Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the permanent residents of the former
East Pakistan were transformed into citizens of a new republic.[46] Bangladesh is the world's
eighth most populous nation. The vast majority of Bangladeshis are ethnolinguistically
Bengalis, an
Indo-Aryan people. The population of Bangladesh is concentrated in the fertile
Bengal delta, which has been the centre of urban and agrarian civilizations for millennia. The country's highlands, including the
Chittagong Hill Tracts and parts of the
Sylhet Division, are home to various tribal minorities.
Bengali Muslims 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.[47][48][49] The minority
Bengali Hindu population made up approximately 7.95% of the population of the country according to the 2022 Census[50][51] Non-Bengali Muslims make up the largest immigrant community; while the
Tibeto-BurmanChakmas, who speak the Indo-Aryan
Chakma language, are the largest indigenous ethnic group after Indo-Aryan Bengalis.[52] The
AustroasiaticSanthals are the largest aboriginal community.
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, and Aaji Bangladesher Hridoy, by
Rabindranath Tagore.[53]
Bangalees, an
exonym for
Bengalis, 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, the constitutional term was changed to Bangladeshi, as part of efforts to promote
Bangladeshi nationalism.[54] The term "Bangalee" is still used to denote people of
Bangladesh as a nation.[55]
None of these terms should be conflated with Bengalis, 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 and
Austroasiatic ancestry, with the most ancient settlements traced back to 4000 BCE.[56]
Bangladesh has a population of 166,303,498 as per 2021, January official projections.[1] As per as 2020 estimation research, around 13 million Bangladeshis lives abroad in the various foreign nation's.[58][59] 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.[1][58][59]
Bangladesh religious diversity as per 2022 census[60][51][61]
Approximately 99% of the Bangladeshis are
Bengalis.
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.
Over 91.04% of the population are
Bengali Muslims (150.36 million) as of 2022. This makes Bangladesh the world's third largest
Muslim majority country after
Indonesia and
Pakistan. 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 and
Ahmadiya branches.
Bengali Hindus are the largest minority of Bangladesh, with a population between 13.1 million constituting 7.95% as per 2022 Census.[51] Bangladesh has the third largest Hindu population in the world after
India and
Nepal. There are an estimated 400,000
Bengali Christians and 500,000
Bengali Buddhists.
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. They include affluent sections of the country's merchant and business class, particularly
Nizari Ismailism adherents.[64] 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 came here during the period of (2016–17) crisis.[65] 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 settled in Bangladesh.[66][67]
Tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts
In southeastern Bangladesh, the
Chittagong Hill Tracts frontier has a district history. It was an exclusive zone for Tibeto-Burman tribes in
Bengal during the
British Raj. Today, the area makes up 10% of Bangladesh's territory. It is home to several
indigenous ethnic groups in the three hill districts of
Rangamati,
Bandarban and
Khagrachari. The three largest communities in the region have a
Raja as their tribal chief who is recognized by the Government of Bangladesh.
The
Marma people are second largest community in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. They have a
Raja and are concentrated in the districts of
Bandarban and
Khagrachari. The Marmas are originally
Arakanese people who moved to the territory in the 17th century in order to escape Burmese persecution.[69]
The
Mro people are the third largest community in the region and have a
Raja.
Buddhism,
Christianity and
animist beliefs are among the chief faiths of the Mros. Their population is concentrated in
Bandarban District.[70] Mros are originally related to the Chin people of Myanmar.[71]
The
Santhal people are the largest aboriginal community of the country. They speak the Austroasiatic
Santhali language. Their culture is noted for martial dance traditions. Their population is most concentrated in
Rajshahi Division 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.[87][88]
A negligible small minority of
Marwari people live in various cities and towns of the country such as
Dinajpur,
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 for three centuries. They arrived by the sea after escaping Burmese conquests in the 17th century.[93][94]
Rural society
The basic
social unit in a village is the family (poribar or gushti), generally consisting of a complete or incomplete
patrilineally 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.[95]
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 disputes taking place in the village . Factional competition between the motobdars is a major dynamic of social and political interaction.[95]
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
thatchedbamboo huts.[95]
Although farming has traditionally been 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.[96]Dhaka is the largest city in Bangladesh and one of the world's most populous
megacities. Other important cities include
Chittagong,
Sylhet,
Khulna,
Rajshahi,
Jessore,
Barisal,
Comilla,
Narayanganj and
Mymensingh. Most urban centres are rural administrative towns. Urban centres grew in number and population during the 1980s as a result of an administrative decentralization program that featured the creation of
upazilas.[97]
Identity
In
Global popular media, the term
Bangali is used for
Bengali Hindus (
Bengali-
Sanskrit culture), while the term
Bangladeshi is for
Bengali Muslims (
Bengali-
Arabic culture).
Bangladesh is noted for
cultural pluralism within a
Bengali Muslim majority. Traditional Bengali secularism has been an important contributor to the nation's society and ethos. The
Bengali language 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 under a secular parliamentary system.
Military coups ushered a sixteen-year presidential regime, which restored the
free market 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.[98] 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 in 1997, the Bangladeshi government is yet to implement many of its commitments to protect
adivasi 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.
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.
The official language of Bangladesh is
Bengali, which is shared with the neighbouring 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 and is written in the
Brahmi script. The language is
Magadhi Prakrit.[100] 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 with
Assamese and
Odia, but later became distinct. It became an official language of the
Sultanate of Bengal, where it was spoken as the main vernacular language. It absorbed vocabulary from
Arabic,
Persian and
Sanskrit. 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, Assamese, Odia and
Nepali. The indigenous
Bengali alphabets descended from Brahmi serves as the Bengali script.
Bangladeshi Muslims typically but not exclusively carry surnames that have
Arabic,
Persian, and
Sanskrit origins. Bangladeshi Hindus have Sanskritized Bengali surnames. Many Bangladeshi Christians have
Portuguese surnames. Buddhists have a mixture of Bengali and Tibeto-Burman surnames.
^Shamsi, Tasdidaa; Al-Din, Zaheed (December 2015).
Lifestyle of Bangladeshi Workers in Maldives. 13th Asian Business Research Conference. Bangladesh.
Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
^"Kuki | people". Encyclopedia Britannica.
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^"Meitei | people". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 12 February 2023. Meitei, also spelled Meetei or Meithei, also called Manipuri, ...
^
ab"Manipuri language". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 12 February 2023. Manipuri language, Manipuri Meiteilon, also called Meitei (Meetei), a Tibeto-Burman language spoken predominantly in Manipur, a northeastern state of India. Smaller speech communities exist in the Indian states of Assam, Mizoram, and Tripura, as well as in Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma). ... Manipuri has its own script, locally known as Meitei Mayek.
^"Classical Dances: Manipuri Raas Leela, and its exploration of love — both romantic and spiritual-Art-and-culture". Firstpost. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2023. While Manipuri adheres to Bharat Muni's Natya Shastra in its formalised classical structure, it can nonetheless be traced to the ancient period when the dance was simply a part of the Meitei community's cultural practice. ... It was the Meitei monarch, King Bhagya Chandra who for the first time adopted Gaudiya Vaishnavism or the worship of Krishna [an avatar of Vishnu], and subsequently composed the very first Raas Leelas to effective give Manipuri its present structure.
^"Manipuri language". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 12 February 2023. Manipuri language, Manipuri Meiteilon, also called Meitei (Meetei), a Tibeto-Burman language spoken predominantly in Manipur, a northeastern state of India. Smaller speech communities exist in the Indian states of Assam, Mizoram, and Tripura, as well as in Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma).