Kalurghat, Sholashahar, and Faujdar Hat, have developed around Chittagong. Khulna, in the
southwest, has become a commercial and industrial centre; the opening of the port at Mongla nearby
and the growth of the Daulatpur industrial area have increased its population.

Demographic trends

In the 2010s more than one-fourth of Bangladesh’s population was under age 15. The birth
rate dropped from well above the world average at the beginning of the decade to about
average. Infant mortality had dropped dramatically since the late 20th century but remained high. Life
expectancy was about 74 years. There has been very little immigration since the 1970s. Many
Bangladeshis, however, live and work abroad—especially in the Middle East.
Economy of Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s heavy dependence on agriculture has long contributed to seasonal unemployment
among rural farmworkers, as well as to a generally low standard of living in many areas. To counteract
this imbalance, a policy of industrialization was adopted in the mid-20th century. During the period of
Pakistani administration (1947–71), priority was given to industries based on indigenous raw materials
such as jute, cotton, hides, and skins. The principle of free enterprise in the private sector was
accepted, subject to certain conditions, including the national ownership of public utilities. The
industrial policy also aimed to develop the production of consumer goods as quickly as possible in
order to avoid dependence on imports.

The Pakistani administration established new types of autonomous corporations to deal with industrial
development, electricity, water and sewerage management, the development of forest industries, and
road transportation. In 1972, however, the government of the new, independent
Bangladesh implemented socialist policies, nationalizing these corporations and establishing several
new corporations to manage the nationalized enterprises. Hasty change, coupled with the
inexperience of those placed in charge of the corporations, produced widespread disruptions, and
industrial production nearly came to a halt. In 1973 the government launched a five-year development
plan (the first of a series of such plans that have guided the country’s economy into the 21st century).
The policy of nationalization was gradually revised and was replaced by a 19-point program announced
in 1979 that emphasized greater productivity and efficiency. In an effort to encourage private
investment, the government also returned many state-owned enterprises to the private sector.

Agriculture and fishing

tea picker near Sylhet, Bangladesh

Tea picker in the Sylhet locality, Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has remained largely agricultural, with nearly half the population employed in this sector
in the early 21st century. Rice is the predominant agricultural product, but jute and tea, both of which
are key sources of foreign exchange, also are important. Indeed, the country is one of the world’s
leading suppliers of raw jute. Other major agricultural products include wheat; pulses, such as peas,
beans, and lentils; sweet potatoes; oilseeds and spices of various kinds; sugarcane; tobacco; and
fruits, such as bananas, mangoes, and pineapples. The country also is a leading producer of goat milk
and goat meat.

Agriculture was at one time wholly dependent upon the vagaries of the monsoon; a poor monsoon
always meant poor harvests and the threat of famine. To reduce the risk of crop failure as a result of
such adverse weather conditions, a number of irrigation projects—including the construction of dams—
have been undertaken to control floods and to conserve rainwater for use in the dry months. Among
the most important of these initiatives have been the Karnaphuli Multipurpose Project in the southeast,
the Tista Barrage Project in the north, and the Ganges-Kabadak Project, to serve the southwestern
part of the country. Economic planning has encouraged double and triple cropping, intercropping, and
the increased use of fertilizers.
Meghna River
Boat on the Meghna River, a watercourse particularly amenable to fishing and aquaculture.(more)
The rivers of Bangladesh are particularly amenable to breeding and raising fish, and aquaculture is
the source of more than two-fifths of the country’s fish yield. However, the rivers and seacoast also
offer opportunities for open-water fishing, mostly in the estuaries of the Bay of Bengal. Among the
varieties of fish caught are the marine rupchanda, or pomfret, and the freshwater hilsa, a relative of
the shad.

Resources and power

A major obstacle to the economic development of Bangladesh has been a general lack of mineral
resources. The country’s first oil well, near Sylhet, was established in 1986, but petroleum in
marketable quantities has not been struck anywhere in Bangladesh. Natural gas is used mainly in the
manufacture of fertilizer and for thermal power. More than half the proven gas reserves are in
the Comilla area, and nearly all the rest are in Sylhet.

Some deposits of coal have been found in northwestern Bangladesh in the Rajshahi area. The thickest
seams are located at relatively inaccessible depths of 3,000 to 3,500 feet (900 to 1,000 metres).
Smaller deposits of coal exist in northwestern Sylhet. The Chittagong Hill Tracts contain some brown
coal and lignite. Peat deposits exist in several places, but some of the beds remain underwater for half
the year, making extraction difficult. Limestone is found in the Sylhet and Chittagong areas.
Radioactive minerals have been detected in sand deposits along the beaches south of Cox’s Bazar.

Bangladesh’s electricity is produced by thermal and hydroelectric processes. The main source
of hydroelectricity is the Kaptai Dam in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Manufacturing

Because the export of raw jute is not highly remunerative, efforts were made under the Pakistani
administration to establish mills to produce and export jute products and thus earn foreign exchange.
About 45 percent of the jute produced during that period was processed in the territory; the balance
was exported raw. After independence, jute and jute products remained an important source of the
country’s foreign exchange earnings. However, the clothing industry expanded rapidly in the late 20th
century, and by the early 21st century the export value of garments, hosiery, and knitwear had far
surpassed that of jute manufactures. Frozen fish and shrimp also became major exports.

The bamboo in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the various softwood trees growing in
the Sundarbans provide excellent raw material for papermaking. There are paper mills at
Chandraghona, Chhatak, and Paksey, as well as a paper and board mill at Khulna.
Bangladesh has fertilizer factories, textile mills, sugar factories, glassworks, and aluminum works. It
also has cement factories, located at Chhatak, in the Sylhet area. A shipyard was opened at Khulna
for repairing and reconstructing ships, and a steel mill is located at Chittagong.

By far the most important cottage industry centres on the production of yarn and textile fabrics—mostly
coarse and medium-quality fabrics. Another cottage industry produces cigarettes known as bidis.
Carpets, ceramics, and cane furniture also are products of cottage industries.

Finance

The Bank of Bangladesh serves as the country’s central bank. Upon independence, Bangladesh
nationalized all domestic banks, though much of this nationalization was reversed beginning with a
privatization program in the 1980s. Since the establishment of Grameen Bank in 1976 and through the
efforts of its founder, Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh has served as a pioneering centre
for microfinance, a means of extending credit in the form of small loans to nontraditional borrowers,
such as the poor. In the 2010s more than 30 million Bangladeshis were members of microfinance
institutions.

Trade

Total annual imports typically exceed exports. Imports come principally from China and South Asia,
while Bangladesh exports goods primarily to Europe, the United States, and Canada. Major exports
include garments and knitwear, agricultural products, seafood, jute, and leather.

