Bangladesh - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Bangladesh. Most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal. Mother's mean age at first birth is 18.6 years (2017/18 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 123 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of Bangladesh
Location Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
Geographic coordinates 24 00 N, 90 00 E
Map references Asia
Tarrain mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast
Natural Resources natural gas, arable land, timber, coal
Natural Hazards droughts; cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season
Irrigated Land 81,270 sq km (2020)
Major rivers (by length in km) Brahmaputra river mouth (shared with China [s] and India) - 3,969 km; Ganges river mouth (shared with India [s]) - 2,704 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major aquifers Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin
Land Boundaries 4,413 km
Border Countries Burma 271 km; India 4,142 km
Coastline 580 km
Climate tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)
Area
Total Area 148,460 sq km
Land Area 130,170 sq km
Water Area 18,290 sq km
comparative Area slightly larger than Pennsylvania and New Jersey combined; slightly smaller than Iowa
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Contiguous zone 18 nm
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Continental shelf to the outer limits of the continental margin
Elevations
Highest point Mowdok Taung 1,060 m
Lowest point Indian Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation 85 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 70.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 59% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 6.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 4.6% (2018 est.)
Forest 11.1% (2018 est.)
Other 18.8% (2018 est.)
Population Distribution

People and Society

In Bangladesh, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Bengali at least 99%, other indigenous ethnic groups 1% (2022 est.)

Population
Pop growth rate 0.89% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 17.3 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 5.5 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 2.6% of GDP (2020)
Physicians Density 0.67 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
Hospital bed Density 0.8 beds/1,000 population (2016)
Total fertility rate 2.07 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 1.01 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 62.7% (2019)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 80.1% (2023 est.)
Literacy age 15 and over can read and write
Education expenditures 2.1% of GDP (2021 est.)
Net Migration rate -2.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Bangladeshi | Bangladeshi(s)
Languages
Religions Muslim 91%, Hindu 8%, other 1% (2022 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 25.1% (male 21,540,493/female 20,800,712)
15-64 years 67.1% (male 55,071,592/female 58,180,322)
65 years and over 7.8% (2024 est.) (male 6,096,167/female 7,007,898)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 47.7
Youth dependency ratio 39.1
Elderly dependency ratio 8.6
Potential support ratio 11.6 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 29.6 years (2024 est.)
Male 28.7 years
Female 30.4 years
Urbanization
Urban population 40.5% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 2.88% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 23.210 million DHAKA (capital), 5.380 million Chittagong, 955,000 Khulna, 962,000 Rajshahi, 964,000 Sylhet, 906,000 Bogra (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.04 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.87 male(s)/female
Total population 0.96 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 28.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 31.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 26.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 75.2 years (2024 est.)
Male 73.1 years
Female 77.5 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 99% of population
Improved: rural rural: 98.7% of population
Improved: total total: 98.9% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 1% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 1.3% of population
Unimproved: total total: 1.1% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 85.3% of population
Improved: rural rural: 73.5% of population
Improved: total total: 78% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 14.7% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 26.5% of population
Unimproved: total total: 22% of population (2020 est.)
Major Infectious diseases
Degree of risk high (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases dengue fever and malaria are high risks in some locations
Water contact diseases leptospirosis
Animal contact diseases rabies
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 34.7% (2020 est.)
Male 52.2% (2020 est.)
Female 17.1% (2020 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 15.5%
Women married by age 18 51.4% (2019 est.)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Bangladesh

Want to know more about Bangladesh? Check all different factbooks for Bangladesh below.

Bangladesh is found in Southern Asia