republic · South Asia

Bangladesh

1971 CE – present · capital Dhaka

The densely populated Bengali nation of the Ganges delta, born in 1971 from a war of liberation against Pakistan.

Origins

East Bengal became part of the Dominion of Pakistan in 1947 and was renamed East Pakistan in 1955. Grievances over language, economics and political power grew, and when the Awami League under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman won the 1970 election but was denied office, the Pakistani army cracked down in March 1971. Independence was declared and, after a war with Indian support, secured in December 1971.

Rule and society

Sheikh Mujib led the new state until his assassination in 1975; military rulers Ziaur Rahman and Hussain Muhammad Ershad followed. Parliamentary democracy returned in 1991, dominated by Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina. Bangladesh has grown through garment exports, remittances and microfinance, pioneered by the Grameen Bank, while facing cyclones and floods.

To the present

The republic continues; mass protests in 2024 forced Sheikh Hasina from office, and an interim government under Muhammad Yunus took charge and organised elections in February 2026. Bangladesh remains one of the most densely populated countries and a leading garment exporter.

Lineage

Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1956 CE – presentBangladesh

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Bangladesh. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bangladesh
MLA
“Bangladesh.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bangladesh. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Bangladesh.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bangladesh.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Bangladesh’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bangladesh (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