Health and Demographics |
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Photo courtesy of www.state.gov |
Bangladesh's population of approximately 140 million in 2005 within its 147,570 square kilometers—a corresponding population density of more than 900 people per square kilometer—makes it the most densely populated country in the world. About 35 million people, or one fourth of the total population, live in urban areas of the country. Forty-eight percent of the population is under 15 years of age while 3.8 percent are over the age of 65. The annual population growth rate is currently 1.5 percent. The Bangladesh Population Policy estimates that if replacement-level fertility of 2.1 children to every man and woman is reached by the year 2010, the population of Bangladesh will stabilize at 210 million by the year 2060. |
Family planning was introduced in Bangladesh in the 1950s, when Bangladesh was still East Pakistan, as a means to curb the country’s rapid population growth. At that time, the population was estimated to be 43 million. Increasing contraceptive education and use has led to a decline in the average fertility rate, which dropped from 6.3 children per family to 3.0 during the time between 1975 and 2005. Increases in child and maternal nutrition and health care have led to drops in infant and maternal mortality rates as well as an increase in life expectancy at birth. Despite improvements over the past three decades, infant and maternal mortality rates remain quite high. When examined from a socio-economic standpoint, indicators such as child and maternal malnutrition are seen overwhelmingly more often among the poorest 50 percent of the population than with the wealthiest half.
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Created on December 19th, 2007, for Politics 116 with Professor Vinnie Ferraro, Mount Holyoke College Molly McCue, Class of 2008 |
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