A country which is over-populated – Bangladesh

Bangladesh is situated in both the eastern and northern hemispheres and is located on the Indian subcontinent in south-central Asia. Bangladesh is bordered by the Bay of Bengal, and the countries of India and Burma (Myanmar).

A map of Bangladesh

Low-lying Bangladesh is frequently flooded and affected by tropical storms. With few natural resources, the country depends on agriculture, with over 40 per-cent of the population working in this primary industry.

Bangladesh has the 8th largest population in the world with 163,317,317 or 2.11% of the Earth’s inhabitants living there in 2019. However, the country only has the 92nd largest land area which means population density is high.

With a high birth rate and a low death rate, as shown in the graph below, the population growth rate is around 1.04%. The result of this is over-population because Bangladesh has more people than its resources can support.

GDP per person is low in Bangladesh, meaning people do not generally have a good standard of living. The graph below illustrates the difference in GDP between Bangladesh and other countries. Despite rising rapidly recently, it is still significantly below other countries.

A significant number of people in Bangladesh are under-employed, meaning they don’t work full time. Wages are also low.

According to UNESCO Bangladesh has an adult literacy rate of just 72.89%. While the male literacy rate is 75.7%, for females is 70.09%. This is the result of no free or compulsory education system meaning few people have qualifications.

Access to healthcare is also poor in Bangladesh resulting in a high death rate and infant mortality rate.

In the future, Bangladesh will struggle to cope with its growing population. The main challenges the country will face include:

feeding the population
deforestation in the Himalayas leading to increased flooding
overcrowding and pollution in the capital, Dhaka
the increasing likelihood of stronger, more devastating tropical storms
the cost of repairs from flooding and tropical storms means less money is invested in public services