Bangladeshi people

"Bangladeshi" redirects here. For other uses, see Bangladeshi (disambiguation).

This article is about people from Bangladesh as an ethnic identity and nation. For information on the population of Bangladesh, see Demographics of Bangladesh.

Bangladeshis
বাংলাদেশী

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Begum Sufia Kamal Kazi Nazrul Islam Binod Bihari Chowdhury Muhammad Yunus Humayun Ahmed Irene Khan Fazlur Rahman Khan Muhammad Qudrat-i-Khuda Jasimuddin Brojen Das Zainul Abedin Kamal Hossain Ziaur Rahman Shabnam Runa Laila Firoza Begum Zahir Raihan Shakib Al Hasan Anisuzzaman
Total population
166 million approx. 2.28% of the world's population
Regions with significant populations
Bangladesh	166,280,712
Saudi Arabia	~ 1,000,000
United Arab Emirates	~ 1,090,000
United Kingdom	~ 500,000
Malaysia	~ 500,000
Kuwait	~ 150,000
United States	~ 143,619
Bahrain	~ 120,000
Oman	~ 115,000
Australia	52,920
Canada	34,205
Italy	~ 35,000
Nepal	~ 23,000
South Korea	~ 13,600
Japan	~ 11,000
Languages
Bengali and Indigenous minority languages
Religion
Islam 86% (incl. Cultural Muslims) Hinduism 12% Buddhism 1% Christianity and others (such as Animists and non-religious) 0.4%.

Part of a series on the
Culture of Bangladesh
History History of Bangladesh
People Bangladeshi people List of Bangladeshis
Languages Script Dialects Vocabulary Grammar Bengali language movement
Traditions Bengali wedding Bengali Hindu wedding Gaye Holud Walima Bhadralok Panjika
Cuisine Bengali cuisine Rice Panta bhat Khichdi Bread Luchi Bakarkhani Fish Ilish Muri ghanto Sweets Rasgulla Sandesh Pantua Snacks Phuchka Shingara Somucha Sauce Raita
Festivals Pohela Boishakh Ekushey Book Fair Nabanna Poush Mela
Religion
Art Architecture Architects Fazlur Khan Muzharul Islam Bashirul Haq Painters Zainul Abedin Quamrul Hassan SM Sultan Sculpture Sculptor Nitun Kundu
Literature Bengali literature History History Charyapada Mangalkavya Vaishnava Padavali Genres Poetry Novels Science fiction Folk literature Institutions Bangla Academy Awards Bangla Academy Award Ekushey Padak Writers Kazi Nazrul Islam Jasimuddin Farrukh Ahmed Shamsur Rahman Al Mahmud
Music and performing arts Music Performing arts
Media Television Cinema
Sport Kabaddi Boli Khela Lathi Khela Chaturaṅga Kho kho
Monuments World Heritage Sites
Symbols Flag Coat of arms
Bangladesh portal

Bangladeshi people or Bangladeshis (বাংলাদেশী) are people who are citizens of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is largely ethnically homogeneous. Indeed, its name derives from the Bengali ethno-linguistic group, which comprises 98% of the country's population. They possess a rich culture and a language of their own called Bengali (বাংলা Bangla). The Chittagong Hill Tracts, Sylhet, Mymensingh and North Bengal divisions are home to diverse indigenous peoples. Today substantial populations with Bangladeshi ancestry exist in many different parts of the world as a result of emigration, notably in the Middle East, Japan, Malaysia, United Kingdom and United States. Population estimates of the diaspora vary from a conservative 7 million to 10 million people.

Ethnic groups

Main article: Ethnic groups in Bangladesh

The vast majority (about 98.5%) of Bangladeshis are of the Bengali ethno-linguistic group. This group also spans the neighboring Indian province of West Bengal. Minority ethnic groups include Meitei, Khasi, Santhals, Chakma, Garo (tribe), Biharis, Oraons, Mundas and Rohingyas.

Bangladesh's tribal population was enumerated at 897,828 in the 1981 census. These tribes are concentrated in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and around Mymensingh, Sylhet, and Rajshahi. They are of Sino-Tibetan descent and differ markedly in their social customs, religion, language and level of development. They speak Tibeto-Burman languages and most are Buddhist or Hindu. The four largest tribes are Chakmas, Marmas, Tipperas and Mros. Smaller groups include the Santals in Rajshahi and Dinajpur, and Khasis, Garos, and Khajons in Mymensingh and Sylhet regions.

There are small communities of Meitei people in the Sylhet district, which is close to the Meitei homeland across the border in Manipur, India.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Bangladesh

Languages

Main article: Languages of Bangladesh

Although Bangladesh is home to 38 different languages, Bengali (Bangla) serves as the lingua franca of the nation, with 98% of Bangladeshis fluent in Standard Bengali or Bengali dialects as their first language. English, though not having official status, is prevalent across government, law, business, media and education, and can be regarded as the de facto co-official language of Bangladesh.

The indigenous people of northern and southeastern Bangladesh speak a variety of native languages, notably Chakma and Shantali. The languages of those region are members of the Tibeto-Burman, Austroasiatic, and Dravidian families.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Bangladesh

The majority of Bangladeshis are Muslims and constitute 89.5% of the population, followed by Hindus, who constitute 9.6%; Buddhists, Christians, those who practice other religions and those who do not constitute only 0.9% of the total population. Religion has always been a strong part of identity, but this has varied at different times. A survey in late 2003 confirmed that religion is the first choice by a citizen for self-identification. According to a government-published article, atheism is extremely rare.

Diaspora

Main article: Bangladeshi diaspora

Notable people

Main article: List of Bangladeshi people

See also

• Bengali people