Transportation

Central to the country’s transportation system are networks of waterways, roads, and railways, the last
built mostly during British rule. Inland waterways are important, providing low-cost transport and
access to areas where land transport would be costly. They carry most of the domestic and foreign
cargo. Chief seaports are Chittagong and Mongla, and there are international airports at Dhaka and
Chittagong, as well as several other airports offering domestic service.

The forms of transport used on Bangladesh’s roads range from automobiles and buses to
the bullock cart. Two-wheeled horse-drawn jigs and bullock carts are still used, primarily in the north
in Rajshahi. Town and city dwellers both rely largely on the cycle rickshaw and on two types of three-
wheeled vehicles, known locally as auto and tempo. The lightweight cycle rickshaw, which can easily
be used on unpaved roads, is the most popular vehicle in towns and villages. The annual inundations
that submerge most of the rural roads necessitate the use of so-called country boats—flat wooden
boats that are hand-propelled by means of poles or long paddles.

Government and society

Constitutional framework

While Bangladesh’s constitution of 1972 specifies a parliamentary form of government under a prime
minister and a president elected by a national assembly, its implementation has been interrupted
by coups. In 1975 a military coup led to a regime of martial law, and, though the form of government
that followed was a mixture of presidential and parliamentary systems, power effectively remained with
the army. The country experienced additional upsets and periods of martial law in the 1980s, but in
1991 a parliamentary system was restored, with a president as head of state and a prime minister
as head of government.
Bangladesh: Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban (parliament building)
Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban (parliament building), Dhaka, Bangladesh; designed by Louis I. Kahn, completed 1983.(more)
The parliament of Bangladesh, called the Jatiya Sangsad (House of the Nation), is a unicameral entity
consisting of some 350 seats, most of which are filled through direct election. The remaining seats are
reserved for women; these members are elected by the parliament itself. Legislators serve five-year
terms. The parliament elects the president, who also serves a five-year term, with a two-term limit. The
president then appoints the leader of the legislative majority party (or coalition) as prime minister.

Local government

Between the early 1980s and the early 1990s, local government in Bangladesh underwent a large-
scale administrative reorganization to decentralize power. The resulting structure consisted of several
major divisions, each of which was subdivided into a number of districts, called zila. These districts
were parceled further into smaller units, called upzila and thana. Bangladesh now consists of 8
divisions, more than 60 districts, and more than 500 upzila and thana. Villages—the smallest unit of
government—numbered in the tens of thousands and were grouped into unions beneath
the upzila and thana.
Local government in both rural and urban regions is primarily in the hands of popularly elected
executives and councils. Each division is headed by a commissioner. Executives at the district
and thana levels are assisted by various professionals appointed by the national government, as well
as by their elected councils.

Justice

Bangladesh has maintained essentially the same judicial system that was in operation when the
territory was a province of Pakistan and that owes its origins to the system in operation under
the British raj. The 1972 constitution divided the Supreme Court of Bangladesh into Appellate and High
Court divisions and mandated a complete separation of the judiciary and executive branches of
government. During the subsequent authoritarian regime, however, the power of the Supreme Court
was greatly reduced. In 1977 a Supreme Judicial Council was established to draw up a code of conduct
for Supreme Court and High Court judges, who may be removed from office by the president upon the
council’s recommendation.

Judges from the High Court may go on circuit for a portion of the year to hear cases from lower courts
in other parts of the country. Those lower courts include district courts, sessions courts, and several
types of magistrate courts. The magistrate courts handle the vast majority of criminal cases.

Health and welfare

Bangladesh has many government hospitals and rural health centres. Tuberculosis, cholera,
and malaria continue to pose threats to public health, and since about 2000 outbreaks of dengue fever
have been a concern as well. However, an effective approach to the treatment of cholera and
tuberculosis has been developed by research laboratories and hospitals in Dhaka and Comilla, and
the incidence of malaria has been reduced by a malaria-eradication program in which swamps and
marshes are regularly sprayed with insecticides. Historically, leprosy also was a serious problem in
Bangladesh. In the late 20th century, however, the government took aggressive measures
to eradicate the disease, and within less than a decade, leprosy had virtually disappeared from the
country.

Social services are provided by private agencies and government departments. These services
include, among others, community development projects, schools for handicapped children, youth
centres, orphanages, and training institutes for social workers. A family-planning program inaugurated
in the late 20th century has helped to control population growth.

Education of Bangladesh
The foundation of the educational system in Bangladesh was laid down during the period of British
rule. The system has three levels—primary, secondary, and higher education. Primary and secondary
education are both compulsory, though universal participation has remained more an ideal than a fact.
Primary education consists of eight years, while secondary education lasts four years. Secondary
education is divided into a lower level and a higher level, and public examinations are held at the
conclusion of each level of schooling. Schools in cities and towns are generally better-staffed and
better-financed than those in rural areas.

There are hundreds of colleges, most of them affiliated with one of the larger universities, such as
the University of Dhaka (1921), the University of Rajshahi (1953), or the University of Chittagong
(1966). Other prominent institutions include Jahangirnagar University (1970) on the outskirts of the
capital, the Bangladesh Agricultural University (1961) at Mymensingh, the Bangladesh University of
Engineering and Technology (1962) at Dhaka, and the Islamic University (1980) at Kushtia. Medical
education is provided by several medical colleges and an institute of postgraduate medicine at Dhaka.
Each college or institute has a full-fledged hospital attached to it.

For vocational training Bangladesh relies on several engineering colleges and a network of polytechnic
and law colleges. In addition, an array of specialized colleges are dedicated to training students in
areas such as the arts, home economics, social welfare and research, and various aspects of
agriculture.

Literacy improved significantly in the 21st century: less than half of the population could read and write
at the beginning of the century, but by the late 2010s more than two-thirds were literate.

Cultural life

The Bengali language, Islamic religion, and rural character of Bangladesh all serve to unify
the country’s culture to a considerable degree. Although some regional variation occurs across
the Bengali community, cultural differences between ethnic, religious, and social minorities and
between rural and urban populations are much more salient.

Daily life and social customs

The typical household in Bangladesh, particularly in the villages, includes several generations
of extended family. Most marriages are arranged by parents or other relatives, but increasing numbers
of educated men and women choose their own partners. Custom and religion among Muslims require
that a dowry be offered by the husband to the wife, but it is usually claimed only in the event of
separation or at the husband’s death. Divorce is permissible among Muslims, and Muslim law
(Sharīʿah) permits limited polygyny, although it is not widespread. Hindus may obtain a separation by
application to a court of law.

The main festivals in Bangladesh are religious. The two most important are Eid al-Fitr, which comes
at the end of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, and Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice, which
falls on the 10th day of the last month of the Islamic calendar. On both occasions families and friends
exchange visits.

While rice, pulses, and fish continue to constitute the staple diet of Bangladeshis, shortages of rice
since World War II have forced the acceptance of wheat and wheat products as alternatives. Meat,
including goat and beef, also is eaten, especially in the towns. At weddings and other festive
occasions, seasoned rice (pilau) accompanies highly spiced meat dishes and curries. Bangladesh is
noted for a large variety of milk-based sweets.

The lungi (a length of cloth wrapped around the lower half of the body, comparable to the Malaysian
sarong) with a short vest is the most common form of male attire in the countryside and in the less-
wealthy sections of urban settlements. Men of the educated classes prefer light cotton trousers called
pajamas (from which the English word originates) and a kind of collarless knee-length shirt known as
a panjabi. On more formal occasions they dress in a modification of the Western suit. The
traditional sherwani and churidar, calf-length tunic and close-fitting trousers, are still seen at weddings,
where they are worn along with the turban. The sari is common among women, but girls and younger
women, especially students, prefer the shalwar kamiz, a combination of calf-length shirt and
baggy silk or cotton trousers gathered at the ankles.

The arts of Bangladesh

Literature

The Bengali language began to assume a distinct form in the 7th century CE, and by the 11th century
a tradition of Bengali literature had been established. Litterateurs received official patronage under
both the Pala (8th to 12th century) kings and early Muslim rulers; under the Senas (11th and 12th
centuries) and Mughals (early 16th to mid-18th century), however, they were generally unsupported.
Nevertheless, Bengali language and literature thrived in various traditions of music and poetry that
were practiced outside the court, laying the foundation for the so-called “Bengali Renaissance” of the
19th century. The renaissance was centred in Kolkata (Calcutta) and led by Ram Mohan Roy (1772–
1833); its luminary poet, Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), composed the national anthems of both
India and Bangladesh and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. In its early years the
movement espoused the virtues of Western education and liberalism, and it was largely confined to
the Hindu community.

Music, dance, and theatre

There are four main types of music in Bangladesh—classical, light-classical, devotional, and popular—
which may overlap in some cases. Classical music has many forms, of which
the dhrupad (Hindustani devotional songs) and the related, shorter form called khayal are the best
known. Devotional music also is represented by qawwali and kirtana, vocal genres that are part of the
common musical heritage of the subcontinent. It is, however, in the field of local nonclassical popular
music that Bangladesh is most prominent. The forms known as bhatiali, bhawaiya, jari, sari, marfati,
and baul have no real equivalents outside the country. The vigorous spontaneous style of these
musics generally distinguishes them from classical genres.

Apart from such classical dances as kathakali and bharata natyam—forms that are popular throughout
the subcontinent—unique indigenous dances have developed in Bangladesh. Among the most
widespread of these are the dhali, baul, manipuri, and snake dances. Each form expresses a particular
aspect of communal life and is danced on specific occasions. Improvisation has been a core
component of both classical and nonclassical music and dance. With the increasing commercialization
of the arts, however, improvisation has been on the wane. Although some of the performing arts are
learned informally, others are taught formally at music and dance academies. Two of the oldest and
most prominent of such academies are the Bulbul Academy for Fine Arts and the Nazrul Academy,
both in Dhaka.

All towns and most villages have cinema houses. Plays are occasionally staged by amateur groups
and drama societies in educational institutions and are broadcast regularly on radio and television.
Musical concerts, though not as popular as the cinema, are well attended. Especially popular in the
countryside is jatra, a form of opera that draws on local legends.
Visual art and architecture

Painting as an independent art form is a relatively recent phenomenon in Bangladesh. The main figure
behind the art movement was Zainul Abedin, who first attracted attention with his sketches of
the Bengal famine of 1943. After the partition of Pakistan from India in 1947, he was able to gather
around him a school of artists who experimented with various forms, both orthodox and innovative.

The historical prevalence of Islamic arts in Bangladesh is especially evident in the many mosques,
mausoleums, forts, and gateways that have survived from the Mughal period. Like
Muslim architecture elsewhere in the subcontinent, these structures are characterized by the
pointed arch, the dome, and the minaret. The best-preserved example is the 77-
dome mosque at Bagerhat in the south. The ruins of Lalbagh Fort, an incomplete 17th-century Mughal
palace at Dhaka, also provide some idea of the older Islamic architectural traditions. While
such Mughal architecture belongs in style and conception to the same school as medieval buildings in
northern India, a unique innovation in Bangladesh has been the translation into brick and mortar of the
sloping four-sided thatched roof found in the countryside.
Somapura Mahavira
Somapura Mahavira (“Great Monastery”), Paharpur, Bangladesh.
Some remains of pre-Muslim Buddhist architecture have been unearthed at Paharpur and Mahasthan
in the north and at Maynamati in the south. They are said to date from the 8th century, and they exhibit
the circular stupa pattern characteristic of ancient Buddhist monasteries in India.

Public buildings in the British and Pakistani periods sometimes followed the Mughal style, but
preferences subsequently shifted to the International Style, which was prevalent in the United
States and Europe in the mid-20th century. The softness of Bangladesh’s subsoil precludes the
construction of skyscrapers.

Sports and recreation

During the 20th century, football (soccer) emerged as the preeminent sport in Bangladesh. Field
hockey, cricket, tennis, badminton, and wrestling also are popular. Bangladesh made its Olympic
debut at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Indigenous games of the “touch-and-run” type,
however, remain among the favourites of children and youths. One such game, called kabadi, requires
each of two teams in turn to send out a player to raid the other’s territory. The raider must, while
chanting, touch as many opposing players as he can without taking a breath. Kite flying is another
traditional pastime enjoyed by young and old alike. The making of elaborate kites from cloth or paper
is a distinctive form of visual art as well.

