36 Facts About Bangladesh

Bangladesh, officially known as the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh’s capital city is found in Dhaka

The major language spoken is Bengali/Bangla in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh declared independence in 1971 after a nine-month war with Pakistan, with significant support from India. The declaration was made under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who later became the country’s first president.

The national anthem, “Amar Sonar Bangla” (“My Golden Bengal”), was written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1905 and later adapted into its modern musical form.

Tajuddin Ahmad served as Bangladesh’s first prime minister, and Syed Nazrul Islam acted as vice president during the early years of independence. Khaleda Zia later became the country’s first female prime minister in 1991.

Bangladesh has a mixed and growing economy based on agriculture, manufacturing, and services. Major industries include textiles and garments, rice and tea production, and fisheries. Key exports include ready-made garments, jute products, frozen fish, and seafood.

About 90 percent of the population is Muslim, with Hinduism as the largest minority religion, followed by Buddhism and Christianity.

The national currency is the Bangladeshi taka (BDT). The word “taka” comes from an ancient Sanskrit term used for silver coins.

Dhaka, the capital, is one of the most densely populated cities in the world and serves as the country’s main political and economic center. Bangladesh itself is among the most densely populated countries globally.

Mahasthangarh is the country’s oldest known archaeological city, dating back to around the third century BCE.

Bangladesh is a major tea producer and ranks among the top tea-producing countries in the world.

The national dish is hilsa fish curry, made from hilsa, a species related to herring and highly prized in Bengali cuisine.

The jackfruit is the national fruit and is widely grown, while bananas are among the most common fruits eaten. The Royal Bengal tiger is the national animal.

Bangladesh has a relatively low adult obesity rate compared to many countries, partly due to traditional diets based on rice, fish, and vegetables.

The country has a large and active media sector, with hundreds of newspapers and numerous television and radio stations.

In 2016, Bangladesh experienced one of the world’s largest known central bank cyber thefts, involving an attempted transfer of nearly one billion US dollars through the international banking system.

Dhaka is sometimes called the “city of mosques” because of its many historic and modern Islamic structures. The Sixty Dome Mosque in Bagerhat is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Khan Jahan Ali is remembered as an important historical figure associated with early settlement and mosque construction in southern Bengal.

Bangladesh has several airports, including three major international ones serving Dhaka, Chattogram, and Sylhet.

The country is highly vulnerable to natural disasters. The Bhola cyclone of 1970 was one of the deadliest tropical cyclones in recorded history, killing hundreds of thousands of people.

Saka Haphong, near the Myanmar border, is considered the highest peak in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is crossed by more than 700 rivers, including the Padma, Jamuna, and Meghna, which shape the country’s landscape and agriculture.

Kabaddi is the national sport, and cricket is also extremely popular.

The country traditionally recognizes six seasons: summer, monsoon, autumn, late autumn, winter, and spring.

Bangladesh’s forests fall into several types, including mangrove forests, hill forests, and sal forests. The Sundarbans is the world’s largest mangrove forest and home to the Royal Bengal tiger.

Cox’s Bazar is known as the world’s longest natural sea beach, stretching for about 120 kilometers along the Bay of Bengal.

Bangladesh has produced many important thinkers and cultural figures, including Muhammad Yunus, Kazi Nazrul Islam, and Syed Mujtaba Ali. Muhammad Yunus received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work on microfinance. Rabindranath Tagore, who wrote the national anthem, was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Bangladesh is a member of the United Nations and is one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping missions. It also belongs to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The economy expanded rapidly after market-oriented reforms began in the early 1990s, with strong growth in private enterprise and telecommunications.

Dhaka is the country’s main financial hub, and the Dhaka Stock Exchange is its primary stock market.

Natural gas is an important energy source, supplying much of Bangladesh’s electricity.

Bangladesh has one of the fastest-growing mobile and internet markets in South Asia, and its road network continues to expand.

The population has grown rapidly since independence and now exceeds 160 million people.

Bangladesh hosts a large number of Rohingya refugees from neighboring Myanmar, mainly in the southeastern part of the country.

White rice is the staple food of Bangladesh. Fish is the main source of protein, along with chicken, beef, mutton, and duck, while vegetables and lentils are eaten daily.