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Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
, a
South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
n country centered on the transnational
historical region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing soc ...
of
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
along the eponymous bay.
Bangladeshi citizenship The nationality law of Bangladesh governs the issues of citizenship and nationality of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The law regulates the nationality and citizenship status of all people who live in Bangladesh as well as all people who ...
was formed in 1971, when the permanent residents of the former
East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...
were transformed into citizens of a new republic. Bangladesh is the world's eighth most populous nation. The vast majority of Bangladeshis are ethnolingustically
Bengalis Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of ...
, an
Indo-Aryan people Indo-Aryan peoples are a diverse collection of Indo-European peoples speaking Indo-Aryan languages in the Indian subcontinent. Historically, Aryan were the Indo-European pastoralists who migrated from Central Asia into South Asia and intr ...
. The population of Bangladesh is concentrated in the fertile Bengal delta, which has been the center of urban and agrarian civilizations for millennia. The country's highlands, including the
Chittagong Hill Tracts The Chittagong Hill Tracts ( bn, পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম, Parbotto Chottogram), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, are group of districts within the Chittagong Division in southeast ...
and parts of the
Sylhet Division Sylhet Division ( bn, সিলেট বিভাগ) is the northeastern division of Bangladesh. It is bordered by the Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura to the north, east and south respectively, and by the Bangladeshi divisions ...
, are home to various tribal minorities.
Bengali Muslims Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...
are the predominant ethnoreligious group of Bangladesh with a population of 150.36 million, which makes up 91.04% of the country's population as of 2022. The minority
Bengali Hindu Bengali Hindus ( bn, বাঙ্গালী হিন্দু/বাঙালি হিন্দু, translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Bāṅāli Hindu) are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Ben ...
population made up approximately 7.95% of the population of the country according to the 2022 Census Non-Bengali Muslims make up the largest immigrant community; while the
Tibeto-Burman The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people spea ...
Chakmas, who speak the Indo-Aryan
Chakma language Chakma language (; autonym: , ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Chakma and Daingnet people. The language has common features with other languages in the region like the Chittagonian, Tanchangya, Arakanese and others. It is spoken by ...
, are the largest indigenous ethnic group after Indo-Aryan Bengalis. The
Austroasiatic The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are th ...
Santhals The Santal or Santhal are an Austroasiatic speaking Munda ethnic group in South Asia. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and A ...
are the largest aboriginal community. The
Bangladeshi diaspora The Bangladeshi diaspora ( bn, প্রবাসী বাংলাদেশী) are people of Bangladeshi birth or descent who live outside of Bangladesh. First-generation migrants may have moved abroad from Bangladesh for various reasons in ...
is concentrated in the
Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
, North America and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. A significant number of Non-Resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) have
dual citizenship Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on ...
in different countries.


Terminology

After Independence of Bangladesh in 1971, Bangladeshis, as a nationality, have been referred to by various terms: * Bangladeshis, the most widely used term to refer to the citizens of Bangladesh, comes from ''Bangladesh'' (meaning "Country of Bengal"), and can be traced to the early 20th century. Then, the term was used by Bengali patriotic songs like ''Namo Namo Namo Bangladesh Momo'', by
Kazi Nazrul Islam , pseudonym = bn, ধূমকেতু, Dhūmketu , image = Nazrul.jpg , image_size = , caption = Nazrul in Chittagong, 1926 , birth_date = 11 ''Joiṣṭhyô'', 1306 '' Bônggabdô ...
, and ''Aaji Bangladesher Hridoy'', by
Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
. * Bangalees, an
exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
for
Bengalis Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of ...
, was used between 1972 and 1978 by the Constitution of Bangladesh for all citizens of Bangladesh, despite 2% of the population being indigenous and immigrant non-Bengalis. Under President
Ziaur Rahman Lt. General Ziaur Rahman (19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981), was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1977 to 1981. He was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong in an army coup d ...
, the constitutional term was changed to ''Bangladeshi'', as part of efforts to promote Bangladeshi nationalism. The term "Bangalee" is still used to denote people of
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
as a nation. None of these terms should be conflated with ''
Bengalis Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of ...
'', the name of the predominant ethnic group in the country who make up the bulk of all Bangladeshis.


