Demographics
Apart from very small countries such as Singapore and Bahrain,
Bangladesh
is the most densely populated country in the world. The nation, at 982 persons
per kmē, has often been compared to Indonesia's Java. Bangladesh is ethnically homogenous,
with Bengalis comprising 98% of the population, the rest belonging to the
tribal people. The vast majority speak Bangla or Bengali. Bengali, an
Indo-Aryan language, is written in the Bengali script. It is the official
language, though English is accepted in official tasks and in (higher)
education. A small number of people, mostly non-Bengali Muslims from regions of
India such as Bihar speak Urdu. A substantial number of non-Bengali
tribal groups inhabit the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the southeast and the
Northern regions Bangladesh,
including parts of the districts of Mymensingh, Sylhet, Rangpur. Almost all
non-Bengali Bangladeshis speak Bangla as a second language. Most Bangladeshis
(about 88%) are Muslims, but Hindus constitute a sizable (10%) minority. There
are also a small number of Buddhists, Christians, and Animists. Bangladesh
has a high population growth rate. In the mid-eighties, the government began
promoting birth control to slow population growth, but with limited success.
However, the Government has gained considerable success in preventing the
spread of many childhood diseases, through an effective nationwide immunisation
policy. Many are landless or forced to inhabit hazardous floodplains, with the
consequence of rampant water-borne disease. In an effort to stem the spread of
pathogens like cholera and dysentery, international organizations began to
promote well-drilling throughout the nation. Several years after widespread
implementation of the programme, over a quarter of the population exhibited
symptoms of arsenic poisoning. High levels of naturally
occurring arsenic in the water table of certain regions has not been
accounted for. The effects of arsenic-tainted water still remain a problem.
