Demographics of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is the eighth-most populated country in the world with almost 2.2% of the world's population. As per the final results of the 2022 Census of Bangladesh, the country's population is 169,828,911. Bangladesh has one of the highest population densities in the world and is the only country in the world ranking in the top 10 for both population density and total population.
Bangladesh is largely ethnically homogeneous and its name derives from the Bengali ethno-linguistic group which comprises 99% of the population. The Chittagong Hill Tracts, Sylhet, Mymensingh, Barisal and North Bengal regions are home to diverse tribal peoples. There are many dialects of Bengali spoken throughout the region. The dialect spoken by those in Chittagong and Sylhet are particularly distinctive. About of Bangladeshis are Muslims, followed by Hindus at, Buddhists and Christians and others as per 2022 census.
Bangladesh has one of the highest population densities in the world. The total fertility rate has been reduced by two thirds since its independence in 1971. In 2025 the TFR in Bangladesh was surveyed at 2.4 per woman, an increase from the last decade and just above the global average.

Population

The April 2023 total population was 169,532,362, which makes Bangladesh the eighth-most populous country in the world.

Population growth rate

Bangladesh had high rates of population growth in the 1960s and 1970s. Since then however it has seen significant reduction in its total fertility rate. Over a period of three decades it dropped from almost 7 to 2 in 2005–2018.

Census

The latest decennial census was conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics in 2022.

Census date	Census population	Adjusted population
1801	14.5
1851	20.3
1901	28.928
1911	31.555
1921	33.255
1931	35.602
1941	41.997
1951	41.932
1961	50.840
1974	71.479	76.398
1981	87.120	89.912
1991	106.313	111.455
2001	124.355	130.523
2011	142.319	152.518
2022	165.159	169.829

Population by sex and age group

Population by sex and age group :

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	72 109 796	71 933 901	144 043 697	100
0–4	7 638 523	7 423 447	15 061 970	10.46
5–9	9 322 514	8 850 715	18 173 229	12.62
10–14	8 614 889	8 031 726	16 646 615	11.56
15–19	6 509 492	6 352 398	12 861 890	8.93
20–24	5 777 370	7 522 419	13 299 789	9.23
25–29	6 225 252	7 254 256	13 479 508	9.36
30–34	5 079 106	5 420 659	10 499 765	7.29
35–39	4 697 349	4 859 079	9 556 428	6.63
40–44	4 280 923	3 980 739	8 261 662	5.74
45–49	3 363 273	3 016 800	6 380 073	4.43
50–54	2 952 596	2 599 675	5 552 271	3.85
55–59	1 923 534	1 577 463	3 500 997	2.43
60–64	2 081 306	1 852 708	3 934 014	2.73
65–69	1 149 569	963 921	2 113 490	1.47
70–74	1 206 398	1 025 314	2 231 712	1.55
75–79	488 338	386 389	874 727	0.61
80–84	443 239	436 840	880 079	0.61
85–89	138 268	124 343	262 611	0.18
90–94	116 916	133 273	250 189	0.17
95+	100 941	121 737	222 678	0.15
Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
0–14	25 575 926	24 305 888	49 881 814	34.63
15–64	42 890 201	44 436 196	87 326 397	60.62
65+	3 643 669	3 191 817	6 835 486	4.75

Population census by sex and age group :

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	84 077 203	85 653 120	169 828 909	100
0–4	7 940 000	7 630 000		9.44
5–9	7 920 000	7 400 000		9.28
10–14	8 510 000	7 820 000		9.89
15–19	8 060 000	8 490 000		10.03
20–24	6 710 000	8 270 000		9.08
25–29	6 460 000	7 910 000		8.71
30–34	5 650 000	6 460 000		7.34
35–39	6 040 000	6 680 000		7.7
40–44	5 120 000	4 920 000		6.08
45–49	4 130 000	4 130 000		5.01
50–54	4 000 000	3 780 000		4.72
55–59	2 950 000	2 770 000		3.48
60–64	3 010 000	2 590 000		3.39
65–69	2 150 000	1 770 000		2.38
70–74	1 570 000	1 260 000		1.71
75–79	670 000	550 000		0.74
80+	820 000	920 000		1.06
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Per cent
0–14	24 535 272	23 929 621	48 464 893	28.81
15–64	54 843 936	55 713 243	110 557 179	65.72
65+	4 810 792	4 387 136	9 197 928	5.47