Demographics

The region of Bengal was settled by people of diverse origins, including Indo-Aryan, Dravidian,
Tibeto-Burman The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people spea ...
and
Austroasiatic The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are th ...
ancestry, with the most ancient settlements traced back to 4000 YBP.


Religious demographics

Bangladesh has a population of 166,303,498 as per 2021, January official projections. As per as 2020 estimation research, around 13 million Bangladeshis lives abroad in the various foreign nation's. The estimated total population of all Bangladeshis including the ones who are living in their country and abroad is about 180 million as per 2020-21 estimation.


Bengalis

Approximately 98% of the Bangladeshi population are
Bengalis Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of ...
. East Bengal was a prosperous melting pot for centuries. It witnessed a synthesis of Islamic, North Indian and indigenous Bengali cultures. Today, Bengalis enjoy strong cultural homogeneity with a common standardized language and a variety of
dialects The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
. Over 91.04% of the population are
Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...
s (150.36 million) as of 2022. This makes Bangladesh the world's third largest Muslim majority country after
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
. Bengali Muslims also make up the world's second largest Muslim ethnic group after Arab Muslims. Most Bangladeshi Muslims are member of the Sunni branch of Islam. There are significant minorities of the
Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...
and Ahmadiya branches.
Bengali Hindus Bengali Hindus ( bn, বাঙ্গালী হিন্দু/বাঙালি হিন্দু, translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Bāṅāli Hindu) are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Beng ...
are the largest minority of Bangladesh, with a population between 13.1 million constituting 7.95% as per 2022 Census. Bangladesh has the third largest Hindu population in the world after
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
. There are an estimated 400,000 Bengali Christians and 500,000
Bengali Buddhists Bengali Buddhists ( bn, বাঙালি বৌদ্ধ) are a religious subgroup of the Bengalis who adhere to or practice the religion of Buddhism. Bengali Buddhist people mainly live in Bangladesh and Indian states West Bengal and Tripura. ...
. The Bengali population is concentrated in Bengal delta, the coastal areas of Chittagong Division and the river valleys of Sylhet-Division.


Non-Bengali Muslims

An estimated 3 million Bangladeshi citizens are non-Bengali Muslim immigrants from different parts of
South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
. They include affluent sections of the country's merchant and business class, particularly Nizari Ismailism adherents. They also include former Stranded Pakistanis and their descendants. Bangladesh's non-Bengali Muslims are usually fluent in both Bengali and Hindustani. Also there are over 1 million Rohingya Muslim refugees living in Bangladesh who have came here during the period of (2016–17) crisis. 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.


Tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts

In southeastern Bangladesh, the
Chittagong Hill Tracts The Chittagong Hill Tracts ( bn, পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম, Parbotto Chottogram), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, are group of districts within the Chittagong Division in southeast ...
frontier has a district history. It was an exclusive zone for Tibeto-Burman tribes in
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
during the
British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
. Today, the area makes up 10% of Bangladesh's territory. It is home to several
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
ethnic groups in the three hill districts of
Rangamati Rangamati (Bengali: রাঙ্গামাটি;) is the administrative headquarter and town of Rangamati Hill District in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The town is located at 22°37'60N 92°12'0E and has an altitude of . The dist ...
, Bandarban and
Khagrachari Khagrachari ( bn, খাগড়াছড়ি) is a district in the Chittagong Division of Southeastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region. History The Chittagong Hill Tracts was under the reign of the Tripura Sta ...
. The three largest communities in the region have a
Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
as their tribal chief who is recognized by the Government of Bangladesh. * The
Chakma people The Chakma people ( ccp, 𑄌𑄋𑄴𑄟𑄳𑄦; ) are a tribal group from the eastern-most regions of the Indian subcontinent. They are the largest ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of southeastern Bangladesh, and the se ...
are the largest tribe of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the second largest indigenous ethnic group of Bangladesh after Bengalis. A
Tibeto-Burman The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people spea ...
community, they have been greatly influenced by Bengali culture, including in their native
Chakma language Chakma language (; autonym: , ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Chakma and Daingnet people. The language has common features with other languages in the region like the Chittagonian, Tanchangya, Arakanese and others. It is spoken by ...
, a branch of the Bengali-Assamese languages. Most Chakmas are concentrated in
Rangamati District Rangamati Hill District (Chakma:𑄢𑄋𑄟𑄖𑄴𑄳𑄠 ;) is a district in south-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chattogram Division, and the town of Rangamati serves as the headquarters of the district. By area, Rangamati is th ...
. The community is headed by the Chakma Raja. The majority of Chakmas are
Therevada Buddhists ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
, with a minority being
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
. * The
Marma people The Marma ( my, မရမာလူမျိုး), formerly known as Moghs or Maghs, are the second-largest ethnic community in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts, primarily residing in the Bandarban, Khagrachari and Rangamati Hill Districts. ...
are second largest community in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. They have a
Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
and are concentrated in the districts of Bandarban and
Khagrachari Khagrachari ( bn, খাগড়াছড়ি) is a district in the Chittagong Division of Southeastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region. History The Chittagong Hill Tracts was under the reign of the Tripura Sta ...
. The Marmas are originally Arakanese people who moved to the territory in the 17th century in order to escape Burmese persecution. * The
Mro people Mru or Mro may refer to: * Mru people, also known as Mro, Murong, Taung Mro, Mrung, or Mrucha, a tribal people of Myanmar, Bangladesh, and India **Mru language Mru, also known as Mrung (Murung), is a Sino-Tibetan language of Bangladesh and My ...
are the third largest community in the region and have a
Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
.
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
,
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
and animist beliefs are among the chief faiths of the Mros. Their population is concentrated in
Bandarban District Bandarban ( bn, বান্দরবান, Chakma: 𑄝𑄚𑄴𑄘𑄧𑄢𑄴𑄝𑄚𑄴) is a district in South-Eastern Bangladesh, and a part of the Chittagong Division. It is one of the three hill districts of Bangladesh and a part of ...
. Mros are originally related to the Chin people of Myanmar. * The
Tanchangya people The Tanchangya people or Tanchangyas () are an indigenous ethnic group living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh, Indian states of Tripura and Mizoram, and Rakhine state of Myanmar. The beginning of the Tanchangya nation No histo ...
are among the oldest native indigenous tribes of the region. They speak the Indo-Aryan Tanchangya language and adhere to Therevada Buddhism. * The
Bawm people The Bom, or Bawm ( bn, বম), are an ethnic community inhabiting the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The Bawm are one of smallest ethnic groups in Bangladesh. In 2004, around 10,000 Bawm inhabited India, with the population in all countrie ...
are a Tibeto-Burman Christian community. They are among the oldest inhabitants of the region. * The
Tripuri people The Tripuri (also known as Tripura, Tipra, Tiprasa, Twipra) are an ethnic group originating in the Indian state of Tripura. They are the inhabitants of the Twipra/Tripura Kingdom in North-East India and Bangladesh. The Tripuri people through t ...
inhabit much of
Khagrachari District Khagrachari ( bn, খাগড়াছড়ি) is a district in the Chittagong Division of Southeastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts region. History The Chittagong Hill Tracts was under the reign of the Tripura Sta ...
. Their population is divided between Bangladesh and their larger indigenous homeland in the Indian state of
Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...
. * The
Khumi people The Khumis ( bn, খুমী ), are a community inhabiting in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The Khumis are one of smallest ethnic groups in Bangladesh with a population of only 1214 according to the 1991 census (in the census of 1981 ...
are one of the poorest and smallest tribes of the region. They originate from
Arakan Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...
. * The
Kuki people The Kuki people are an ethnic group native to the Mizo Hills (formerly Lushai), a mountainous region in the southeastern part of Mizoram and Manipur in India. The Kuki constitute one of several hill tribes within India, Bangladesh, and Myanma ...
are the Bangladeshi counterparts of Chins in northern Myanmar and Mizos in northeast India.


