Facts and figures

The ‘Know Your Region’ series is designed to support unit and individual professional military education on the Indo-Pacific region. It’s important for all serving members of our military to have a foundational knowledge of the countries and issues in the Indo-Pacific.

On this page:

  • A Short History
  • Government
  • Lay
  • Diplomacy
  • International Forums 

A Short History

The region that is now Bangladesh has been inhabited since ancient times and has long been a crossroads of South and Southeast Asian cultures. Buddhism, Hinduism, and indigenous traditions intermingled, creating a distinctive culture. By the 8th century CE, under the Pala empire, Bengal rose to be one of the major centres of Buddhist imperial power in South Asia. The Sena dynasty succeeded the Palas in the 11th century and introduced major cultural and religious shifts. The Senas were Vaishnavite Hindus and emphasised Hindu social order, including the caste system.

During the 12th century, Islam made its way to the region. Bengal gradually came under the control of various Delhi Sultanate governors and later independent sultanates. By the mid-16th century, the Mughals turned toward Bengal and incorporated the vast territory into the Mughal Empire. Bengal became the wealthiest province, celebrated for its muslin textiles, silk, indigo, and saltpetre (critical for gunpowder).

In the early 16th century, the British-based East India Company (EIC) sought access to lucrative markets in the Indian region, with an eye on Bengal’s lucrative textiles and raw materials. The company grew rapidly, as did their privately funded military. The EIC gained political power though a series of treaties and battles; however, the turning point was the Battle of Plassey in 1757, which ended in a resounding victory for the company. It allowed them to control Bengal’s revenue, leading to severe economic exploitation of the indigenous population. In 1770 a famine spread across Bengal, killing approximately 10 million people. While the famine was triggered by crop failures and an accompanying smallpox epidemic; exploitation, mismanagement, and corruption were contributing factors. Eventually in 1858, the EIC was dissolved by the British parliament, marking the start of official British Raj rule.

In 1947, British India was partitioned into two dominions: India and Pakistan. Pakistan itself was geographically divided into two wings – West Pakistan (comprising Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, and the North-West Frontier Province) and East Bengal, renamed East Pakistan, separated by roughly 1,500 kilometres of Indian territory. While the initial arrangement offered hope for the future, growing grievances over language, economic disparity, and political power developed over the next two decades. The language movement of 1952–53, in which Bengalis protested West Pakistan’s attempt to impose Urdu as the sole national language, became a key issue.

In the 1960s, the political struggle in East Pakistan intensified. The 1966 Six-Point Movement led by the Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman demanded autonomy for East Pakistan. Four years later the situation became a crisis. The general election in Pakistan delivered a landslide victory to the Awami League in the eastern wing, but the West Pakistani leadership refused to allow the winning party to form government. Negotiations failed and in March 1971, the Pakistani army launched ‘Operation Searchlight’ in East Pakistan – a military crackdown against Bengali nationalist forces and civilians that led to widespread atrocities and up to 300,000 deaths. Large numbers of East Pakistan refugees crossed over the border into India who eventually intervened on behalf of East Pakistan on the 3rd December 1971. Two weeks later, on the16th December, the Pakistani forces surrendered in East Pakistan and the country of Bangladesh was born.

Post Independence

In the immediate aftermath of independence, Bangladesh faced war-devastation, a refugee crisis, economic dislocation, infrastructural damage, and an institutional vacuum. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, often referred to as ‘Bangabandhu – Friend of Bengal’, emerged as the country’s founding national leader. He assumed the post of Prime Minister (or President in later constitutional form) and set about stabilising the country.

The 1972 Constitution enshrined parliamentary democracy, nationalism, socialism, secularism, and democracy as the guiding principles. However, the early years proved extremely difficult. A famine in 1974 caused mass death and continued economic hardship. Internal discontent eroded popular confidence in the government and distrust grew.

In August 1975, Mujib was assassinated along with most of his family in a military coup, marking a tragic rupture in Bangladesh’s early democratic promise. Following the coup, Bangladesh went through a period of military dominance and political instability. General Ziaur Rahman (who had proclaimed independence in 1971) officially took power, later became President, and founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in 1978. Under his rule, the country shifted away from some of the earlier secular/socialist constitutional commitments toward more conservative and nationalist ones. The state religion of Islam was reinserted in 1988. The 1970s and 1980s also saw repeated coups, counter-coups, and military rule by General Hussain Muhammad Ershad (1982–1990).

By the late 1980s, pro-democracy movements were on the rise. The result was a mass uprising in 1990 which forced the resignation of Ershad and a return to parliamentary democracy. From the early 1990s, two dominant parties emerged: the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The alternation of power between the two parties, with each accusing the other of unfair practices, led to electoral boycotts, street politics, hartals (general strikes), and institutional deadlocks. Although formal democracy held, opposition rights were restricted, media faced pressure, and state institutions were politicised.

From 2009 onward, under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League, Bangladesh achieved relative political stability and growth in major infrastructure investments, economic activity, and poverty reduction. However, critics pointed to increasing centralisation of power, weakening of checks and balances, concerns over rule-of-law, human rights, election-fairness, and press freedom.

In July–August 2024, mass student‐led protests erupted over the public service job quota system and broader discontent with unemployment, governance, and youth exclusion. The protests escalated quickly and 1400 people were killed in a brutal government crackdown.