Gender ratio

Age range	Sex ratio
at birth	1.04
0–14	1.03
15–24	0.89
25–54	0.90
55–64	1.01
65 and over	0.97
total population	0.95

Urban and rural

The sprawling mega-city of Dhaka has a huge population, but the majority of the people nonetheless still live in villages in rural areas.

Vital statistics

UN estimates

The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. Population estimates account for under numeration in population censuses.

Year	Mid-year population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate	Crude death rate	Natural change	Crude migration rate	Total fertility rate	Infant mortality	Life expectancy
1950	39,729,000	1,848,000	1,072,000	776,000	46.5	27.0	19.5		6.30	219.2	38.18
1951	40,549,000	1,907,000	1,066,000	842,000	47.0	26.3	20.8	-0.2	6.34	213.6	38.86
1952	41,427,000	1,960,000	1,056,000	904,000	47.3	25.5	21.8	-0.1	6.35	208.1	39.69
1953	42,329,000	2,016,000	1,067,000	949,000	47.6	25.2	22.4	-0.6	6.38	203.1	39.94
1954	43,282,000	2,079,000	1,047,000	1,032,000	48.0	24.2	23.8	-1.3	6.44	197.6	41.16
1955	44,316,000	2,140,000	1,044,000	1,096,000	48.3	23.5	24.7	-0.8	6.49	192.8	41.89
1956	45,408,000	2,198,000	1,048,000	1,150,000	48.4	23.1	25.3	-0.7	6.53	188.4	42.42
1957	46,561,000	2,262,000	1,037,000	1,225,000	48.6	22.3	26.3	-0.9	6.57	183.5	43.41
1958	47,743,000	2,329,000	1,043,000	1,286,000	48.7	21.8	26.9	-1.5	6.62	179.5	43.93
1959	49,005,000	2,405,000	1,045,000	1,360,000	49.0	21.3	27.7	-1.3	6.71	175.4	44.60
1960	50,396,000	2,493,000	1,070,000	1,423,000	49.5	21.2	28.2	0.2	6.78	173.4	44.74
1961	51,883,000	2,574,000	1,064,000	1,510,000	49.6	20.5	29.1	0.4	6.83	168.3	45.66
1962	53,462,000	2,650,000	1,055,000	1,595,000	49.6	19.7	29.8	0.6	6.87	164.3	46.70
1963	55,094,000	2,704,000	1,084,000	1,620,000	49.1	19.7	29.4	1.1	6.84	162.6	46.66
1964	56,774,000	2,760,000	1,068,000	1,692,000	48.6	18.8	29.8	0.7	6.84	158.7	47.74
1965	58,500,000	2,816,000	1,130,000	1,686,000	48.2	19.3	28.8	1.6	6.83	159.0	46.86
1966	60,265,000	2,881,000	1,088,000	1,792,000	47.8	18.1	29.7	0.5	6.82	154.7	48.58
1967	62,104,000	2,966,000	1,107,000	1,859,000	47.8	17.8	29.9	0.6	6.85	153.3	48.87
1968	63,996,000	3,046,000	1,130,000	1,916,000	47.6	17.6	29.9	0.6	6.85	152.5	49.09
1969	65,867,000	3,134,000	1,159,000	1,975,000	47.5	17.6	29.9	-0.7	6.86	152.0	49.17