Media and publishing

Programs are broadcast on radio and television in English and in Bengali; news on the radio is also
broadcast in Urdu, Hindi, Burmese, and Arabic. Both radio and television are controlled by the
government. By contrast, most newspapers are privately owned, and the constitution provides
for freedom of the press. The Bengali newspapers have relatively small circulations, a fact that reflects
the low level of literacy in the country. Nonreaders, however, are still exposed to the ideas and
influence of the press, as newspapers are often read aloud in groups. Although their circulation is
smaller than that of the Bengali papers, English dailies exercise a disproportionate influence, because
their patrons belong to the educated classes. Major Bengali dailies include the Daily Prothom
Alo, Dainik Ittefaq, and Dainik Jugantor; major English dailies include The Daily Star, New Age,
and The New Nation.
Syed Sajjad HusainThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

History

Although Bangladesh has existed as an independent country only since the late 20th century, its
national character within a broader South Asian context dates to the ancient past. The country’s
history, then, is intertwined with that of India, Pakistan, and other countries of the area. The land of
Bangladesh, mainly a delta formed by the Padma (Ganges [Ganga]) and the Jamuna (Brahmaputra)
rivers in the northeastern portion of the Indian subcontinent, is protected by forests to the west and
a myriad of watercourses in the centre. As such, it was long the inaccessible frontier beyond the north
Indian plain and therefore was home to a distinctive regional culture. In early times a number of
independent principalities flourished in the region—called Bengal—including Gangaridai,
Vanga, Gauda, Pundra, and Samatata, among others. In the 14th century Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah was
instrumental in unifying many of these principalities. The Mughals added more territories,
including Bihar and Orissa (now states of India), to constitute Suba Bangalah, which the British
colonial administration later called the Bengal Presidency. In 1947, when British colonial rule ended, a
downsized province of Bengal was partitioned into East Bengal and West Bengal. East Bengal was
renamed East Pakistan in 1955, and in 1971 it became Bangladesh.

Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim dynasties until c. 1700

From the 3rd century BCE Buddhism flourished as the Mauryan emperors extended their influence in
Bengal. Under the Gupta kings, who reigned from the early 4th to the late 6th century CE, Hinduism
reestablished its hold, but Buddhism did not fully disappear. The two religions coexisted under
the Pala (8th–12th century) dynasty, as well as under the Chandra (10th–11th century) dynasty in the
southeast. By the end of the 11th century, the Senas, who were strongly Hindu, had gained control
over a large part of Bengal.

As early as the 9th century, Arab traders had taken Islam to Bengal. About 1200, Muslim invaders from
the northwest overthrew the Senas. Muslim rule culminated in the Mughal dynasty (16th–18th
century). In eastern Bengal, as in much of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, Islam became
the religion of the majority.

Muslim rule in Bengal promoted a society that was not only pluralistic but also syncretic to some
degree. The rulers largely remained uninterested in preaching religion; rather, they concentrated on
incorporating local communities into the state system. In their administration, high office holders,
influential traders, eminent literati, and musicians came from diverse religious traditions. Nevertheless,
practitioners of Sufism (mystical Islam) and Muslim saints did indeed preach Islam, and Muslim settlers
received patronage. Although high-caste Hindus received land grants under early Muslim rule, under
the Mughals most grants were awarded to Muslim settlers. These settlers developed an agrarian
economy in Bengal that ultimately helped the spread of Islam. Meanwhile, the extensive interaction
between Islam and Hinduism was reflected in social behaviour and the flourishing of various cults,
notably that of the Hindu saint Caitanya (1486–1533). In contrast to more orthodox forms of Hinduism,
the Caitanya sect—like Islam—was open to all members of society, regardless of caste or social rank.

Under the Mughals the political boundaries of Bengal expanded to become Suba Bangalah (the
Province of Bengal), and economic activity increased.

The British period, c. 1700–1947

During the rule of the emperor Aurangzeb (reigned 1658–1707), the English East India Company was
permitted to establish its base at Calcutta (Kolkata). The British gained strength in the region as the
Mughal empire weakened. In 1757, following a battle in the town of Plassey between forces led by
British soldier Robert Clive and the Mughal nawab (viceroy) Sirāj-ud-Dawlah, the East India Company
emerged as the dominant political power in Suba Bangalah. Under Gov.-Gen. Charles
Cornwallis (served 1786–93), a permanent settlement system was established in the territory—now
called the Bengal Presidency—whereby property rights were granted in perpetuity to
local zamindars (landlords). This property policy indirectly stimulated the growth of a new landed
middle class—especially in Calcutta—called the bhandralok. Initially, the bhandralok was dominated
by upper-caste Hindus, but the Muslim presence began to increase toward the end of the 19th century.
In time, this middle class emerged as the most active advocate of Indian self-government.

The province of Bengal was almost impossible to administer, even after Assam was made a separate
province in 1874. In 1905, largely at the initiative of the viceroy George Nathaniel Curzon, two new
provinces were created, ostensibly on a geopolitical basis; these provinces were Western Bengal,
including Bihar and Orissa, and Eastern Bengal and Assam. With its capital at Calcutta, Western
Bengal had a Hindu majority, while the province of Eastern Bengal and Assam, with its capital
at Dhaka, was predominantly Muslim. Aside from increasing administrative efficiency, Curzon’s move
was intended to position the Muslims as a counterweight to the Hindus.

The partition elicited vociferous protest in Western Bengal, especially in Calcutta, where the Indian
National Congress (also called the Congress Party; formed in 1885) played a prominent role. Indian
Muslim leaders, however, mostly supported the partition, and in 1906 they gathered at Dhaka under
the patronage of Nawab Salimullah and set up the All-India Muslim League. Their efforts secured
separate electorates and separate constituencies for the Muslims under the constitutional reforms of
1909, but they could not save the partition. In 1912 the partition was annulled, Bihar and Orissa
were constituted into a new province, and Assam reverted to its separate status.

Following the reunification of Bengal, the Congress Party and the Muslim League worked together for
self-government; among the leaders of this effort were Nawab Salimullah, Chitta Ranjan Das, Fazl ul-
Haq, and Sarat Chandra Bose. Communal animosities resurfaced in the early 1920s, however, in the
wake of a failed nonviolent alignment between the Indian Muslim front known as the Khilafat
Movement and the Hindu-led Indian nationalist Noncooperation Movement under Mohandas
Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi. Consequently, in order to achieve political goals, it became
necessary to adopt coalition tactics that would transcend communal antagonisms; the politician who
proved most adept at this was Fazl ul-Haq, chief minister of Bengal from 1937 to 1943. He set up his
own Peasants and Tenants (Krishak Proja) Party and formed a coalition with the Muslim League. In
1940, at the league’s annual gathering at Lahore, Fazl ul-Haq proposed the so-called “Pakistan
Resolution,” demanding independent states for Muslims. The following year, however, he was expelled
from the Muslim League; he formed a new coalition and continued to serve as chief minister.

In 1942 new rounds of political dialogue commenced, but no agreement could be reached. With
legislative elections in 1946, the Muslim League returned to power under the leadership of Hussain
Shaheed Suhrawardy, who subsequently became chief minister of Bengal. In August of that year an
intense Muslim-Hindu communal conflict erupted in Calcutta, and it eventually spread well beyond the
borders of Bengal. This event, combined with protracted and unfruitful discussions between the various
groups, made the partition of India appear inevitable. Suhrawardy, Sarat Chandra Bose, and several
other prominent political leaders reopened negotiations for a separate, independent, united Bengal.