On 5 August 2024, Prime Minister Hasina was forced to resign and fled the country to India. Ther next day, President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved parliament and appointed a transitional interim government led by Nobel-laureate Muhammad Yunus as Chief Adviser. The task was to oversee governance and prepare new elections. Yunus has vowed to set in motion the following reforms:

  • Strengthen independent institutions (judiciary, election commission, audit, media) to deepen democratic legitimacy.
  • Ensure transparency and accountability in governance, reducing executive overreach and partisan control of the state.
  • Diversify foreign partnerships while maintaining core geographic and historical linkages (especially with India) to avoid over‐dependence on any single power.
  • Invest more in diplomacy around non-traditional security issues (climate resilience, water diplomacy, refugee protection) where Bangladesh has comparative moral and strategic leverage.
  • Promote civil-society engagement, include youth participation, and non-violent politics to reduce recurring cycles of protests and instability.

Sheik Hasina was convicted in absentia by the Bangladesh war crimes court and sentenced to death for her role in the government crackdown.

Government

The Constitution of Bangladesh (1972) laid the foundation for a parliamentary democracy, although it has undergone many amendments. The government is structured as a unitary state, with powers concentrated at the national level; however, there is some decentralisation to divisions, districts (zilas), upazilas, and municipalities.

The national legislature is the unicameral ‘Jatiya Sangsad’ (National Parliament), composed of elected members for five-year terms, plus reserved seats for women (currently 50) allocated by proportional vote among parties. The Jatiya Sangsad elects the President, and the President appoints the Prime Minister (in practice the leader of the largest party or coalition in the Parliament).

The President is the ceremonial head of state, with certain powers (e.g., dissolution of parliament and some appointments) but real executive power lies with the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The Prime Minister is head of government and exercises executive authority along with the Council of Ministers. The Cabinet is accountable to Parliament.

Elections have been held periodically since 1991 but have often been controversial. Critics say the quality of democracy has been declining, owing to the strengthening of executive dominance and weakening of opposition and independent institutions. Part of the role of the interim government was to test institutional checks and balances, create inclusive politics, and restore democratic norms.

Bangladesh held fresh national elections on 12 February 2026, the result of which was the election of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to government under the leadership of Mr Tarique Rahman, son of former Bangladesh Nationalist Party Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and former President General Ziaur Rahman.

Law

The judiciary is independent in principle, with the Supreme Court divided into High Court and Appellate Divisions. The constitution and judicial system draw heavily on earlier British and Pakistani legal frameworks.

International Diplomacy

Bangladesh’s foreign policy is enshrined in article 25 of the constitution. “Friendship to all, malice towards none.” The policy emphasises respect for sovereignty, non-interference, peaceful settlement of disputes, and active engagement in multilateral forums. Bangladesh sits at a critical geo-strategic location on the northern coast of the Bay of Bengal, between South Asia and Southeast Asia, sharing borders with India and Myanmar. This means it receives strategic pressure from major powers (India, China, and the US) and must negotiate its alignments carefully. While relations have mostly been positive, concerns from Western democracies about press freedom, election fairness, human rights, and civil liberties have influenced aid, diplomatic goodwill, and trade linkages. Bangladesh has used developmental successes and peacekeeping contributions to enhance its global standing.

India

The relationship between Bangladesh and India is complex. India played a major role in Bangladesh’s 1971 independence war and in 1972 the “Indo-Bangla Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace” was signed between the two countries. Over the decades, Delhi and Dhaka have cooperated on connectivity, trade, energy, and water sharing. However, they have also had disputes over border killings, migration, river basin management, and India’s perceived influence in Bangladesh’s internal politics.

During the Hasina era, India-Bangladesh ties were relatively strong, but critics argue India exerted heavy influence in Bangladesh’s domestic politics. Since the 2024 transition, relations with India have grown tense with a perception in India that Bangladesh is at risk of turning into an Islamist state and will be an unfriendly neighbour. Tensions have also arisen over an extradition request to return Hasina to Bangladesh which India has so far refused.

China

China is one of Bangladesh’s most important development partners, with large investments in infrastructure finance, industry, defence equipment, and port development. Under the transitional government (2024-25) Bangladesh has sought to deepen its ties with China, seeing Beijing as a counterbalance to Indian influence and as a source of investment. The shift has drawn attention from India and the US.

The United States (US)

The US sees Bangladesh as a key player in the Indo-Pacific, especially given its location and large population. Trade (garments exports), security cooperation (counter-terrorism and maritime security), and development aid are key components. While relations are generally positive, the US has at times been critical of Bangladesh on democracy and human-rights grounds.

Pakistan

Relations with Pakistan carry historical baggage due to the 1971 war. In recent years however, trade, diplomatic engagement, and defence cooperation have seen a modest revival, especially in the post-2024 transition context where Bangladesh’s foreign policy is diversifying.

Australia

Though less prominently featured in Bangladesh’s strategic discourse, Australia is an important partner in trade, education, maritime security, and regional diplomacy. The Australian Government notes a growing economic relationship with Bangladesh and cooperation in regional forums such as IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association).

International Forums

Bangladesh uses multilateral diplomacy as a major pillar of its foreign policy, focusing on issues where it has credibility – climate change (given its vulnerability), development, peacekeeping, and humanitarian access.

In addition to being a member of the United Nations (UN), Bangladesh is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi‑Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Asian Development Bank.

Bangladesh has articulated its Indo-Pacific Outlook, signalling its desire to be an actor in the wider Indo-Pacific region rather than confined to South Asia. This marks a strategic aspiration to engage with Japan, Australia, and ASEAN countries, not just its immediate neighbours.

For more information on Bangladesh diplomacy, see the resources below:

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