Wikijunior:Asia/Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh, officially known as the People's Republic of Bangladesh (in Bengali: গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ Gônôprôjatôntri Bangladesh), is a country in South Asia. Bangladesh is the world's eighth-most populous country, with over 160 million people. The capital of Bangladesh is Dhaka, the current president of Bangladesh is Abdul Hamid and the country's currency is known as the Bangladeshi taka.

Where is Bangladesh?

Location of Bangladesh in Green

Bangladesh is located in Southern Asia. India to its west, north, and east, Burma (known as Myanmar) to its southeast, and separated by Bhutan and Nepal by the Chicken's Neck Corridor. To the south of Bangladesh is where the Bay of Bengal lies.

The distance between Dhaka and the equator is 2,639 kilometers (or 1,640 miles).

How many people live in Bangladesh?

About 158,512,570 (as of July 1, 2014) people live in Bangladesh, just 25.5 million less than Pakistan.

What is the national/most popular language in Bangladesh?

The word "Bangla" in Bengali

A bengali

A bengali with recorded in restaurant

A bengali with recorded in South Africa

Asif Mohiuddin speaking Bengali

The official language of Bangladesh is Bengali (also known as "Bangla"), an Indo-Aryan language that evolved from Sanskrit. With 98% of Bangladeshis fluent in Standard Bengali as their native language, it serves as the lingua franca (common language) of Bangladesh.

English, even though not being "official", is widespread across the government, businesses, the media, and general education. English is so common that it can be considered as Bangladesh's "co-official" language.

Many people also speak Hindi and Urdu.

What is the most common religion in Bangladesh?

Kantaji Temple, a Hindu Temple in Dinajpur, Bangladesh

The main religion is Islam (majority of Muslims are Sunni Muslims; Shias are the minority of this tally), with 89.7% of the population, Muslims. The remaining 10.3% are either Hindus (9.2%), Buddhists (0.7%), Christians (0.3%), or Animist (0.1%).

What is the sport of Bangladesh?

A sport called Kabaddi is the national sport of Bangladesh, even though Cricket and Association Football (or soccer) are considered to be the most popular sports in the country. Bangladesh has their own Kabbadi team, known as the Bangladesh National Kabaddi Team. The Bangladesh national Kabaddi Team were the runner-ups in the first Asian Kabaddi Championship, while India were the winners. The team were also the runner-ups in the next Asian Kabaddi Championship (which was held in India), winning a bronze medal at the 2006 Asian Games.

Bangladesh's cricket team (known as the Bangladesh National Cricket Team; nicknamed the "Tigers") won the ICC Trophy in Malaysia, which qualified the team for the Cricket World Cup in England (in 1999). As of August 2015, Bangladesh has played 93 tests, winning only seven. The team's wins include a test match against an inexperienced and young Zimbabwe cricket team and a test match against the West Indies.

What are some important sights?

Calming glimpse of Sunderbans

Lalbagh Fort - An incomplete Mughal (of the Mughal Empire) fort complex standing high behind the Buriganga River in southwestern Dhaka. The construction of the Fort was started by Subahdar Muhammad Azam Shah (future emporer), son of Emporer Aurangzeb, in 1678. Although Muhammad Shah handed the work down to his successor, Shaista Khan, in order to continue the fort's construction--it was never worked on again (because of the death of Shaista Khan's daughter, which saddened him to the point he stopped working on the fort). Even though it is half complete, there are still great attractions in the Lalbagh Fort, such as the Tomb of Pari Bibi, Lalbagh Mosque, Audience Hall and the bathing place of Shaista Khan (Hammam Khana). Lalbagh Fort is truly a great way to escape Dhaka's "hustle and bustle".
Bangabandhu Memorial Museum - A museum near Dhaka City, this museum was a house of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the "Father of the Nation of Bangladesh" (as he was known). On the night of March 25, 1971, he was arrested, and a civil war started between the east side of Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) and the west side of Pakistan. The house contained several rare collections of photographs of Rahman's life, which are now opened to the public to see since it was turned into a museum in 1997.
Sundarbans (Bengali: সুন্দরবন) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in southern Bangladesh (and a bit of India as well). Sundarbans is a natural region, covering 10,000 square kilometers of land and water. The area also has a park, named the Sundarbans National Park. Not only is the Sundarbans National Park only a park, but a Tiger Reserve (reserving the famous Bengali Tiger), and a Biosphere Reserve (a movement to improve relationships between people and their environments).

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