In March 1947 Louis Mountbatten became the last viceroy of British India, with a mandate to transfer
powers. As plans were being formulated for the partition of India, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, a leading
figure of the Muslim League, advocated for the formation of a united Bengal; Mountbatten was not
against the idea, but Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress Party opposed it. When British colonial rule
ended in August 1947, two new countries—India and Pakistan—were born, and Bengal was split
between them. West Bengal went to India, and East Bengal formed the eastern wing of Pakistan,
which was bisected by a vast tract of northern India.

The Pakistani period, 1947–71

Although the boundaries of East Bengal were based ostensibly on religion, they did not entirely reflect
it. Owing to disagreements between the Hindu and Muslim contingents of the commission tasked with
delimiting the province, the frontiers were ultimately determined by the head of the commission, Sir
Cyril Radcliffe. Excluded wholly or partly from East Bengal were such Muslim majority districts
as Murshidabad and Nadia; included, however, were Khulna, which was nearly half Muslim, and
the Chittagong Hill Tracts, where Muslims constituted only a small fraction of the population.
Even Sylhet, a predominantly Muslim district of Assam that joined Pakistan through a referendum, lost
a part of its territory to India. The partition catalyzed large-scale migration on both sides of the new
boundary as hundreds of thousands of people who believed themselves to be members of a
threatened minority moved into what they perceived as a place of refuge. Along with Muslim Bengalis
arriving in East Bengal from Hindu majority districts, there were many Muslims who came from other
parts of India, mostly from Bihar.
Pakistan began as a parliamentary democracy with a constituent assembly that was charged with the
dual function of drafting a constitution and serving as the new country’s legislative body; however,
overbearing central leadership eventually nullified the system. Failing to earn the support of Jinnah,
who had become the first governor-general of Pakistan, Suhrawardy stayed in India to work with
Gandhi for communal harmony, and Khwaza Nazimuddin became chief minister of East Bengal. In the
central government (based in the western wing of Pakistan) Bengalis held the majority in the legislative
branch but had little representation in the executive. Physically and linguistically separated, the two
parts of Pakistan had only tenuous links; their overriding common interest was fear of Indian
domination. Jinnah and his advisers believed that unification might be achieved through a common
language, Urdu, which was used in the army and administration. By 1948, however, Bengalis had
begun to resent the nonacceptance of Bengali as an official language, the domination of
the bureaucracy by non-Bengalis, and the appropriation of provincial functions and revenue by the
central government.

During Jinnah’s tenure as governor-general, he maintained a powerful central government under his
authority. When Jinnah died in 1948, Nazimuddin became governor-general, but the real power lay
with Liaquat Ali Khan, the prime minister. When Liaquat was assassinated in October 1951,
Nazimuddin succeeded him as prime minister and installed Ghulam Mohammad, a Punjabi, as
governor-general. Ghulam Mohammad consolidated a coalition of civil and military forces in the central
government and secured a virtual transfer of power from the politicians to the coalition, first by
dismissing Nazimuddin (who still had a majority in the legislature) in 1953 and then by dismissing the
entire constituent assembly shortly after the general elections of 1954. In those elections, almost all
the seats had been won by the United Front, a coalition of opposition parties led largely by Fazl ul-Haq
and his revamped Peasants and Tenants Party (now called the Peasants and Workers Party) and by
Suhrawardy, who had made a comeback with a new party, the Awami League. In 1955 Ghulam
Mohammad left office, and Maj. Gen. Iskandar Mirza, who had served both as governor in East Bengal
and as a central minister, took office as governor-general. Under Mirza, East Bengal was renamed
East Pakistan.

With a newly elected constituent assembly, Pakistan in 1956 at last adopted a constitution in which
both the eastern and western wings of the country were equally represented. The new constitution
also gave the federal government wide powers. Mirza became president and was obliged to appoint
Suhrawardy, heading an Awami League coalition, as prime minister; by late 1957, however, Mirza had
orchestrated Suhrawardy’s exit from office. In December of that year Firoz Khan Noon became the
prime minister, with support from the Awami League.

In 1958 the government of Pakistan came under military control, and Mirza was exiled. The elite civil
servants assumed great importance under the military regime, which adversely affected the country’s
eastern wing. In 1947 there had been very few Bengali Muslims in the Indian Civil Service (ICS),
whereas the western wing had produced several dozen. Although equal recruitment from the two wings
was national policy, by 1960 only about one-third of the members of the Civil Service of Pakistan
(successor to the ICS) were Bengalis. Moreover, the military installations were concentrated in West
Pakistan, as was the bulk of economic aid and development.

Bengali discontent festered, finding a voice in Mujibur Rahman (popularly known as Sheikh Mujib).
Like previous leaders, Mujib belonged to a landed family. He had been one of the founders of the
Awami League in 1949 and became its leading figure after Suhrawardy’s death in 1963. A superb
organizer and orator who was jailed repeatedly by the military, Mujib acquired an aura of martyrdom.
Following a 1965 clash between India and Pakistan, primarily over control of territories in
the Kashmir region of the western Himalayas, he announced a historic six-point demand for East
Pakistani autonomy. When in December 1970 Yahya Khan, president of Pakistan and commander in
chief of the armed forces, ordered elections, Mujib’s essentially separatist Awami League won 167 of
the 169 seats allotted to East Pakistan in the National Assembly. This gave the league an overall
majority in a chamber of 313 members. In West Pakistan the Pakistan People’s Party, led by Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto, won 81 of 144 seats; Bhutto consequently saw himself as Mujib’s rival.

Throughout March 1971 Pres. Yahya Khan negotiated at length with Mujib in Dhaka while government
troops poured in from West Pakistan. Then, on March 25, the army launched a massive attack;
destruction was immense, and many students were among the casualties. Mujib was arrested and
flown to West Pakistan. Most of the Awami League leaders fled, set up a government-in-exile in
Calcutta (Kolkata), and declared East Pakistan the independent state of Bangladesh. Internal
resistance was mobilized by some Bengali units of the regular army. Among the most notable of the
resistance leaders was Maj. Zia ur-Rahman, who held out for some days in Chittagong before the
town’s recapture by the Pakistani army. He then retreated to the border and began to organize bands
of guerrillas. A different resistance was started by student militants, among whom Abdul Kader Siddiqi,
with his followers, known as Kader Bahini, acquired a reputation for ferocity.