1970	67,542,000	3,209,000	1,509,000	1,701,000	47.4	22.3	25.1	0.3	6.88	165.3	42.59
1971	68,376,000	3,262,000	2,811,000	451,000	47.6	41.0	6.6	5.7	6.87	199.4	26.00
1972	69,347,000	3,300,000	1,189,000	2,112,000	47.5	17.1	30.4	-16.2	6.85	151.3	49.59
1973	71,145,000	3,349,000	1,211,000	2,137,000	47.0	17.0	30.0	-4.1	6.82	151.1	49.83
1974	72,948,000	3,414,000	1,275,000	2,139,000	46.7	17.4	29.2	-3.9	6.79	153.6	49.16
1975	74,700,000	3,461,000	1,246,000	2,215,000	46.2	16.6	29.5	-5.5	6.74	149.3	50.29
1976	76,380,000	3,540,000	1,260,000	2,280,000	46.2	16.4	29.7	-7.2	6.67	147.9	50.65
1977	78,138,000	3,610,000	1,266,000	2,344,000	46.1	16.1	29.9	-6.9	6.59	146.1	51.20
1978	80,008,000	3,661,000	1,289,000	2,372,000	45.6	16.1	29.5	-5.6	6.52	143.9	51.25
1979	81,908,000	3,735,000	1,306,000	2,429,000	45.5	15.9	29.6	-5.9	6.42	141.3	51.46
1980	83,930,000	3,793,000	1,313,000	2,479,000	45.1	15.6	29.5	-4.8	6.32	138.6	51.85
1981	86,155,000	3,859,000	1,324,000	2,535,000	44.7	15.4	29.4	-2.9	6.24	135.7	52.17
1982	88,555,000	3,922,000	1,332,000	2,590,000	44.3	15.0	29.2	-1.3	6.12	132.6	52.54
1983	91,045,000	3,899,000	1,327,000	2,572,000	42.8	14.6	28.2	-0.1	5.89	129.2	53.01
1984	93,534,000	3,914,000	1,318,000	2,596,000	41.8	14.1	27.7	-0.4	5.73	125.8	53.54
1985	95,959,000	3,913,000	1,317,000	2,597,000	40.7	13.7	27.0	-1.1	5.54	122.6	53.90
1986	98,272,000	3,880,000	1,301,000	2,579,000	39.4	13.2	26.2	-2.1	5.30	118.4	54.42
1987	100,490,000	3,858,000	1,286,000	2,572,000	38.3	12.8	25.6	-3.0	5.07	114.7	54.93
1988	102,689,000	3,803,000	1,290,000	2,513,000	37.0	12.5	24.4	-2.5	4.84	110.9	55.03
1989	104,894,000	3,801,000	1,299,000	2,501,000	36.2	12.4	23.8	-2.3	4.68	106.9	55.09
1990	107,148,000	3,750,000	1,257,000	2,492,000	35.1	12.0	23.2	-1.7	4.48	103.0	55.99
1991	109,243,000	3,660,000	1,375,000	2,285,000	33.6	12.9	20.7	-1.3	4.26	103.6	54.15
1992	111,272,000	3,604,000	1,178,000	2,426,000	32.4	11.2	21.2	-3.2	4.03	95.2	57.64
1993	113,419,000	3,579,000	1,174,000	2,404,000	31.4	10.9	20.5	-1.9	3.83	91.3	57.93
1994	115,615,000	3,627,000	1,153,000	2,474,000	31.1	10.5	20.6	-2.0	3.74	87.3	58.62
1995	117,793,000	3,593,000	1,120,000	2,472,000	30.4	10.1	20.2	-2.2	3.59	83.4	59.47
1996	119,877,000	3,597,000	1,138,000	2,458,000	30.0	9.8	20.3	-2.8	3.51	79.5	59.49
