Country · Asia
Bangladesh
People's Republic of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a country in Southern Asia. About 161.4 million people live there, in an area of 147 570 square kilometres. Its capital city is Dhaka.
Picture credit: Abdul Momin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · nasir khan (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Wiki_Ruhan (CC0) · Hasan Raihan (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Bangladesh?
Bangladesh lies in Southern Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 2 672 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 580 km long.
It shares a border with 2 countries: India and Myanmar.
How big is Bangladesh?
Bangladesh covers 147 570 square kilometres.
That is about 3.6 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 92nd largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 1 093.4 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Bangladesh?
About 161.4 million people live in Bangladesh.
That is the 8th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Bengali.
They pay with the Bangladeshi taka (৳).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 60 years.
The land of Bangladesh
The land of Bangladesh sits on average 85 metres above sea level, which makes it one of the flatter countries on Earth.
Its coast runs for about 580 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 29 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Bangladesh different?
Dishes the country is known for: Rice, Fish and Chicken Korma.
Websites from here often end in .bd.
Bangladesh and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 21 live in Bangladesh.
It takes up about 0.11 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 26th of 46 by size, and 5th by population.
Bangladesh and its neighbours
India, its largest neighbour, is about 22.3 times bigger.
India has more people: 1.4 billion against 161.4 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 3 live wild in Bangladesh: Tiger, Water buffalo and Indian flying fox. The highest mountain in the country is Saka Haphong, at 1 063 metres. The longest river in the country is the Meghna. The country has no large natural lake; its largest body of water, Kaptai Lake, is a reservoir.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Bangladesh compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 64 times as big as Bangladesh: 9 372 610 km² against 147 570 km². See both on one map
- The United Kingdom is about 1.6 times as big as Bangladesh: 242 900 km² against 147 570 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Bangladesh?
The capital of Bangladesh is Dhaka. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Bangladesh?
About 161.4 million people live in Bangladesh, which makes it the 8th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
How big is Bangladesh?
Bangladesh covers 147 570 square kilometres, making it the 92nd largest country in the world. That is about 3.6 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Bangladesh?
The highest mountain in Bangladesh is Saka Haphong, 1 063 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Bangladesh?
The longest river in Bangladesh is the Meghna. Of its 946 kilometres, about 669 run through the country.
What is the largest lake in Bangladesh?
The largest body of water in Bangladesh is Kaptai Lake, a reservoir of about 688 km²; there is no large natural lake in the country.
Which continent is Bangladesh in?
Bangladesh is in Asia, in the part called Southern Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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