Tribes of North and Northeast Bangladesh

There are several
Austroasiatic The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are th ...
,
Tibeto-Burman The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people spea ...
and Indo-Aryan tribes which inhabit parts of northern and northeastern Bangladesh. * The
Santhal people The Santal or Santhal are an Austroasiatic speaking Munda ethnic group in South Asia. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and A ...
are the largest aboriginal community of the country. They speak the Austroasiatic
Santhali language Santali (, Ol Chiki: ), Bengali: , Odia: , Devanagari: , also known as Santal, is the most widely spoken language of the Munda subfamily of the Austroasiatic languages, related to Ho and Mundari, spoken mainly in the Indian states of Assa ...
. Their culture is noted for martial dance traditions. Their population is most concentrated in
Rajshahi Division Rajshahi Division ( bn, রাজশাহী বিভাগ) is one of the eight first-level administrative divisions of Bangladesh. It has an area of and a population at the 2011 Census of 18,484,858. Rajshahi Division consists of 8 district ...
and Rangpur Division. The Santhals have been the focal point of land rights controversies as the Bangladeshi government seeks to develop open pit coal mining in their tribal hinterlands. * The
Garo people The Garo is a Tibeto-Burman ethnic tribal group from the Indian subcontinent, living mostly in the Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura, and Nagaland, and in neighbouring areas of Bangladesh, including Madhupur, Mymensingh, Haluaghat, ...
inhabit the Haluaghat Upazila of
Mymensingh District Mymensingh ( bn, ময়মনসিংহ) is a district in Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh, and is bordered on the north by Meghalaya, a state of India and the Garo Hills, on the south by Gazipur District, on the east by the districts of Ne ...
. They have high literacy rates and are adherents of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. * The
Bisnupriya Manipuri people The Bishnupriya Manipuris, officially known as simply the Bishnupriyas, are a group of Indo-Aryan people that live in Assam, Tripura, Manipur and northeastern Bangladesh. They speak the Bishnupriya, which is a creole of Bengali language a ...
are the second largest ethnic group in
Sylhet Division Sylhet Division ( bn, সিলেট বিভাগ) is the northeastern division of Bangladesh. It is bordered by the Indian states of Meghalaya, Assam and Tripura to the north, east and south respectively, and by the Bangladeshi divisions ...
. They are adherents of
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
and the speak the Indo-Aryan
Bishnupriya Manipuri language Bishnupriya Manipuri, also known as simply Bishnupriya, is an Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Bengali–Assamese linguistic sub-branch. It is a creole of Bengali language and Meitei language (officially known as Manipuri language) an ...
. Their classical
Manipuri dance , image = , alt = , caption = An illustration of the ''Manipuri Raas Leela'' dance, being depicted in a stamp from Armenia; transliterations of "Jagoi Raas" and "Manipuri Raas Leela", the terms in Meitei language (offi ...
tradition is a key part of Bangladesh's national culture. * A negligible small minority of
Marwari people The Marwari or Marwadi (Hindi: मारवाड़ी, Urdu: مارواڑی) are an Indian ethnic group that originate from the Rajasthan region of India. Their language, also called Marwari, comes under the umbrella of Rajasthani languages, ...
live in various cities and towns of the country such as
Dinajpur Dinajpur ( bn, দিনাজপুর ) is a city and the District headquarters of Dinajpur district situated in Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. It was founded in 1786. It is located 413 km north-west of Dhaka in Bangladesh. It is bound ...
, Kushtia and Narayanganj. Although many of them have been assimilated into the larger Hindu Bengali demographics, they still use the marwari surnames such as Agarwal, Singhania etc. They are among the affluent sections of the country's merchant and business class.


Tribes of Southern Bangladesh

* An Arakanese Rakhine community has resided in
Barisal Division Barishal Division is one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. Located in the south-central part of the country, it has an area of , and a population of 8,325,666 at the 2011 Census. It is the least populous Division within the ent ...
for three centuries. They arrived by the sea after escaping Burmese conquests in the 17th century.


