• Bangladesh:
• Society

Bangladesh - Society

Population: 158,665,000 (2007); density among world’s highest; 25% lives in urban areas and 13% in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million people; growth 2.5% p.a. 1970–90 and 2.1% p.a. 1990–2004; birth rate (2005) 30 per 1,000 people (47 in 1970), controlled by vigorous family planning schemes; life expectancy 64 years (44 in 1970).

Religion: Muslims 83%, Hindus 16%, a few Buddhists and Christians; Islam is the state religion (1998).

Language: Bangla (Bengali) is the official language. English is widely spoken, especially in government and commerce.

Media: Television is Bangladesh’s most popular medium, especially in the cities. Bangladesh Television (BT) is government run and the country’s sole terrestrial TV channel. Satellite and cable television are becoming increasingly popular.

Betar-Radio Bangladesh is the national state-run station, and Radio Metrowave is a commercial music and news station for younger audiences. The BBC World Service is available on FM in Dhaka.

Bangladesh has a lively and thriving press, with more than 100 daily newspapers and very many weeklies in circulation. Leading English-language newspapers are The Bangladesh Observer (since 1949), The Daily Star, New Age, The New Nation, The Dhaka Courier (weekly), and The Independent. Dailies in Bengali include Ittefaq, Prothom Alo and Jugantor.

There are 59 TV sets (2002), 12 personal computers (2004) and three internet users (2006) per 1,000 people.

Education: Public spending on education was 2.5% of GDP in 2005. There are five years of compulsory education starting at age six. Almost all primary schools are government-managed. Secondary schools (11–16) and higher secondary colleges (17–18) are mostly private, often government-subsidised. Net enrolment ratios are 84% for primary and 44% for secondary. The pupil–teacher ratio for primary is 56:1 and for secondary 34:1. The school year starts in January.

About 6% of the relevant age group is enrolled in tertiary education (2005). The main universities are at Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong, Jahangirnagar and Mymensingh (agriculture). There are also several new private universities in Dhaka, including North–South University and Independent University. A parallel system of education – Madrasah education – offers Islamic instructions from primary level up to postgraduate level. Illiteracy among people age 15–24 is 50.3% (42.2% for males and 58.9% for females, 2002).

Health: Public-sector medical facilities remain scarce, though there are clinics run by a major NGO, BRAC. To provide safe drinking water, between the 1970s and the mid-1990s some 5 million wells were drilled, and in 2005 the UN estimated that 74% of the population was using an improved drinking water source and 51% in urban areas had access to adequate sanitation facilities. However, from 1996 naturally occurring arsenic was detected in the ground water (supplying over 1 million tube wells), putting at least 40% of the population at risk. By the 2000s there was an epidemic of health problems caused by arsenic poisoning.

Bangladesh has maintained a high level of immunisation coverage against diseases such as diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and measles. The infant mortality rate was 54 per 1,000 live births in 2005 (149 in 1960).

Communications: Country code 880. Mobile phone coverage is good in urban areas but patchy elsewhere. Internet connections exist in major towns and cities, and some hotels in Dhaka and Chittagong offer internet access.

There are eight main telephone lines and 133 mobile phones per 1,000 people (2006).

Public holidays: New Year’s Day, Shaheed Day (21 February), Independence Day (26 March), Labour Day (1 May), Bank Holiday (early July), National Mourning Day (15 August), National Revolution Day (7 November) and Victory Day (16 December). The weekend comprises Friday/Saturday.

Religious and other festivals whose dates vary from year to year include Islamic New Year, Prophet’s Birthday, Bangla Naba Barsha (Bengali New Year, around 14 April), Buddha Purnima (April/May), Shab-e-Bharat (Ascension of the Prophet), Durga Puja (Dashami, October), Shab-e-Qadr (Evening of Destiny), Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan, three days) and Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice, three days).