1997	122,039,000	3,692,000	1,047,000	2,646,000	30.4	9.4	21.0	-3.6	3.50	75.5	61.43
1998	124,350,000	3,711,000	936,000	2,775,000	30.2	9.0	21.1	-3.4	3.43	71.8	63.92
1999	126,755,000	3,723,000	846,000	2,877,000	29.9	8.6	21.2	-3.4	3.36	68.1	66.23
2000	129,193,000	3,747,000	887,000	2,860,000	29.6	8.3	21.3	-2.9	3.28	64.6	65.78
2001	131,670,000	3,756,000	890,000	2,866,000	29.2	7.9	21.2	-2.5	3.20	61.3	66.14
2002	134,140,000	3,758,000	886,000	2,872,000	28.5	7.6	20.9	-2.6	3.13	58.2	66.61
2003	136,503,000	3,736,000	896,000	2,841,000	27.7	7.3	20.4	-3.2	3.03	55.3	66.82
2004	138,790,000	3,697,000	896,000	2,801,000	27.0	7.1	19.9	-3.3	2.94	52.6	67.19
2005	140,913,000	3,603,000	908,000	2,696,000	26.1	6.8	19.2	-3.8	2.85	50.0	67.30
2006	142,629,000	3,529,000	930,000	2,600,000	25.3	6.6	18.6	-6.0	2.76	47.5	67.24
2007	144,136,000	3,467,000	982,000	2,485,000	24.5	6.5	18.0	-6.6	2.67	45.4	66.71
2008	145,421,000	3,379,000	979,000	2,400,000	23.7	6.3	17.4	-7.5	2.58	43.0	67.05
2009	146,707,000	3,275,000	972,000	2,302,000	22.8	6.2	16.6	-6.9	2.48	41.0	67.40
2010	148,391,000	3,177,000	907,000	2,269,000	21.9	6.0	15.8	-3.8	2.38	39.0	68.64
2011	150,211,000	3,093,000	919,000	2,174,000	21.1	5.9	15.2	-2.2	2.31	37.2	68.81
2012	152,091,000	3,062,000	893,000	2,169,000	20.7	5.8	14.9	-1.7	2.26	35.6	69.55
2013	154,030,000	3,067,000	921,000	2,146,000	20.6	5.8	14.8	-1.2	2.25	33.9	69.57
2014	155,961,000	3,049,000	919,000	2,130,000	20.3	5.7	14.6	-1.1	2.23	32.4	69.99
2015	157,830,000	3,026,000	912,000	2,114,000	20.3	5.6	14.6	-1.4	2.23	30.9	70.49
2016	159,785,000	3,037,000	900,000	2,137,000	20.2	5.6	14.7	-1.0	2.23	29.4	71.09
2017	161,794,000	2,994,000	881,000	2,113,000	20.0	5.5	14.5	-0.5	2.21	28.0	71.79
2018	163,684,000	3,025,000	859,000	2,166,000	20.1	5.4	14.6	-1.5	2.19	26.6	72.57
2019	165,516,000	3,041,000	875,000	2,166,000	20.1	5.4	14.8	-1.9	2.18	25.2	72.81
2020	167,421,000	3,023,000	974,000	2,049,000	20.3	6.1	14.2	-0.7	2.18	24.0	71.97
2021	169,356,000	3,020,000	962,000	2,057,000	20.4	6.3	14.1	-0.5	2.17	22.9	72.38
2022		3,486,416	853,189	2,633,227	20.6	5.0	15.5		2.18
2023		3,489,953	859,075	2,630,878	20.4	5.0	15.3		2.16
2024		3,469,124	885,972	2,583,152	20.0	5.1	14.9		2.14
2025		3,441,259	899,880	2,541,379	19.6	5.1	14.5		2.11

