Bangladesh

About Bangladesh

Bangladesh, meaning “Bengal Country,” became independent from Pakistan in 1971 after years of tension and conflict between East and West Pakistan. The new country became a parliamentary democracy under a 1972 constitution. It is a predominantly Muslim country with a very small minority of Christians.

Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated countries, with its people crammed into a delta of rivers that empties into the Bay of Bengal. Poverty is deep and widespread; almost half of the population lives on less than one dollar a day. In spite of it, Bangladesh has made major strides to meet the food needs of its increasing population, through increased domestic production augmented by imports. Nonetheless, an estimated 10% to 15% of the population faces serious nutritional risk. Bangladesh's predominantly agricultural economy depends heavily on an erratic monsoonal cycle, with periodic flooding and drought. Although improving, infrastructure to support transportation, communications, and power supply is poorly developed. Bangladesh is limited in its reserves of coal and oil, and its industrial base is weak. However, the country's main endowments include its vast human resource base, rich agricultural land, relatively abundant water, and substantial reserves of natural gas.

The Bangladesh Lutheran Church was launched in 1979 when Bengali-speaking members of the Bangladesh Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church met in Saraswatipur. Since their culture and language were quite different from the Santals, the Bengali desired a church of their own. When officially organized in 1981, the BLC had 70 members, of whom 28 had Hindu backgrounds.