According to current population projections, Bangladesh’s population will reach its peak in 2053 with a population of 192.78.
The population growth rate has significantly decreased in Bangladesh over the last 60 years, peaking at 3.23% in 1967 and is now as low as 1%. Despite this, the population continues to grow and Bangladesh continues to be one of the most populated countries in the world.
Reasons for Bangladesh’s continued growth include low contraception use, child marriage, and high total and adolescent fertility rates. Additionally, the birth rate in Bangladesh is 17.88 births per 1,000 people and the death rate is about 4.8 deaths per 1,000 people.
Through the 1960s and 1970s, the birth rate in Bangladesh was among the highest in the world but that started to slow down considerably in the 1980s. The fertility rate is now at 2.4 children born per woman. Bangladesh has a fairly young population with 34% aged 15 and younger and just 5% aged 65 and older.
The rate of growth has been slowing steadily for quite a while, and that trend is expected to continue further into the 21st century. The country is currently growing at an annual rate of around 1%, but this is expected to halve by 2040. Bangladesh is expected to reach a population of 170 million by 2020, and 186 million by 2030.
| Bangladesh Population (as of 8/24/2023) | 173,214,277 |
| Last UN Estimate (July 1, 2023) | 172,954,319 |
| Births per Day | 8,180 |
| Deaths per Day | 2,517 |
| Migrations per Day | -849 |
| Net Change per Day | 4,814 |
| Population Change Since Jan. 1 | 1,131,290 |
Net increase of 1 person every 18 seconds
Population estimates based on interpolation of data from World Population Prospects
| One birth every 11 seconds | |
| One death every 34 seconds | |
| One emigrant every 1.7 minutes | |
| Net gain of one person every 18 seconds |
The country has a population density of 1,115.62 people per square kilometer,(2,889.45/square mile), which ranks 10th in the world. The surface area in Bangladesh is currently at 147,570 km² (or 56,977 square miles).
The capital and largest city of Bangladesh is Dhaka, which has a population of 14.4 million and a density of 19,447 people per square mile (50,368/square mile). The city has a metro population of more than 7 million. Dhaka is often called the Rickshaw Capital of the World with more than 600,000 cycle rickshaws on the roads every day. The next-largest city is Chittagong, with a population of 2.6 million.
The last official census in the country was carried out in 2011. The Bangladesh population stood at 142 million while an approximation from the CIA in July of that year indicated that numbers were more likely to be significantly higher at 158,570,535.
27.9
Total
27.1
Male
28.6
Female
There are people over age 18 in Bangladesh.
98% of the Bangladesh population are ethnic Bengalis with the remaining 2% made up from Biharis and other ethnic tribes. Minorities in Bangladesh include indigenous people in northern Bangladesh and the Chittagong Hill Tracts, which have 11 ethnic tribal groups such as the Chakma, Tanchangya, Kuki, Bawm and Marma. The Mymensingh region is home to a large Garo population, while North Bengal has a large population of aboriginal Santals.
In terms of religions preferred by the population, we see that Muslim comes in with 89.1% of the population, Hindu with 10%, and other religions make up the remaining 0.9% (includes Buddhist, Christian) of the population.
Life expectancy in Bangladesh is currently at 73.4 years of age, with an overall happiness ranking of 115 out of all other countries with recorded data. The accessibility of clean water and improved sanitation is still struggling with respective numbers of 13.1% struggling for clean water and 39.4% struggling to access sanitation. Only 72.8% of the population over 15 years of age is literate, with a GDP expenditure of only 2.5% on education.
Bangladesh gained its independence from Pakistan in 1971 and a nationwide census at the time confirmed that there were 71 million people living here. In 1980, the Bangladesh population had grown to 90.4 million and similar rises have been recorded on a decade by decade basis ever since.
The nationwide census in the country took place in March of 2011 and preliminary results claimed that the population of Bangladesh at the time was 142.3 million. This was immediately disputed by the UN and was subsequently dismissed by the Bangladesh authorities themselves.