Rural society

The basic
social unit The term "level of analysis" is used in the social sciences to point to the location, size, or scale of a research target. "Level of analysis" is distinct from the term " unit of observation" in that the former refers to a more or less integrated ...
in a village is the family (''poribar'' or ''gushti''), generally consisting of a complete or incomplete
patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...
ly extended household (''chula'') and residing in a homestead ('' bari''). The individual nuclear family often is submerged in the larger unit and might be known as the house (''ghor''). Above the ''bari'' level, patrilineal kin ties are linked into sequentially larger groups based on real, fictional, or assumed relationships.Rahim, Enayetur. "Rural Society". In Heitzman & Worden. A significant unit larger than that of close kin is the voluntary religious and mutual benefit association known as "the society" (''shomaj'' or ''milat''). Among the functions of a ''shomaj'' might be the maintenance of a Mosque and support of a mullah. An informal council of ''shomaj'' elders (''matabdars'' or ''shordars'') settles village disputes. Factional competition between the ''motobdars'' is a major dynamic of social and political interaction. Groups of homes in a village are called ''Paras'', and each ''para'' has its own name. Several ''paras'' constitute a ''mauza'', the basic revenue and census survey unit. The traditional character of rural villages was changing in the latter half of the 20th century with the addition of brick structures of one or more stories scattered among the more common
thatched Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...
huts. Although farming has traditionally ranked among the most desirable occupations, villagers in the 1980s began to encourage their children to leave the increasingly overcrowded countryside to seek more secure employment in the towns. Traditional sources of prestige, such as landholding, distinguished lineage, and religious piety were beginning to be replaced by modern education, higher income, and steadier work. These changes, however, did not prevent rural poverty from increasing greatly.


Urban society

In 2015, 34% of Bangladeshis lived in cities.
Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...
is the largest city in Bangladesh and one of the world's most populous megacities. Other important cities include Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna,
Rajshahi Rajshahi ( bn, রাজশাহী, ) is a metropolitan city and a major urban, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous division and district. Located on the north bank of the P ...
,
Jessore Jessore ( bn, যশোর, jôshor, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District situated in Khulna Division. It is situated in the south-western part of Bangladesh. It is the administrative centre (headquarter) of the eponymous district ...
,
Barisal Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Di ...
,
Comilla Comilla (; bn, কুমিল্লা, Kumillā, ), officially spelled Cumilla, is the fifth largest city of Bangladesh and second largest in Chittagong division. It is the administrative centre of the Comilla District. The name Comilla was ...
, Narayanganj and
Mymensingh Mymensingh ( bn, ময়মনসিংহ) is the capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center and educational hub of north- ...
. Most urban centers are rural administrative
town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...
s. Urban centers grew in number and population during the 1980s as a result of an administrative decentralization program that featured the creation of
upazila An ''upazila'' ( bn, উপজেলা, upôzela, lit=sub-district pronounced: ), formerly called ''thana'', is an administrative region in Bangladesh, functioning as a sub-unit of a district. It can be seen as an analogous to a county or a ...
s.Rahim, Enayetur. "Urban Society". In Heitzman & Worden.


Identity

Bangladesh is noted for
cultural pluralism Cultural pluralism is a term used when smaller groups within a larger society maintain their unique cultural identities, whereby their values and practices are accepted by the dominant culture, provided such are consistent with the laws and valu ...
within a
Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...
majority. Traditional Bengali secularism has been an important contributor to the nation's society and ethos. The
Bengali language Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second most widely spoken o ...
is a fundamental element of Bangladeshi identity. It is a secular language which evolved between the 7th and 10th centuries, with an indigenous alphabet, and unites people of different faiths and regions. The Bengali Language Movement sowed the seeds of East Pakistani nationalism, ultimately culminating in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. Since independence, the relationship between religion and the state has been controversial. Between 1972 and 1975, Bangladesh experienced
socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...
under a secular parliamentary system. Military coups ushered a sixteen-year presidential regime, which restored the
free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...
and promoted moderate Islamism. In 1988, Islam was made the state religion. In 2010, the Bangladesh Supreme Court reaffirmed the principle of separation of mosque and state in the constitution. The government generally respects freedom of religion and ensures protection for minorities. Another debate on national identity concerns attitudes towards the Chittagong Hill Tracts. A low-level insurgency took place in the region to demand constitutional autonomy against Bengali settlements. Despite a
peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...
in 1997, the Bangladeshi government is yet to implement many of its commitments to protect
adivasi The Adivasi refers to inhabitants of Indian subcontinent, generally tribal people. The term is a Sanskrit word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an indigenous identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The term ...
land rights. However, the deletion in 1977 of ''Bangalee'' as the nationality term for the country's citizens, in order to be inclusive of non-Bengali minorities, also reflects attempts to build a more cosmopolitan Bangladeshi society.


Culture

The culture of Bangladesh has evolved with influences from diverse social societies. Bangladesh's main religion is Islam, which has played a critical part in influencing the country's culture.


Languages

The official language of Bangladesh is
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
, which is shared with the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura. Bengali dialects vary between different regions of Bangladesh but Standard Bengali is the most widely used. The oldest literary inscription in Bangladesh dates back to the 3rd century BCE. It was found at
Mahasthangarh Mahasthangarh ( bn, মহাস্থানগড়, ''Môhasthangôṛ'') is one of the earliest urban archaeological sites so far discovered in Bangladesh. The village Mahasthan in Shibganj upazila of Bogra District contains the remain ...
and is written in the
Brahmi script Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' ...
. The language is Magadhi Prakrit. The Bengali language developed from Magadhi Prakrit, and it's written from Apabhramsa, between the 7th and 10th centuries. It once formed a single eastern
Indo-Aryan language The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily concentrated in India, Pa ...
with Assamese and Odia, but later became distinct. It became an official language of the
Sultanate of Bengal The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the domina ...
, where it was spoken as the main vernacular language. It absorbed vocabulary from
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
,
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
. Bengali is the 6th most spoken language in the world. The language was modernized during the Bengali Renaissance in the 19th century. It has influenced other languages in the region, including Chakma,
Rohingya The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...
, Assamese, Odia and Nepali. The indigenous
Bengali alphabet The Bengali script or Bangla alphabet ( bn, বাংলা বর্ণমালা, ''Bangla bôrṇômala'') is the alphabet used to write the Bengali language based on the Bengali-Assamese script, and has historically been used to w ...
s descended from Brahmi serves as the Bengali script. The Bengali Language Movement in East Pakistan was a key catalyst for forming Bangladeshi identity. It is commemorated by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
as
International Mother Language Day International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism. First announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999, it was formal ...
, as part of worldwide efforts to preserve linguistic heritage. Bangladesh is also home to number of minority indigenous languages, including Santhali,
Garo Garo may refer to: People and languages * Garo people, a tribal people in India ** Garo language, the language spoken by the Garo tribe Places * Kingdom of Garo, a former kingdom in southern Ethiopia * Garo, Colorado * Garo Hills, part of the Ga ...
, Marma, Chakma and Bisnupriya Manipuri.


Surnames

Bangladeshi Muslims typically but not exclusively carry surnames that have
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
,
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
, and
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
origins. Bangladeshi Hindus have Sanskritized Bengali surnames. Many Bangladeshi Christians have Portuguese surnames. Buddhists have a mixture of Bengali and Tibeto-Burman surnames.


See also

* List of Bangladeshis *
Bangladeshi diaspora The Bangladeshi diaspora ( bn, প্রবাসী বাংলাদেশী) are people of Bangladeshi birth or descent who live outside of Bangladesh. First-generation migrants may have moved abroad from Bangladesh for various reasons in ...
*
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 2022 Census of Bangladesh, the country's population is 165,158,616. Bangladesh (previously East Pakistan between 1947 and 197 ...


References

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