One in every 39 babies born in the world today is born in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has about 3,400,000 births a year, around 2.6% of all births worldwide.

Births per year
3,400,000
Share of world births
2.6%
Birth odds
1/39
Life expectancy
74 years
Risk of dying before age 5
2.7%
Income per person, PPP
US$9,000
Children per woman
1.9
Urban population
40%

Life expectancy in Bangladesh is 74 years, which is 1 years longer than the world average.

Of every 1,000 babies born here, about 27 do not reach their fifth birthday. The world average is 37 per 1,000.

Income per person is about US$9,000 in purchasing power. That is only 39% of the world average.

On average a woman has 1.9 children in her lifetime. The world average is 2.3.

About 40% of the population lives in cities. A baby born here has roughly a 60% chance of being born in the countryside.

Born in Bangladesh: reaching a long life on a low income

When Bangladesh became independent in 1971, life expectancy was around 45 and there were about seven children per woman. Today life expectancy is 74 and fertility is 1.9. This was reached even though income per person stayed low. Cheap, widely used oral rehydration salts sharply cut deaths from diarrhoea. Vaccination programmes, female health workers visiting homes and projects run by non-governmental organisations also contributed.

The country is one of the most densely populated in the world, and most people live on a delta exposed to floods and cyclones. Services are concentrated in big cities such as Dhaka, but crowding and air pollution are serious problems. In the countryside a household's income, the mother's education and access to clean water shape a baby's early years. As more women work in the garment industry, the age at marriage and the number of children are changing too. The achievement is often held up as an example of how much progress is possible in South Asia on a low income.

Religious makeup

  • Islam90%
  • Hinduism9%

Sample names given to people born in this country in the game

Rahim · Tanvir · Arif · Sakib · Fatema · Nusrat · Sadia · Tania

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Values are rounded approximations. Sources: UN World Population Prospects 2024, World Bank WDI, Pew Research Center 2020.