Total fertility rate

Total fertility rate by divisions in 2020

Division	TFR	Crude birth rate	Death rate
Mymensingh	2.69	21.8	5.0
Barishal	2.07	17.7	5.2
Chittagong	2.36	21.6	5.3
Dhaka	1.71	15.8	4.5
Rajshahi	1.99	16.8	5.4
Rangpur	2.11	18.2	5.2
Sylhet	1.94	17.7	5.3
Khulna	1.98	17.1	5.0

Demographic and Health Surveys

Year	Total fertility rate
1993–94	3.4
1996–97	3.3
1999–2000	3.3
2004	3.0
2007	2.7
2011	2.3
2014	2.3
2017–18	2.3
2022	2.3

Life expectancy at birth

Period	Life expectancy in Years	Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	40.7	1985–1990	57.0
1955–1960	44.2	1990–1995	60.0
1960–1965	47.2	1995–2000	63.7
1965–1970	49.3	2000–2005	66.7
1970–1975	46.3	2005–2010	69.1
1975–1980	52.2	2010–2015	71.2
1980–1985	54.3

Source: ''UN World Population Prospects''

Ethnic group

The vast majority of Bangladeshis are of the Bengali ethno-linguistic group. This group also spans the neighbouring Indian province of West Bengal. Minority ethnic groups include Meitei, Tripuri, Marma, Tanchangya, Barua, Khasi, Santhals, Chakma, Rakhine, Garo, Biharis, Oraons, and Mundas.
Biharis are Urdu-speaking, non-Bengalis who emigrated from the state of Bihar and other parts of northern India during the 1947 partition. They are concentrated in the Dhaka and Rangpur areas and number some 300,000. In the 1971 independence war many of them sided with Pakistan, as they stood to lose their positions in the upper levels of society. Hundreds of thousands went to Pakistan and those that remained were interned in refugee camps. Their population declined from about 1 million in 1971 to 600,000 in the late 1980s. Refugees International has called them a "neglected and stateless" people as they are denied citizenship by the governments of Bangladesh and Pakistan. As nearly 40 years has passed, two generations of Biharis have been born in these camps. Biharis were granted Bangladeshi citizenship and voting rights in 2008.
Bangladesh's tribal population was enumerated at 897,828 in the 1981 census. These tribes are concentrated in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and around Mymensingh, Sylhet, and Rajshahi. They are of Sino-Tibetan descent and differ markedly in their social customs, religion, language and level of development. They speak Tibeto-Burman languages and most are Buddhist or Hindu. The four largest tribes are Chakmas, Marmas, Tipperas, Tanchangya, and Mros. Smaller groups include the Santals in Rajshahi and Dinajpur, and Khasis, Garos, and Khajons in Mymensingh and Sylhet regions.
There are small communities of Meitei people in the Sylhet district, which is close to the Meitei homeland across the border in Manipur, India.
There is a large population of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar near the border in the southeast. There are 28,000 living in two UN refugee camps in Cox's Bazar as well as some 200,000 "unregistered people of concern" living outside of the camps. The refugee crisis originated in the early 1990s when the first wave numbering some 250,000 of the predominantly Muslim ethnic group fled persecution from their home in Rakhaine—Myanmar's westernmost state. Bangladesh seeks to repatriate the refugees back to Myanmar. Since 2017, there are approximately 1.1 million Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh.

Languages

Official language: Bengali
Other varieties that are variously considered as the dialects of Bengali: Chittagonian, Sylheti, and Rajbongshi.
Bengali–Meitei creole language: Bishnupriya Manipuri
Other Indic languages: Assamese, Rohingya, Chakma, Tanchangya and various Bihari languages
Tibeto-Burman languages: A'Tong, Chak, Koch, Garo, Megam, Tripuri, Meitei language, Mizo, Mru, Pangkhua, Rakhine/Marma, various Chin languages
Austroasiatic languages: Khasi, Koda, Mundari, Pnar, Santali, War
Dravidian languages: Kurukh
Other languages: English ', Arabic ', Hindi/Urdu

Bangladesh has 44 indigenous languages according to Professor Shameem Reza.
According to the Ethnologue, there are 36 indigenous living languages, which include 17 Sino-Tibetan, 10 Indo-European, 7 Austro-Asiatic and 2 Dravidian languages.

Religion

	Islam	Hinduism	Buddhism	Christianity	Other religions/ No religion
1951
1961
1974
1981
1991
2001
2011
2022

Bangladesh has a population of 165,158,616 as per 2022 census.

Migration

Immigration

According to the United Nations, there were 1,500,921 international migrants in Bangladesh in 2017. Estimation shows that over 1 million Rohingya Muslim refugees live in Bangladesh have arrived during the ongoing Rohingya genocide in Myanmar. On 28 September 2018, at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said there are 1.1-1.3 million Rohingya refugees now in Bangladesh.
Their most common countries of origin were as follows:
The United Nations has estimated the Bangladesh diaspora as 4,499,919 people with the greatest migration to the following countries: