
Population:
162 million
Evangelical population:
Unknown
People groups:
333
Unreached people groups:
301

Bangladesh
With more than 160 million inhabitants living in an area slightly smaller than Iowa, Bangladesh is one of the world’s most populous and densely populated countries. The South Asian country is bordered by India, Myanmar, and the Bay of Bengal.
Most of the country is comprised of plains situated on river deltas. The climate is hot and humid for most of the year with summer monsoons that cause devasting floods. Frequent droughts and cyclones also result in tremendous loss of life and property.
Bangladesh used to be part of Pakistan until a bitter civil war led to independence in 1971. The country declared Islam its official religion in 1988. Since then, the Bangladeshi government has taken the initiative to propagate Islam, providing financial assistance to mosques and organizing the training of imams. Today, 89% of the population is Muslim.
Bangladesh is one of the world’s poorest countries, with nearly half of the population subsisting on less than one dollar per day. However, with the help of international development assistance, Bangladesh is making significant progress in economic growth, food production, and universal education. Almost half of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector. Garments are the backbone of Bangladesh’s industrial sector.
The Christian population comprises an extremely small percentage of the population, less than a fraction of 1%, and faces persecution from Muslim communities and radical Muslim groups. Multiple Islamic terrorist groups, including the Islamic State (ISIS), have networks in Bangladesh. Many Christians meet in underground house churches. Believers who belong to ethnic minorities face the highest levels persecution, like those from the Rohingya refugee population, nearly 1 million of whom live in Bangladesh.
In the early 1800s, the English missionary William Carey ministered to the Bengali people and translated the New Testament into their language. Today, indigenous missionaries effectively continue the work of evangelism and discipleship. Christian Aid Mission assists multiple ministries that are working among the Bengali majority as well as many ethnic minority groups. Missionary support is their greatest need, along with funding for discipleship and training programs, which are desperately needed to ensure new believers are grounded in God’s Word.
These ministries are also engaged in compassionate outreach, including providing education to poor Muslim and Christian children, running feeding centers that provide nourishment to hundreds of children, and sheltering orphaned or abandoned children.
Sources: Joshua Project, CIA World Factbook

How to Pray for Bangladesh
- Pray that God would pour out His spirit on the people of Bangladesh to open blind eyes to the truth.
- Pray that people battered by poverty and discrimination would be healed, strengthened and redeemed by Christ’s love.
- Pray for protection and provision for brave believers and indigenous missionaries risking everything to share the hope of the gospel in this difficult mission field.
More stories from Bangladesh
Jesus Shows His Power in Bangladesh
Earlier this year, a new Christian in Bangladesh overheard a Muslim tell a tea vendor that his health was getting worse each day. Hassan, a young father and construction worker who grew up Muslim, had put his faith in Christ only two months prior. He was taking a break at a tea stall near a home that he was building when he heard the vendor ask his Muslim acquaintance how he was doing. “That sick man replied with much depression that it was getting worse day by day,” Hassan said. “I asked him, ‘What happened with you?’”

Buddhist Boy Finds New Meaning in Death and Rebirth
When Tumo went to the temple as a little boy in Bangladesh and saw his parents worshipping the Buddha idol, he could not help thinking that it did not move and did not have life. “I used to tell my parents,” he said, “‘This idol does not have life, cannot speak and cannot hear – then why should we worship the idol of Buddha?’”

August 12th
Bangladesh

July 7th
Bangladesh

June 23rd
Bangladesh
