Bangladesh’s Population
A key to understanding the changing wellbeing of Bangladeshis is its population characteristics. This
unit of work will help you develop this understanding.
1. Where do Bangladeshis live?
Go to Google and type in Bangladesh Population Density Map. Look at the first in images
showing “Demographics of Bangladesh – Wikipedia. It is a choropleth map in shade of red and
pink.
a. Find the Dhaka District of Bangladesh. This is the country’s major city.
b. What is its population density?
Dhaka’s population density is more than 4,000 people per square kilometre, making it one of the
worlds’ most densely populated cities. Upon further research I found that Dhaka has more than
23,000 people per square kilometre.
c. How does it compare to Melbourne’s population of around 500 people per square
kilometre?
This shows the magnitude of Dhaka’s overpopulation problem and how this links to its suffering
economy and low life expectancy rate. Dhaka is very overpopulated and has unhygienic living
conditions because of its population density problem.
d. Remember the video clips you looked on Dhaka: what is the main reason for the difference
in densities in these two cities?
The main reason for the difference in densities in these two cities is that there is immense
overpopulation in the city as people are flocking to urban areas to find work. There is big
immigration from rural to urban areas to find work in industries such as the construction and textile
industry. This population increase is not kept up with infrastructure upgrades which is why there is
poor waste management and easy spread of diseases.
e. There are two areas of Bangladesh with low population densities. Identify their location.
The 2 areas of low population densities are the southern and south-eastern areas of Bangladesh. The
areas in regard to low population densities are around the Barguna and Bagerhat areas, as well as
the Banderban and Khagrachhari.
f.
For each of these areas, discover the landscape feature that could inhibit higher densities.
For the south-eastern areas, I discovered that there are particularly mountainous areas
(especially near the Chittagong Hill Tracts) and low access to food and water sources. Hilly
areas causes difficulty growing food to sustain the population means that population density
is relatively low compared to other flat regions as if population grew, food would need to be
imported to the area which is expensive and unsustainable. In the south, flooding is the
cause of lower population densities. These floods often damage buildings which means
higher density populations will have to rebuild every year due to the extensive damages.
2. Paba District is a typical high density rural area of Bangladesh. Search for: Pabna on Google
Earth. This should take you to a satellite image of Pabna and the surrounding area.
a. What is the name of the main river flowing through the image area?
The Padma River
b. Now zoom into the city of Pabna and move northwest of it to between the Asian Grossary
Store and Amir Store. you are now in a typical rural landscape.
i.
What appears to be the main land uses in the open spaces?
The main land uses in the open spaces appears to be using it to grow crops and cultivating it for
agricultural use mainly as you can see the patterns of the fields.
ii.
In what ways do they connect to the village areas? (think about several ways)
They are able to connect the village areas by constructing minor roads which run along all the
villages and connecting them to the main highways leading inbound to the city. It is apparent that
there is a few main highways which directly leads inbound to the city, which the villages which have
roads connected to these main highways to get access to the city. Another way is by the open land.
Many of these villages seem to not have many boundaries and surrounded by open fields, which
gives easier transportation to other villages.
iii.
Describe the layout of the village areas.
The layout of the village areas is often in line with roads and are adjacent to open fields where they
can grow their crops. It is often arranged also in a straight line so that all areas can have access to
easy transport. This might be done to build efficiency and be able to reach all parts of the village to
transport materials etc.
3. Bangladesh’s Population in a Diagram
Go to: PopulationPyramid.net and locate Bangladesh 2021.
a. Does the Bangladesh pyramid look like a pyramid – why or why not?
No, because the majority of people live until 10-49.
b. Which is the largest male and female group combined?
The largest male and female group combined is the age range 15-19, as it has the single highest
percentage compared to all the other categories.
c. What percentage of the population is this combined group?
Approximately 9.2% of this combined group is the age range 15-19, which adds up to over 16
million people.
d. Beyond 64 years, the “pyramid” gets very narrow. what could this indicate?
This indicates that there are rarely people that live past the age of 64. This could be because of
malnutrition, overworked people, and low access to medical resources to further extend their
lifespan.
e. The number of babies being born per woman had been dropping in Bangladesh. How does
this show on the diagram?
The graph becomes narrower and narrower the higher the age range. The graph shows the
exact number of women in each age range, and from the age of 64 onwards, the number of
babies born per woman is a fraction of the total population.
f.
Most couples have children between the ages of 15 and 45. Look at the size of this group on
the pyramid. What does this suggest about the potential for future population growth? Be
sure to give your reasons.
This suggests that the future population will have more people in higher age groups, so the
diagram will be more consistent throughout in the future. This is because people in lower age
groups will transfer to higher ones, and so will the middle aged people right now. This can also be
seen as you increase the year of the graph, highlighting how the population will get bigger, but the
life expectancy will increase.
g. You can adjust the diagram. Change the year to 1981. Comment on the shape of the
pyramid then.
In 1981 the graph was more like a pyramid compared to the diagram of 2021. A large amount of
the population was below 10 years old, which has had drastic effects on the age distribution of
2021’s population. 1981’s graph has affected the diagram of 2021, as there are a lot of people in
the 20-40 years age range.
h. In 1981, were births occurring at a higher or lower rate than 2021? How can you tell?
Births were happening at a lower rate in 1981 than in 2021, because the diagram shows that
the amount of births in 1981 are more spread out, whereas the births in 2021 are very
cramped and in high amounts compared to 1981. There are more than 2 times the amount of
births in 2021 than in 1981, which feeds the overpopulation problem and the resource
shortage of Bangladesh. Also, the total population is lower than 2021’s, further proving that
there were fewer births in 1981.
i.
Health facilities for babies and young children have improved in Bangladesh. Where does it
show on the 1981 pyramid and why? (comparing 2021 to 1981)
There are more people in the mid range (20-40 years old), and less people in the lower age ranges
(0-15), indicating that the life expectancy has increased, due to health facilities and resource
production.
j.
Now move to 2051: what’s predicted to happen to the shape and why?
It is predicted that there will be more people in the higher age groups, so the life expectancy will
be higher. This is because health facilities will continue to improve, and those who are in the 20-40
years range will transfer to a higher age range, which is why the 2051 diagram is in the shape that
it is.
k. Construct a table to show the percentages of the population in the 0-4, 35-39, 70-74 age
groups plus total population for 1981, 2021 and 2051.
Year
0-4
35-39
70-74
Total population:
l.
1981
17.5%
5.3%
0.9%
81,767,516
2021
8.6%
7.8%
1.4%
166,303,494
2051
5.3%
6.9%
4.2%
192,690,991
Comment on what you find.
I found that the total population of Bangladesh increased every year, and there were more people
occupying higher age groups the higher the year. This is probably due to improving medical
facilities, economy, production of resources, etc. Comparing 1981 to 2051, it is visible that the
overall life expectancy has increased, and so has the total population. In 1981 there were a lot of
younger citizens populating Bangladesh, but it is more consistent in 2051. From here, it can only
be estimated that the older age groups (70+) will be more populated as time moves on.
Go further….
Have a look at some very different population pyramids now, in the past and in the future using
PopulationPyramid.net.
Here are some suggestions: Japan, China, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Australia and Italy.