Southern Asia · BGD

Bangladesh

The story · 10 chapters

How it was drawn

The eastern half of the Bengal delta, a Mughal and then British province, split from India in 1947 as East Pakistan and independent as Bangladesh in 1971.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Bangladesh fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Harsha's Empire606 to 625
Shashanka of Gauda kills Harsha's brother, the king of Thanesar, and Harsha vows revenge. The two kings fight for control of northern India, but Shashanka keeps his Bengal kingdom until his death.
Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty780 to 950
The Pala kings of Bengal, the Gurjara-Pratiharas of the northwest and the Rashtrakutas of the Deccan fight a long three way struggle for the city of Kannauj, the prize of northern India. The Palas lose it, but keep Bengal.
Delhi Sultanate1280 to 1359
Bengal's governors keep rebelling against Delhi. Sultan Balban crushes the revolt of Tughral Khan around 1281, but in 1353 and 1359 Firuz Shah Tughlaq fails to take the fortress of Ekdala, and the Bengal Sultanate stays independent.
Kingdom of Mrauk U1500 to 1666
The Arakanese kingdom of Mrauk U holds the port of Chittagong for long periods and, with Portuguese adventurers, raids the delta for slaves. The Mughal governor Shaista Khan takes Chittagong in 1666, bringing it into Bengal for good.
Mughal Empire1576 to 1611
Akbar's army defeats and kills Daud Khan Karrani, the last Afghan sultan of Bengal, at Rajmahal in 1576. Local chiefs of the eastern delta, the Baro Bhuiyans led by Isa Khan, resist until his son Musa Khan submits around 1611.
British East India Company1756 to 1765
Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah seizes Calcutta in 1756. Robert Clive defeats him at Plassey in 1757 with the help of the nawab's commander Mir Jafar. After the Battle of Buxar in 1764, the Company takes over the revenues of Bengal in 1765.
British Raj1905 to 1947
The 1905 partition of Bengal triggers the Swadeshi boycott of British goods, and it is reversed in 1911. In 1930 revolutionaries led by Surya Sen raid the armoury at Chittagong. British rule ends with the partition of 1947.
Pakistan1948 to 1971
The western wing dominates the state, its army and its budget. The language movement of 1952 and the autonomy campaign of the 1960s end in the war of 1971, when Bangladesh wins its independence with Indian help.
IndiaSince 1975Still open
India's Farakka Barrage, opened in 1975, starts a long dispute over the Ganges, eased by a water treaty in 1996. The sharing of the Teesta river is still unsettled, and killings of Bangladeshis by Indian border guards remain a grievance.
MyanmarSince 1978Still open
Rohingya Muslims flee Myanmar's army into Bangladesh in 1978, 1991 and above all 2017, when over 700,000 arrive. A 2012 ruling settled the sea border, but the refugees' return remains blocked.

Today

Bangladesh now

D. Muslim conversions and settlement in the region began in the 10th century, primarily from Arab and Persian traders and preachers. Europeans established trading posts in the area in the 16th century. Eventually the area known as Bengal, which is primarily Hindu in the western section and mostly Muslim in the eastern half, became part of British India. After the partition of India in 1947, the Muslim-majority area became East Pakistan.

Capital: Dhaka
Government: parliamentary republic
Head of government: Tarique Rahman
Head of state: Mohammad Shahabuddin
Languages: Bangla
Area: 147,570 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population171 million2023 · 41.2 million in 1950
Life expectancy74.7 years2023 · 37.4 years in 1950
GDP per person$4,9252022 · $861 in 1950
Living in cities33%2025 · 4% in 1950
Literacy79%2022
Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending0.8% of GDP2025
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

India
United States
Japan
China
Saudi Arabia

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Bangladesh fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Harsha's Empire606 to 625

Shashanka of Gauda kills Harsha's brother, the king of Thanesar, and Harsha vows revenge. The two kings fight for control of northern India, but Shashanka keeps his Bengal kingdom until his death.

Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty780 to 950

The Pala kings of Bengal, the Gurjara-Pratiharas of the northwest and the Rashtrakutas of the Deccan fight a long three way struggle for the city of Kannauj, the prize of northern India. The Palas lose it, but keep Bengal.

Delhi Sultanate1280 to 1359

Bengal's governors keep rebelling against Delhi. Sultan Balban crushes the revolt of Tughral Khan around 1281, but in 1353 and 1359 Firuz Shah Tughlaq fails to take the fortress of Ekdala, and the Bengal Sultanate stays independent.

Kingdom of Mrauk U1500 to 1666

The Arakanese kingdom of Mrauk U holds the port of Chittagong for long periods and, with Portuguese adventurers, raids the delta for slaves. The Mughal governor Shaista Khan takes Chittagong in 1666, bringing it into Bengal for good.

Mughal Empire1576 to 1611

Akbar's army defeats and kills Daud Khan Karrani, the last Afghan sultan of Bengal, at Rajmahal in 1576. Local chiefs of the eastern delta, the Baro Bhuiyans led by Isa Khan, resist until his son Musa Khan submits around 1611.

British East India Company1756 to 1765

Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah seizes Calcutta in 1756. Robert Clive defeats him at Plassey in 1757 with the help of the nawab's commander Mir Jafar. After the Battle of Buxar in 1764, the Company takes over the revenues of Bengal in 1765.

British Raj1905 to 1947

The 1905 partition of Bengal triggers the Swadeshi boycott of British goods, and it is reversed in 1911. In 1930 revolutionaries led by Surya Sen raid the armoury at Chittagong. British rule ends with the partition of 1947.

Pakistan1948 to 1971

The western wing dominates the state, its army and its budget. The language movement of 1952 and the autonomy campaign of the 1960s end in the war of 1971, when Bangladesh wins its independence with Indian help.

IndiaSince 1975Still open

India's Farakka Barrage, opened in 1975, starts a long dispute over the Ganges, eased by a water treaty in 1996. The sharing of the Teesta river is still unsettled, and killings of Bangladeshis by Indian border guards remain a grievance.

MyanmarSince 1978Still open

Rohingya Muslims flee Myanmar's army into Bangladesh in 1978, 1991 and above all 2017, when over 700,000 arrive. A 2012 ruling settled the sea border, but the refugees' return remains blocked.

Bangladesh now

Capital

Dhaka

Government

parliamentary republic

Head of government

Tarique Rahman

Head of state

Mohammad Shahabuddin

Languages

Bangla

Area

147,570 km²

Then and now

Population171 million2023 · 41.2 million in 1950

Life expectancy74.7 years2023 · 37.4 years in 1950

GDP per person$4,9252022 · $861 in 1950

Living in cities33%2025 · 4% in 1950

Literacy79%2022

Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending0.8% of GDP2025

War deathsNone2025