Bangladesh{audio notes}

Bangladesh /bɑːŋlɑːdɛʃ/; ⁱ/ˌbæŋɡləˈdæʃ/ (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ, pronounced: [ˈbaŋlad̪eʃ] ( listen), lit. "The nation of Bengal"), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh (Bengali: গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ Gônôprôjatôntri Bangladesh), is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India to its west, north and east; Burma to its southeast and separated from Nepal and Bhutan by the Chicken’s Neck corridor. To its south, it faces the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh is the world's eighth-most populous country, with over 160 million people, and among the most densely populated countries. It forms part of the ancient and historic ethno-linguistic region of Bengal, along with the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura.
The present-day borders of Bangladesh took shape during the Partition of Bengal and British India in 1947, when the region became part of the newly formed state of Pakistan. Declared as East Pakistan, it separated from West Pakistan by 1500 miles of Indian territory. Due to political exclusion, ethnic and linguistic discrimination and economic neglect by the politically-dominant western wing; popular agitation, nationalism and civil disobedience led to the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. After independence, the new state proclaimed a secular democracy. However, it endured years of poverty, famine, political turmoil and numerous military coups. The restoration of democracy in 1991 has been followed by relative calm and economic progress.
Bangladesh is a unitary parliamentary republic, with an elected parliament called the Jatiyo Sangshad. Bengalis form the country's largest ethnic group, along with indigenous peoples in northern and southeastern districts. Geographically, the country is dominated by the fertile Bengal delta, the largest delta in the world, and is described as the land of rivers. The four largest religions in the country are Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity.
Bangladesh is identified as a Next Eleven economy. It has achieved significant strides in human and social development since independence, including in progress in gender equity, universal primary education, food production, health and population control.^[7]^[8]^[9] It is home to a vibrant and diverse civil society, including BRAC, the world's largest NGO, and the Grameen Bank, the Nobel Prize-winning pioneer of microfinance. However, Bangladesh continues to face numerous political, economic, social and environmental challenges, including political instability, corruption, poverty, overpopulation and climate change.
Bangladesh is a leading pioneer and founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). It contributes one of the largest peacekeeping forces to United Nations. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the OIC, NAM, the Developing 8 Countries and BIMSTEC