Some 10 million Bengalis, mainly Hindus, fled over East Pakistan’s frontier into India while the Indian
government watched with alarm. The Awami League, which India supported, was a moderate middle-
class body like the Congress Party; many guerrillas, however, were leftist and a cause of concern.
With some of the major world powers taking sides—the United States and China for a united Pakistan,
and the Soviet Union and India for an independent Bangladesh—the Indian army invaded both the
western and eastern wings of Pakistan on December 3, 1971. The Pakistani defenses surrendered on
December 16, ensuring Bangladesh’s independence. A few days later, Yahya Khan was deposed in
Pakistan and replaced by Bhutto; Mujib was released from jail and returned to Dhaka to a hero’s
welcome.

Bangladesh since independence

In January 1972 Mujib was installed as the first prime minister of the new parliamentary government
of Bangladesh, and Abu Sayeef Choudhury became president. Still troublesome, however, were
various local paramilitary forces, known as Razakars, that supported the Pakistani cause.
The Bengali Razakar force was called Al-Badr, while the Urdu-speaking force was known as Al-
Shams. As Bangladeshi retribution against these pro-Pakistani forces ensued, Urdu speakers—known
as Biharis, though most had been born locally rather than in Bihar—fled into enclaves where their
numbers gave some security; nevertheless, many were killed. Hundreds of thousands of Biharis were
placed in overcrowded refugee camps, where decades later many still awaited asylum in Pakistan.

Bangladesh’s constitution of 1973 provided for a secular state, a parliamentary form of government, a
bill of rights, and a strong commitment to local government. Acceptance by the
international community, however, presented a challenge. The initial application of Bangladesh to join
the United Nations was vetoed by China; it was not until 1974 that Bangladesh was admitted to the
organization. The new country confronted many other problems as well, including the restoration
of transportation, communication, and international trade networks; the rehabilitation of the power
supply; the revitalization of education, health, and population programs; and the resumption of
agricultural and industrial production.

Elections held in 1973 gave Mujib a landslide majority, but the euphoria soon evaporated. Following a
policy of economic socialism, the state had absorbed industries and businesses abandoned by
Pakistanis, but economic troubles persisted. Prices escalated, and in 1974 scarcities
were exacerbated by a great famine with a massive death toll. Faced with crisis, Mujib abridged
freedoms and became a virtual dictator; corruption and nepotism reached new depths. On August 15,
1975, Mujib was assassinated along with most of his family. Right-wing pro-Pakistan army officers
were behind the killing; some politicians also were involved in the conspiracy, and there were
allegations of outside support. Unsure of their hold, the armed forces split into rival factions.

Another coup, in November 1975, brought Maj. Gen. Zia ur-Rahman into power. Once a freedom
fighter, Zia now took an anti-India posture and favoured pro-Pakistan elements. In an effort to legitimize
his power, he held a referendum in May 1977, received a vote of confidence, and assumed the office
of president in 1978. After ensuring his control over the armed forces, Zia lifted martial law the following
year. Although accused on some fronts of institutionalizing corruption in politics, Zia made notable
achievements in the reconstruction and development of Bangladesh. He strengthened the military,
empowered the bureaucracy, and improved law and order while emphasizing food production,
irrigation, primary education, and rural development. He also initiated economic cooperation with
nearby countries—efforts that led to the organization of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-
operation in 1985. Nevertheless, military coup attempts continued, and on May 30, 1981, he was
assassinated in Chittagong by some army officers.

The military high command in Dhaka did not lend support to the actions of the officers at Chittagong,
and the conspirators were executed. Meanwhile, the civilian vice president, Abdus Sattar, was
confirmed as president by a nationwide election in 1981, but he was ill, and real power was exercised
by Lieut. Gen. Hussein Mohammad Ershad and a National Security Council. On March 24, 1982,
Ershad ejected Sattar and took

Health in Bangladesh
pLife expectancy development in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the most populous countries in the world, as well as having one of the fastest
growing economies in the world.[1] Consequently, Bangladesh faces challenges and opportunities in
regards to public health. A remarkable metamorphosis has unfolded in Bangladesh, encompassing
the demographic, health, and nutritional dimensions of its populace.[2]
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative[3] finds that Bangladesh is fulfilling 89.3% of what it should
be fulfilling for the right to health based on its level of income.[4] When looking at the right to health with
respect to children, Bangladesh achieves 95.0% of what is expected based on its current income.[4] In
regards to the right to health amongst the adult population, the country achieves only 94.2% of what
is expected based on the nation's level of income.[4] Bangladesh falls into the "bad" category when

evaluating the right to reproductive health because the nation is fulfilling only 78.8% of what the nation
is expected to achieve based on the resources (income) it has available.[4]

Health infrastructure[edit]
To ensure equitable healthcare for every resident in Bangladesh, an extensive network of health
services has been established. Infrastructure of healthcare facilities can be divided into three levels:
medical universities, medical college hospitals, and specialty hospitals exist at the tertiary level. District
hospitals, maternal and child welfare centers are considered to be on the secondary
level. Upazila health complexes, union health & family welfare centers, and community clinics (lowest-
level healthcare facilities) are the primary level healthcare providers. Various NGOs and private
institutions also contribute to this intricate network.[5][6]

The total expenditure on healthcare as a percentage of Bangladesh's GDP was 2.48% in 2019.[7]

In the parliamentary budget of 2017–18, the budget that was set for the health sector was 16 thousand
203 crore 36 lakhs taka.[8]

There are 3 hospital beds per 10,000 people.[9] The general government expenditure on healthcare as
a percentage of total government expenditure was 7.9% as of 2009. Citizens pay most of their health
care bills as the out-of-pocket expenditures as a percentage of private expenditure on health:
96.5%.[7] The doctor to population ratio is 1:2,000[10] and the nurse to population ratio is 1:5,000[10]

Hospitals[edit]
Hospitals in Bangladesh play a vital role in the country's healthcare system, providing essential medical
services to the population. With a growing emphasis on improving healthcare infrastructure,
Bangladesh has made significant progress in expanding access to hospital facilities across the country.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO),[11] as of 2021, there were approximately 5,146
hospitals in Bangladesh, including both public and private institutions. These hospitals offer a wide
range of medical specialties and services, ranging from general healthcare to specialized treatments.
The government has also implemented various initiatives to enhance hospital quality and promote
patient safety. The availability of hospitals has contributed to improving healthcare outcomes and
addressing the healthcare needs of the Bangladeshi population.

