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Spotlight on...Bangladesh

Spotlight on...Bangladesh

dhaka

Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is the 7th most populous country in the world despite being relatively small in size – as a result it has one of the highest population densities of all the world’s countries. Most of Bangladesh borders India; however it also shares a small south-eastern border with Burma, while the southern part of the country is bordered by the Bay of Bengal.

Bangladesh only came to be in 1972, when East Pakistan, as it was then known, seceded from a union with West Pakistan (now Pakistan). Prior to this, the country was part of British India – part of the British Empire of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The capital and largest city in Bangladesh is Dhaka, with a population of 7million, and 12.7million in the metropolitan area, making it the 9th biggest city in the world. The second biggest city in Bangladesh is Chittagong, with a population of 2.5million, or 3.8million including the wider metropolitan area. Islam is the predominant religion in Bangladesh, accounting for almost 90% of the population. Hinduism makes up around 9%, while a diverse range of other religions make up the remaining small percentage.

cox

Most of the country is made up of low-lying plains. However, the Chittagong Hill Tracts are a hilly region bordering Burma and India in the south-east, while the lush Sundarbans forests lie in the delta of the Bay of Bengal in the south. Cox’s Bazar in the south-east of the country is believed to be the world’s longest natural sandy beach. The area is the main tourist destination in Bangladesh, and as well as visiting the beach, tourists can visit Aggmeda Khyang, a large nearby Buddhist monastery, and Dulhazra Safari Park.

Cricket is by far the most popular sport in Bangladesh. The country’s national team participated in the World Cup for the first time in 1999, and were granted prestigious Test cricket status in 2000. In 2011, Bangladesh will host the ICC World Cup jointly with India and Sri Lanka. Some of the most popular Bangladeshi cricketers are Mohammad Ashraful, Mashrafe Mortaza, Habibul Bashar and Mohammad Rafique.

rafique

The national sport of Bangladesh is Kabaddi, a contact sport that originated in the region centuries ago. In the contest, players must tag as many of the opposing team’s players as they can while holding their breath, then return to their own half of the playing area. The opposition must try and stop the player from returning to their area, and from holding their breath.

There are several NCC Accredited Partner Centres located around Bangladesh. In Dhaka there is Bhuiyan Institute of Technology (BIT), and Daffodil Institute of IT (DIIT). There is also a DIIT college in Chittagong, and in Sylhet students can study at the Institute of Business and IT (IBIT). Click here to find out more about studying at one of these centres.

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