Bangladesh’s Urban Space Today: Implications for the Growth Agenda
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Exceptionally High Population Density Bangladesh’s population density is exceptionally high. According to 2011 census data, the total population density is about 1,015 people per square kilometer; urban population density is about 1,900 people per square kilometer (map 2.1).3 Bangladesh has the highest population density in the world—three times higher than India—excluding city-states and small islands (figure 2.5). Bangladesh has one of the top 20 urban populations in the world, with an estimated 42 million urban residents (UN 2011). Dhaka City is one of the most densely populated urban areas in the world, with 25,000 people per square kilometer. At 15,700 people per square kilometer, the density of the Dhaka metropolitan area is higher than the density of the largest megacities in the world, such as Manila (10,550 people per square kilometer) and Jakarta (10,500 people per square kilometer).4
Map 2.1 Population Density of Bangladesh, 2011
Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2011a.
Bangladesh • http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-9859-3
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Population Density, 2011