📜 A long story
Bangladesh, 1800 → today
Bangladesh grew from 19.2 million in 1800 to 172 million; a newborn can expect 49.2 more years of life than in 1876, and output per person is 5.7× its 1950 level, adjusted for inflation.
Told with long-run reconstructions, not the yearly series used elsewhere on the site: each chapter names its source. Scroll to move through the years.
☺ Chapter 1 · Population
How many people live there?
1800
In 1800, about 19.2 million people lived in Bangladesh.
1900
26.9 million people.
1.4× the 1800 level
1950
41.2 million people.
1.5× the 1900 level
Reached twice the 1800 level in 1947.
2023
172 million people, the latest year in this series.
4.2× the 1950 level
Reached 5 times the 1800 level in 1984.
Long-run series: before 1950, reconstructions by HYDE and Gapminder, filled in between benchmark years by those sources. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
✚ Chapter 2 · Life expectancy
How long do people live?
1876
In 1876, a newborn in Bangladesh could expect to live 25.5 years, on average.
1896
22 years.
−3.5 years since 1876
1950
37.4 years.
+15 years since 1896
2023
74.7 years, the latest year in this series.
+37 years since 1950
Passed 40 years in 1954.
Passed 50 years in 1975.
Passed 60 years in 1998.
Passed 70 years in 2014.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 22 years between 1969 and 1971 (48.7 years → 26.5 years).
Long-run series: before 1950, historical estimates (Riley, Clio Infra, Human Mortality Database), only for years they cover. Dashed stretches are years without data.
◎ Chapter 3 · GDP per person (PPP)
How much is produced per person?
1950
In 1950, Bangladesh produced about Int$861 per person, in 2011 prices.
2022
Int$4,930, the latest year in this series.
5.7× the 1950 level
Reached twice the 1950 level in 2004.
Reached 5 times the 1950 level in 2020.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 21% between 1970 and 1973 (Int$1,000 → Int$792).
Long-run series (Maddison Project) in 2011 international dollars: adjusted for inflation, so not the same unit as today’s PPP figure. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
❦ Chapter 4 · CO₂ per person
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
1946
In 1946, fossil fuels and industry in Bangladesh emitted about 0.0031 t of CO₂ per person.
2024
0.6 t, the latest year in this series.
203× the 1946 level
Reached twice the 1946 level, reached 5 times the 1946 level in 1950.
Reached 10 times the 1946 level in 1956.
Reached 20 times the 1946 level in 1973.
Reached 50 times the 1946 level in 1995.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 17% between 1968 and 1972 (0.1 t → 0.049 t).
Long-run series: fossil CO₂ emitted within each country’s borders (Global Carbon Budget); early estimates are less certain. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
☕ Chapter 5 · Years of schooling
How long do people go to school?
1870
In 1870, people aged 15–64 in Bangladesh had spent 0.01 years in school, on average.
1900
0.1 years.
about the same as 1870
1950
0.9 years.
+0.87 years since 1900
2015
6.8 years, the latest year in this series.
+5.8 years since 1950
Passed 2 years in 1980.
Passed 4 years in 2000.
Passed 6 years in 2010.
Long-run series (Lee & Lee, Barro & Lee) for people aged 15–64, every 5 years until 2015: a different age group than today’s figure (25 and older).