CASE STUDY:

Is Bangladesh an
overpopulated country?
BEFORE WE START:
Overpopulation: When a population exceeds the
carrying capacity of a country and cannot be
sustained (an area or country that cannot maintain a
big population with its current resources and land).

WHAT CAUSES OVERPOPULATION?

• Poverty
• Lack of Education
• High birth rates
• Low death rates
 BANGLADESH’S DEMOGRAPHICS:
• Bangladesh is relatively small and a resource poor
country, with a land area of 147,000 km2 and a
population of 163 million. And the Population
Reference Bureau estimates that the population will
rise to 187 million by 2030 and 202 million by 2050.

•If Singapore and small islands which are

largely urbanized are not taken to count,
Bangladesh would then have the highest
population density in the world. It’s about 20
times the global average, at 1123 people per
km2.
Figure 1.1. Bangladesh’s map
 “BANGLADESH HAS ACHIEVED CONSIDERABLE
SUCCESS IN REDUCING FERTILITY BUT
POPULATION MOMENTUM WILL CARRY ITS
POPULATION CLOSE TO 250 MILLION, UNLESS
SOMETHING VERY DRAMATIC AND UNFORESEEN
OCCURS TO BRING FERTILITY BELOW
REPLACEMENT LEVEL WITHIN A DECADE OR
TWO.”

--Zunaid Ahsan Karar

WHAT PROBLEMS DID BANGLADESH FACE?
• Shortage of food
• Lack of clean fresh water for drinking or use
• Overcrowding
• Noise, visual, air and water pollution
• Traffic jams and pressure on transportation
• Healthcare - in such a compact country, with a huge population and many
accidents occurring, healthcare is essential. Healthcare is expensive because of this
and many can die because they can't get treated or in reverse, because the
hospital can't treat them
CONTINUATION
• The cities are so dense with people that some are forced to inhabit the outer
lands of Bangladesh nearing the Bengal bay, this makes people very venerable
to floods and typhoons.
• Higher household taxes
• Underemployment- Four-fifths of the population live in rural areas. There is a
very small of cultivable land which has resulted in extreme rural poverty,
meaning that there is not enough work available for many people. 40% of the
population is unemployed, and not only this affects the countryside, but it
affects the urban areas too.
WHY?
• In the 1960's, the fertility rate was at an all-time high of 7 children per woman.
This number, however, did decrease over time (2.8 by 2003)
• Bangladesh had a lack of education - Adult literacy rate of 41%
• Social and religious factors - Having big families was seen as the usual and what
was best for a family
• Poverty and Economy - Bangladesh is mostly rural, and finding jobs in the urban
areas was hard due to overpopulation so agriculture and local work was common.
Agriculture and farms, however, take up a lot of space despite Bangladesh being so
small.
• Jobs - Couples would intentionally have more children to help the family
financially, raising the children to help them work. Mostly for free.
MORE INFO:

In Dhaka, the main urban areas are in a And because if global warming,
state of deterioration. It became one of land is being lost to rising sea
the most crowded cities with a levels, research predicting by 2050
population density of 43,000 km2. about 35 million would cross the
This megacity has been rapidly growing border to India.
and has been ranked the lease
habitable cities among 140 cities. In
which ranks the countries of the world
based on the quality of life, placing
Bangladesh 139th.
WHAT’S BEING
DONE?
The poor governance has
undoubtedly hindered the country’s
development, but at least the
national and international efforts to
improve the living conditions have
progressed. For instance, the World
Bank have stated in 2013 that
Bangladesh have reduced its poverty
from 63 million in 2000 to 47 million
in 2010. But will these improvements
continue?
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!