For much of its history the area was simply just called Bengal and was considered a part of India. The last few centuries several foreign powers involved themselves with the area resulting in several wars. The 20th century brought more wars, genocide, and political states. Bengal was under British rule from 1757–1947. It was a part of British India. In 1947 East Bengal and the Dominion of Pakistan were separated from present-day Republic of India and thus formed a new birth of country named Pakistan. But the east and west provinces were on either side of India and separated by . In 1949 the Bangladesh Awami League formed to favor separation between east and west Pakistan. In 1955 East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan. Dacca was then the legislative capital of Pakistani Bengal provincial region. The peoples of East Pakistan were mostly ethnic Bengalis who had a different language and culture to the people of western Pakistan. These differences eventually led to the Bangladesh Liberation War. On 16 December 1971, Bangladesh gained independence, with the help of allied forces against West Pakistani forces.
The East Bengal Legislative Assembly was the law-making body of the province of East Bengal. It was later renamed the East Pakistan Legislative Assembly and would be succeeded by the Jatiyo Sangshad in 1971.
After the birth of Bangladesh, Bangla replaced Urdu and English as the sole national and official language, and was the language taught in schools and used in business and government. The Bangla Academy was important in this change. In the 1980s, British-style education was maintained through private English-language institutions attended by upper class children. English continued to be taught in higher education and was offered as a subject for university degrees.
At first, Arabic also lost ground in independent Bangladesh. This trend ended in the late 1970s, however, after Bangladesh strengthened its ties with Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich, Arabic-speaking countries. An unsuccessful attempt was made in 1983 to introduce Arabic as a required language in primary and secondary levels. Arabic is widely studied in Madrassas and Islamic institutions around the country for better understanding of the Quran, Hadith and any other Islamic texts.
The President, while Head of State, holds a largely ceremonial post, with the real power held by the Prime Minister, who is Head of Government. The president is elected by the legislature every 5 years and his normally limited powers are substantially expanded during the tenure of a Caretaker Government, mainly in controlling the transition to a new government.
The prime minister is appointed by the president and must be a member of parliament (MP) whom the president feels commands the confidence of the majority of other MPs. The Cabinet is composed of ministers selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president.
The unicameral Bangladeshi parliament is the House of the Nation or "Jatiya Sangsad", whose 300 members are elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies for five-year terms of office. The highest Judiciary body is the Supreme Court, of which the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president.
After its independence from Pakistan, the people of Bengal thereon had formally become Bangladeshis and they became a Parliamentary democracy, with Mujib as the Prime Minister. In the 1973 parliamentary elections, the Awami League gained an absolute majority. A nationwide famine occurred during 1973 and 1974, and in early 1975, Mujib initiated a one-party socialist rule with his newly formed BAKSAL. On the August 15th, 1975, Mujib and his family were a target for assassination by mid-level military officers.
A series of bloody coups and counter-coups in the following three months culminated in the ascent to power of General Ziaur Rahman, who reinstated multi-party politics and founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Zia's rule ended when he was himself assassinated in 1981 by elements of the junta military. Bangladesh's next major ruler was General Hossain Mohammad Ershad, who gained power in a bloodless coup in 1982 and ruled until 1990, when he was forced to resign under western donor pressure in a major shift in international policy after the end of communism when anti-communist dictators were no longer felt necessary. Since then, Bangladesh has reverted to a parliamentary democracy. Zia's widow, Khaleda Zia, led the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to parliamentary victory at the general election in 1991 and became the first female Prime Minister in Bangladesh's history and the second one in the Muslim world. However, the Bangladesh Awami League, headed by Sheikh Hasina, one of Mujib's surviving daughters, clinched power at the next election in 1996 but lost to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party again in 2001.
In January 11, 2007, following widespread violence, a caretaker government was appointed to administer the next general election. The country had suffered from extensive corruptions, disorder and political violence. The new caretaker government has made it a priority to root out corruption from all levels of government. To this end, many notable politicians and officials, along with large numbers of lesser officials and party members, have been arrested on corruption charges. The caretaker government held a fair and free election on December 29, 2008. Awami League's Sheikh Hasina won the elections with a landslide victory and took oath of Prime Minister on the 6th January 2009.
Despite independence in 1971, Bangladesh is still a poor country and has problems with corruption and political troubles. Presently more than half of the people can read and write.
Bangladesh has heavy cyclones and natural disasters, due to this many lives are often lost. The country is one of the most densely populated in the world. Cyclones are very common in the Bay of Bengal during the middle of the year, particularly in the south of country in areas like Sundarban, Chittagong, Cox's Bazaar, or in neighboring Myanmar and Republic of India. Despite the many storms, Bangladesh does not have a very effective storm prevention system, and cyclones usually inflict heavy damage.
Bangladesh is in the Ganges Delta. This is where the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna come together. Most parts of Bangladesh are less than above the sea level. The highest point in Bangladesh is in Mowdok range at in the Chittagong Hill Tracts to the southeast of the country. Cox's Bazar, south of the city of Chittagong, has a beach that is uninterrupted over .
A large part of the coastline is a marshy jungle, the Sundarbans. They are the largest mangrove forest in the world.
Bangladesh is divided into eight administrative divisions: Barisal (বরিশাল), Chittagong (চট্টগ্রাম), Dhaka (ঢাকা), Khulna (খুলনা), Rajshahi (রাজশাহী), Sylhet (সিলেট), and Rangpur (রংপুর).
Divisions are divided into districts. There are 64 districts in Bangladesh.
Dhaka is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. Other major cities include Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barisal, Bogra, Comilla, Mymensingh and Rangpur. For more locations see List of settlements in Bangladesh.
The main religion in Bangladesh is Islam at (90.9%), while the second largest religion is Hinduism at (8%) as per 2021 religious projection by Pew Research Center. Most Muslims are Sunni. Islam was made the state religion in the 1980s in the country's constitution. Buddhists and Christians together make up 1% of the population.
Bangladesh have a population of 166,303,498 as per 2021 census.
The earliest literary text in Bengali is the 8th century Charyapada. Medieval Bengali literature was often either religious or from other languages. The 19th century had poets such as Rabindranath Tagore, Michael Madhusudan Dutt and Kazi Nazrul Islam.