Bangladesh

• Bangladesh

  8th most populous country in the world, population currently 165 million, expected to rise to 202 million by 2050
• Population growth rate

  Current annual rate of 1.05%, slowing down as country moves from stage 2 to stage 3 of the Demographic Transition Model
• Total fertility rate

  2.2 - low for a developing country
• Population

  • 38% under the age of 30
  • Birth rates falling, causing population pyramid to narrow slightly at the base
• Population density

  • 1238 people per km², especially high in urban areas due to rural-urban migration
  • Capital city Dhaka has over 40,000 people per km²
• Bangladesh

  • Small country, less than 150,000 km² (just over half the size of the UK)
  • Low-lying, flat country with hot, wet climate
  • Many rivers that flood regularly, making soils fertile
• Environmental stresses

  Changing population distribution - people moving to cities
• Environmental pressures

  • Climate change leading to sea level rise and more frequent flooding, causing loss of coastal areas
  • High population density, with 70% of land already used for farming, limiting agricultural expansion
• Fertility rate

  Declined from 7.0 in 1970 to 2.3 in 2017
• Reasons for declining fertility rate

  1. Increased contraceptive use

  2. Falling infant mortality rate

  3. Increased female access to education
• Population still growing

  Despite lower fertility rates, due to improvements in healthcare and large proportion of population at childbearing age
• Migration

  Net migration rate of -3.1 migrants per thousand, with many leaving for short-term labour contracts in Arab Gulf states
• Implications of population growth

  • Social, economic and environmental impacts
  • Growth of urban slums lacking basic services
  • Challenges to food security
  • Changing population structure with ageing population
• Demographic dividend

  Falling dependency ratio could provide economic benefits, but requires investment in health and education
• Increasing population and economic growth

  Causing high rates of deforestation, soil erosion, water pollution, and air pollution