ABSTRACT

The population of Bangladesh increased enormously over the last two and half decades. In the decade 1951-161 population increased by 12 million, and in the thirteen years thereafter it increased by 22 million. Pressure on net cultivated area varies from about 1000 persons per sq. mile in Kushtia and Dinajpur to nearly 3000 persons per sq. mile in Comilla and Noakhali, to as high as 4500 persons per sq. mile in Chittagong district. A belt of high population density is noticeable from Nilphamari in the north to Kutubdia Island. It coincides with the belt of fertile land along the Jamuna-Podda-Meghna axis. The high density core areas are in Sirajganj, Munshiganj, Chandpur and Noakhali Sadar Sub-divisions. Another notable feature is the imbalance in the male-female ratio. For every 1000 males there are 930 females. In the youngest group there are more girls than boys, but the ratio progressively moves the other way with increasing age.