Bangladesh History

Bangladesh has the dubious distinction of being the most densely populated country in the world and one of the poorest. Roughly 85 percent of its population lives in villages, where there is a frequent possibility of natural disasters such as floods, severe storms or tidal waves. Around two-thirds of the people live on agriculture and there is little industry. Illiteracy is at an unacceptable high; only 38.1 percent of the population, age 15 or older, can read and write. Of these, the ratio of males to females is 2:1. The per capita income is $380, which may not take account of lots of economic transactions in the countryside because they are barter transactions or do not enter the government statistics.

On the plus side, despite the apparent economic misery, the people always seem tremendously interested in public affairs and eager to know what appears in the press or over the radio and television, even though only a small segment can afford a television set. The people are ethnically homogeneous, 98 percent of them speaking Bengali, which is the national language, mandatory in all government offices; English is understood by the elite and serves also as an official language. Most of the press as well as radio and television broadcasting is consequently in Bengali although the small English-language press -- newspapers and weeklies -- has an influence far out of proportion to its circulation numbers.

The predominant religion is Islam (88.3 percent), with Hindus (10.5 percent) as the principal minority, adherents of Buddhism, Christianity and others account for 1.2 percent. Officially, the Republic of Bangladesh is a secular democracy with everyone above the age of 18, regardless of race, religion or gender having the right to vote. An amendment to the constitution adopted in 1988 established Islam as the state religion. Also in practice, Islam is supported by the government, which disallows any criticism of it in the media. However, despite the religious affinity with the Islamic world, culturally Bangladeshis feel closer to the speakers of the Bengali language in the Indian part of Bengal, sharing with them the rich cultural traditions manifested in literature, music and the arts. The press and media reflect such a love among the citizens of Bangladesh and regularly publish special articles and features on Bengali culture.

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