Bangladesh
By: Alexis & Ryley
Population
The population of Bangladesh is estimated at 158,512,570.
Overpopulation
Bangladesh's population has grown rapidly over the years. This has caused many problems for its country today. For example there are continuous low illiteracy rates, early marriages, and excess of birth rate over death rates. They also have to worry about:
- Shortage of food
- Inadequate fresh water
- Illegal immigration
- Crowding, traffic
- Unemployment
- High crime rates
Major Cities
- Chittagong—Chittagong is the second largest city in Bangladesh and houses the busiest seaport.
- Khulna—Khulna is the largest mangrove forest in the world and is the third largest city in Bangladesh. Khulna is home to one of the principal naval command centers for the Bangladesh Navy.
- Sylhet—Sylhet is one of the leading tourist destinations within the country. Also, it is one of the leading source areas for the natural gas that is used for the national public transport and other uses.
Climate Change
Bangladesh has recently become very vulnerable to climate change. It is an extremely low-lying country and most of the land lies only a few meters above sea level. Because of sea levels, entire islands are beginning to slip into the sea. Saltwater is also poisoning groundwater supplies for entire towns and villages.
At the current rate of sea level rise, it could take just 25 years for the waterlog to poison fresh drinking water for as many as 10-million people.