Bangladesh pronounced or ; Bengali:
[ˈbaŋladeʃ] (
listen); literally meaning
The country of Bengal; and officially called the
People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the world's 8th-most populous country with nearly 163 million people, and is the 92nd-largest country in land area, spanning 147,570 square kilometres (56,980 sq mi), making it one of the most densely-populated countries in the world. Bangladesh shares land borders with India to the west, north, and east, Myanmar to the southeast, and the Bay of Bengal to the south. It is narrowly separated from Nepal and Bhutan by India's Siliguri Corridor in the north and from China by the Indian state of Sikkim in the northeast. Dhaka, the capital and largest city, is the nation's economic, political and cultural hub. Chittagong, the largest sea port, is the second largest city. The dominant geographic feature is the Ganges delta, which empties into the Bay of Bengal the combined waters of several river systems, including the Brahmaputra and the Ganges, with numerous criss-crossing rivers and inland waterways. Highlands with evergreen forests cover the northeastern and southeastern regions. The seacoast features the longest natural sea beach and most of the world's largest mangrove forest. The country's biodiversity includes a vast array of plants and wildlife, including the endangered Bengal tiger, the national animal.
