page_title: Eastern South Asia
section_title: Bangladesh
hierarchical_section_title: Eastern South Asia / Geography and climate / Bangladesh
caption_attribution_description: Satellite image of Bangladesh in October 2001 True-color MODIS image from October 23, 2001. Lush with vegetation to the south, numerous rivers, brown with churned up sediment, flow into the valley of the Brahmaputra River in Assam, India. The Brahmaputra turns southward at the border of Bangladesh and is soon joined by the Ganges River, flowing in from image left. The mighty river splits into numerous channels as it runs out toward the Bay of Bengal, giving the region the name "Mouths of the Ganges." Vast amounts of sediment are being emptied into the Bay by the river, and greenish blue swirls could be a mixture of sediment and phytoplankton.
context_page_description: Eastern South Asia is a subregion of South Asia. It includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal. Geographically, it lies between the Eastern Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal. Two of the world's largest rivers, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, flow into the sea through Eastern South Asia. The region includes the world's highest mountainous terrain and the world's largest delta, and has a climate ranging from alpine and subalpine to subtropical and tropical. Since Nepal, Bhutan, and northeast India are landlocked, the coastlines of Bangladesh and East India serve as the principal gateways to the region.
  With more than 441 million inhabitants, Eastern South Asia is home to 6% of the world's population and 25% of South Asia's population. The Bangladesh Bhutan India Nepal Initiative promotes economic integration in the region. The four countries are members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.
context_section_description: The geography of Bangladesh is varied and has an area characterised by three distinct features: a broad deltaic plain subject to frequent flooding, elevated forested plateaus, and a small hilly region crossed by swiftly flowing rivers. The country has an area of 147,610 square kilometres (56,990 sq mi) and extends 820 kilometres (510 mi) north to south and 600 kilometres (370 mi) east to west. Bangladesh is bordered on the west, north, and east by a 4,095-kilometre (2,545 mi) land frontier with India and, in the southeast, by a short land and water frontier (193 kilometres (120 mi) with Burma (Myanmar). On the south is a highly irregular deltaic coastline of about 580 kilometres (360 mi), containing many parallel rivers and streams flowing into the Bay of Bengal. The territorial waters of Bangladesh extend 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi), and the exclusive economic zone of the country is 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi). Bangladesh has a tropical monsoon climate.
  The Sundarbans in Bangladesh, which is shared with India, is a UNESCO world heritage site. Cox's Bazar Beach is one of the world's longest beaches.
caption: The river delta flowing into the Bay of Bengal in 2001
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