Health status[edit]
Demographics[edit]

• Population – 168. million[12]

• Rural population – 70%
• Population density – (population/km2) 1,070/sqkm
• People below poverty line – 60%
• Population doubling rate – 25–30 years
• GDP (current US$)(billions) – 300[13]

Health indicators[edit]
[14]

• CDR – 5.35 /1000

• Maternal mortality ratio – 176 /100000
• IMR – 31 /1000 live births
• Under 5 MR – 38 /1000 live births
• Total fertility rate – 2.1
• Life expectancy at birth – 71 (m) and 73 (f)
• Fully immunized children – 52%

Health problems in Bangladesh[edit]

Due to a large population, Bangladesh faces a large burden of disease:

• Non-communicable diseases: diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke,

chronic respiratory disease, cancer
• Communicable diseases: tuberculosis, HIV, tetanus, malaria, measles, rubella, leprosy[15]

Malnutrition and environmental sanitation problems add to this burden.

Communicable disease[edit]
Historically, communicable diseases formed the bulk of total diseases in developing and tropical
countries such as Bangladesh. By 2015 via Millennium development Goals, where communicable
diseases were targeted, Bangladesh attained almost significant control on communicable
diseases.[15] An expanded immunization program against nine major diseases (TB, tetanus, diphtheria,
whooping cough, polio, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenza type B, measles, rubella) was undertaken
for implementation.
Tuberculosis[edit]

Background: Tuberculosis is one of the most dangerous chronic infectious diseases in Bangladesh.
It is the major public health problem in this country. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a commonly
responsible organism of tuberculosis. It is an airborne disease that spreads through the coughing of
an infected person. This disease is more prone to slum dwellers living in unhygienic conditions.
Tuberculosis mainly infects the lungs (pulmonary tuberculosis) with the symptoms of persistent cough,
evening fever with sweating, chest pain, weakness, weight loss, hemoptysis, etc. But it can also infect
the other parts of the body (extrapulmonary tuberculosis) like the brain, kidneys and bones. In most
cases patients infected with tuberculosis have other concomitant infections. HIV is more common to
them.[16]
Total mortality due to TB in Bangladesh,

Present TB status of Bangladesh: According to the WHO, 'Global TB Report 2017' total population
was 165 million, Bangladesh is one of the world's 30 high TB burden countries and near about 59170
people died due to tuberculosis. The total estimated number of TB patients was 364000, among them
male patients were recorded at 236000, and female patients was 128000. In 2017 the total case was
notified 244201. The total new and relapse case was 242639. People are mainly suffering from
pulmonary TB; it was 81% (197800 patients) of notified cases.[16] Still now, HIV is considered as the
most deadly infectious disease all over the world. It suppresses the immune system of the body. So
any kind of infection can be incubated into the body, HIV infected person can be easily infected by
mycobacterium tuberculosis.
TB with HIV patient: Still now, HIV is considered as the most deadly infectious disease all over the
world. It suppresses the immune system of the body. So any kind of infection can be incubated into
the body, HIV infected person can be easily infected by mycobacterium tuberculosis, it is HIV-TB co
infection. In 2017, the estimated number of the patient with HIV positive status tuberculosis was 540.
Patient with HIV positive status (new and relapse case) notified was 89, out of 540 HIV positive
patients. Among 89 patient 84 patients took anti-retroviral therapy.
Total MDR, XDR cases
[16]

Drug resistance: When micro-organism of TB causes resistance to isoniazid or/and rifampicin the
most effective drugs of TB. If the organism causes resistance against both of the drugs then it is
called multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). In 2017 the estimated number of MDR was 8400,
among them 5800 cases was notified and 944 patients were confirmed by laboratory test and 920
patients started immediate treatment. If any patient develops resistance against isoniazid/rifampicin
and one of the 2nd line antibiotic fluoroquinolones (i.e. amikacin, kanamycin, or capreomycin), it's
called extreme drug resistance tuberculosis (XDR-TB). In 2017, 6 patients were confirmed XDR-TB by
laboratory diagnosis and all of them started treatment instantly. As 31 December 2017, countrywide a
total 6420 MDR-TB patients were enrolled for treatment including 920. Among 920 patients, 425
patients were in 24 month regimen and 495 patients were 9 months regimen[17][16]

Bangladesh combats with TB: Under Mycrobacterial Disease Control (MBDC) Unit of the Director-
General Health Service (DGHS), National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTP) is working with a goal
to eliminate tuberculosis from Bangladesh. The NTP adopted DOTS (directly observed treatment,
short-course) strategy during the fourth Population and Health Plan (1992-1998) and implemented it
at field level in November 1993. This strategy reduced TB cases significantly. The program achieved
70% new smear-positive case reduction in 2006 and treated 85% of them since 2003. This program
has successfully treated 95% of bacteriologically confirmed new pulmonary
Non-communicable diseases of Bangladesh[edit]
However, recent statistics shows that non-communicable disease burden has increased to 61% of the
total disease burden due to epidemiological transition. According to National NCD Risk Factor Survey
in 2010, 99% of the survey population revealed at least one NCD risk factor and ≈29% showed >3 risk
factors .Social transition, rapid urbanization and unhealthy dietary habit are the major stimulating
reasons behind high prevalence of non-communicable diseases in Bangladesh remarkably in under-
privileged communities such as rural inhabitants, urban slum dwellers.[15][18][19]
Diabetes[edit]

Diabetes, one of four priority non-communicable diseases targeted by world leaders has become a
major health problem globally[20] (537 million adults with diabetes in 2021 and projected to increase to
642 million by 2040).[21] High fasting plasma glucose ranks seventh among risk factors for disease in
South Asia.[22] Bangladesh has the eighth highest population of people with diabetes, at 13.1
million.[21] Studies have shown that the prevalence of diabetes is increasing moderately to significantly
in the rural population of Bangladesh.[23][24] However, compared to Western nations, the major diabetic
population is non-obese.[23][25][26]
Eye disease related to diabetes (diabetic retinopathy)[edit]

The prevalence of Diabetic retinopathy in Bangladesh is about one third of the total diabetic population
(nearly 1.85 million) .These recent estimates are higher like western Countries and similar to Asian
Malays living in Singapore. Sharp economic transition, urbanization, technology based modern life
style, tight diabetes control guidelines and unwillingness to receive health care are thought to be the
risk factors of diabetic retinopathy in Bangladesh. Unfortunately to attain that emerging health problem,
the current capacity in the country to diagnose and treat diabetic retinopathy is very limited to a few
centers. Till this year (2016), as per record of National Eye Care under HPNSDP (Health Population
Nutrition Sector Development Program), 10,000 people with Diabetic Retinopathy have received
services from Secondary and tertiary Hospitals where the screening programs have been
established.[27][28][29]
Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs)[edit]

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a combination of inflammatory and degenerative conditions

that influence the muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints or peripheral nerves, normally leading to aches,
pains or discomfort. These are the most usual cause of severe long-term pain, physical disability and
premature deaths. MSDs are one of the most prevalent occupational diseases liable for work limitation
and absenteeism. Besides, these diseases can manifest as acute or chronic problems and can be
incapacitating for their patients leading to huge costs for health systems particularly for chronic. pain.[30]
Risk Factors[edit]

