From the worldโs longest beach to one of the most densely populated countries on Earth, these are the most interesting facts about Bangladesh.
Fast facts
Official name: Peopleโs Republic of Bangladesh
Capital city: Dhaka
Population: 174.4 million
Area: 148,460 sq km
Major languages: Bangla/Bengali
Time zone: UTC+6 (Bangladesh Standard Time)
Interesting facts about Bangladesh
1. Bangladesh in Southern Asia was ruled by a mixture of Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim dynasties until around 1700 when the British established a stronghold in the region.
2. Islam was introduced in Bangladesh around the 8th century, but it was theย Mughalย dynasty that spread Islam widely through the country and ruled a united Indian state from the 16th to the 18th century.
3. Today, approximately 91% of Bangladeshis are Muslim with the legal system a mixture of Islamic law and English common law. Bangladesh has the fourth highest Muslim population.
4. In 1757, the British defeated the local army of Nawab Siraj-ad-daula at the Battle of Plassey to begin 190 years of colonial rule in the region.
5. In 1947, British rule over India ended and the predominantly Muslim states of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (now Pakistan) were established on either side of India, separated by more than 1,500km of Indian territory.
6. The flag of Bangladesh is dark green. The flagโs simple design featuring a red circle is sometimes compared to the national flag of Japan.
See how Bangladeshโs flag compares to other Asian flags.
7. In 1971, Bangladesh became fully independent following a nine-month war with Pakistan, with India backing Bangladesh against Pakistan.
8. Bangladesh was under military rule for 15 years before democracy was restored in 1990.
9. The worldโs largest mangrove forest is in Bangladesh. With a total area of 10,000 km2, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sundarbans mangrove forest lies on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal.
10. The Bay of Bengal is the largest bay in the world. The bay occupies anย area of around 2,173,000 square km.
11. The vast majority of Bangladeshโs exports โ nearly 95% โ come from textiles (knitwear and leather). Textiles account for over $37 billion of the countryโs $39.2 billion total exports.
12. Bangladesh faces significant air-quality challenges, with about 25% of total deaths linked to air pollution. This ranks as the third-highest share in the world.
13. Bangladesh is the fifth-most populous country in Asia, and the eighth-most populous in the world.
14. Bangladesh is also one of the most densely populated countries, with 1,317 people per square kilometer of land area.
15. Likewise, Dhaka, Bangladeshโs capital city, is the worldโs most densely populated city with approximately 108 million on a landmass of 143,998 sq km.
16. Bangladesh has a very rural and agricultural-based population. 70% of its population and 77% of its workforce live in rural areas. Nearly 50% of the countryโs workforce is directly employed by agriculture.
17. Bangladesh is the most vegetarian country in the world with its population consuming only 4kg of meat per person per year.
18. Bangladesh โrecyclesโ the most ships in the world by tonnage. The city of Chittagong is famous for its dangerous shipbreaking yard, where 80 shipbreaking yards are located along a 13km stretch of coast.
19. Bangladesh has the worldโs largest population of the endangered Bengal Tiger โ in the Sundarbans mangrove forest.
20. The Bengal Tiger is Bangladeshโs national animal. The national cricket team is known as the Tigers.
21. Kabaddi is Bangladeshโs national sport. In the 1979s the government was keen to promote a sport that broke with the countryโs colonial past and had roots in the country, so kabaddi, an ancient Indian sport thatโs a โmix of red rover, wrestling, and tag,โ was selected over cricket or football.
22. At just 85m, Bangladesh has one of the worldโs lowest average elevations.
23. Bangladesh is one of the countries most at risk from rising sea levels, with vast areas of its coastal delta sitting just a few metres above sea level. In August 2024, floods affected more than 5.2 million people across the country.
24. Bangladesh recorded a net migration loss of about 473,400 people in 2024, one of the highest in the world. Millions of Bangladeshi workers continue to move abroad each year, mainly to Gulf countries and Southeast Asia, in search of better-paying jobs.
25. Known as the โBanker to the Poorest of the Poorโ, Muhammad Yunus won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work towards eradicating poverty using microlending. To date, heโs the only Bangladeshi to have won a Nobel Prize.
26. One of the countryโs most famous sites is the Historic Mosque City of Bagerhat. Hidden by jungle for centuries, the medieval Muslim town is renowned for its density of Islamic religious monuments.
27. Bangladesh was once home to the worldโs only third-order enclave. Dahala Khagrabari was an Indian enclave surrounded by a Bangladeshi enclave surrounded by an Indian enclave surrounded by another state (Bangladesh). In 2015 Dahala Khagrabari was finally ceded to Bangladesh.
28. The worldโs longest natural sea beach, Coxโs Bazar, is in Bangladesh. The popular tourist destination has 120km of unbroken beach.
29. Bangladesh is the worldโs least touristy country. With over 160 million residents, but only around 125,000 annual visitors, citizens of Bangladesh outnumber tourists by 1,273 to one.
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Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. With seven years of teaching experience and a background in educational content, she specialises in creating clear reference resources about countries, geography and global topics.