The causes of MSDs can be exposure to work-related or ergonomic risk factors and individual related
risk factors. Repeated manual labor, lifting heavy loads, prolonged static work, overexertion, vibration,
or working in an awkward posture usually leads work related MSDs. Extended working hours and
uncomfortable postures were significantly associated with the risk of MSDs[31] and workers who work
for conventional working hours (8 hrs per day) were less prone to develop MSDs. Among Ready Made
Garments workers lower back and upper back are the most affected area due to prolonged work and
wrong posture. Moreover, work breaks, working under pressure or with deadlines, poor job design, job
insecurity, and lack of social support from colleagues and supervisors are directly related to stress,
and that stress can appear in increased muscle tension and other stress-related differences to the
body, making workers more vulnerable to developing MSDs. Workers often work for extended hours
in awkward position can also suffer MSDs.[32] Age, gender, health and lifestyle are the individual risk
factors that are responsible for the higher risk of MSDs and other chronic conditions.
Musculatal disorders in Adults in Bangladesh

Person's skills and functions are affected by Musculoskeletal disorders and therefore influence
their activities of daily life. Back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and fractures are the
most disabling conditions.[33] Moreover, these are often correlated with major non-communicable co-
morbidities (ischemic heart disease, stroke, cancer and chronic respiratory disease) and they jointly
increase disabilities and deaths.[34]

The most prevalent MSDs in Bangladesh is low back pain (18.6%). Rapid urbanization, transition
to sedentary work, weight gain; domestic and professional activities in banding posture may be
responsible for the higher prevalence of low back pain in Bangladesh. The second commonest MSDs
are knee osteoarthritis (7.3%) and it is related to more knee usage during occupational and household
chores in Bangladesh. Besides these soft tissue injuries and rheumatism can be the third commonest
disorders (3.8%)[35]

Among the female readymade garment workers in Bangladesh, the prevalence of lower back pain
(41%) was the most leading accompanied by pain in the knees(33%) and neck pain (28%).[36]
Prevention[edit]

Musculoskeletal disorders are mostly preventable and prevention is the best treatment. Therefore,
understanding what these disorders are and the risk factors that contribute to their development is very
fundamental. Furthermore, developing an effective and efficient prevention strategy requires, risk
assessment process and implementation of technical, organizational, and person-oriented
measures.[37]
Mental health[edit]

According to WHO, "mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her
own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able
to make a contribution to his or her community."[38]
Environmental sanitation[edit]

The most difficult problem to tackle in this country is perhaps the environmental sanitation problem
which is multi-faceted and multi-factorial. The twin problems of environmental sanitation are lack of
safe drinking water in many areas of the country and preventive methods of excreta disposal.[citation needed]

• Indiscriminate defecation resulting in filth and water born disease

like diarrhea, dysentery, enteric fever, hepatitis, hook worm infestations.
• Poor rural housing with no arrangement for proper ventilation, lighting etc.
• Poor sanitation of public eating and market places.
• Inadequate drainage, disposal of refuse and animal waste.
• Absence of adequate MCH care services.
• Absence and/ or adequate health education to the rural areas.
• Absence and/or inadequate communications and transport facilities for workers of the public
health.
Malnutrition

Bangladesh suffers from some of the most severe malnutrition problems. The present per capita intake
is only 1850 kilocalorie which is by any standard, much below the required need. Malnutrition results
from the convergence of poverty, inequitable food distribution, disease, illiteracy, rapid population
growth and environmental risks, compounded by cultural and social inequities. Severe undernutrition
exists mainly among families of landless agricultural labourers and farmers with a smallholding.

Specific nutritional problems in the country are:

1. Protein–energy malnutrition (PEM): The chief cause of it is insufficient food intake.

2. Nutritional anaemia: The most frequent cause is iron deficiency and less frequently
follate and vitamin B12 deficiency.
3. Xerophthalmia: The chief cause is nutritional deficiency of Vit-A.
4. Iodine Deficiency Disorders: Goiter and other iodine deficiency disorders.
5. Others: Lathyrism, endemic fluorosis etc.

Child malnutrition in Bangladesh is amongst the highest in the world. Two-thirds of the children under
the age of five are under-nourished and about 60% of children under age six, are stunted.[39] As of 1985,
more than 45 percent of rural families and 76 percent of urban families were below the acceptable
caloric intake level.[40] Malnutrition is passed on through generations as malnourished mothers give
birth to malnourished children. About one-third of babies in Bangladesh are born with low birth weight,
increasing infant mortality rate, and an increased risk of diabetes and heart ailments in
adulthood.[41] One neonate dies in Bangladesh every three to four minutes; 120 000 neonates die every
year.[42]

The World Bank estimates that Bangladesh is ranked 1st in the world of the number of children
suffering from malnutrition.[43][42] In Bangladesh, 26% of the population are undernourished[44] and 46%
of the children suffers from moderate to severe underweight problem.[45] 43% of children under 5 years
old are stunted. One in five preschool age children are vitamin A deficient and one in two are
anaemic.[46] Women also suffer most from malnutrition. To provide their family with food they pass on
quality food which are essential for their nutrition.[47]

Causes of malnutrition[edit]
Most terrain of Bangladesh is low-lying and is prone to flooding. A large population of the country lives
in areas that are at risk of experiencing extreme annual flooding that brings large destruction to the
crops.[48] Every year, 20% to 30% of Bangladesh is flooded.[49] Floods threaten food security and their
effects on agricultural production cause food shortage.[50]

The health and sanitation environment also affects malnutrition. Inadequacies in water supply, hygiene
and sanitation have direct impacts on infectious diseases, such as malaria, parasitic diseases,
and schistosomiasis. People are exposed to both water scarcity and poor water quality. Groundwater
is often found to contain high arsenic concentration.[51] Sanitation coverage in rural areas was only 35%
in 1995.[52]

Almost one in three people in Bangladesh defecates in the open among the poorest families. Only
32% of the latrines in rural areas attain the international standards for a sanitary latrine. People are
exposed to feces in their environment daily.[53] The immune system falls and the disease processes
exacerbate loss of nutrients, which worsens malnutrition.[54] The diseases also contribute through the
loss of appetite, lowered absorption of vitamins and nutrients, and loss of nutrients through diarrhoea
or vomiting.[55]

Unemployment and job problems also lead to malnutrition in Bangladesh. In 2010, the unemployment
rate was 5.1%.[56][unreliable source?] People do not have working facilities all year round and they are unable to
afford the minimum cost of a nutritious diet due to the unsteady income.[57]