BANGLADESH Dhaka, census data confirms decline in religious minorities

They published the official results of the study. Bangladesh has 160.51 million inhabitants. Muslims rise to 91.04%, Hindus are reduced above all. Christians are 0.30%. Activist for minorities: “It is the result of emigration and the attacks suffered in recent years.”

Dhaka () – On July 27, the Bangladeshi government officially published data from the 6th population and housing census 2022. According to official estimates, the country has 160.51 million inhabitants, excluding expatriates. Women (83.34 million) outnumber men (81.71 million), so for every 100 women there are 99 men. The presence of 12,629 people who declare themselves transgender is also recorded.

But the Census certifies above all the phenomenon of a new decrease in the presence of religious minorities in the country. Since the previous survey, which dates back to 2011, the percentage of Muslims has increased from 90.39% to 91.04%. On the other hand, Hindus (down from 8.4% to 7.95%) and, to a lesser extent, Buddhists (down to 0.61%), Christians (0.30%) decreased significantly. and other confessions (0.12%).

Nirmol Rozario – president of the Bangladesh Hindu, Buddhist, Christian Unity Council that fights for the rights of religious minorities – comments these data to : “Many people are emigrating in search of a better life. When they see Muslims going abroad for higher education and emigrating in search of a better lifestyle, many Hindus, Christians and Buddhists follow them and often do not return to their homeland. Others, on the other hand, leave the country due to lack of security, since they suffer persecution as a religious minority group”. According to Ain o Salish Kendra, a leading legal aid and human rights organization, there were 3,679 attacks against minorities in Bangladesh between January 2013 and September 2021.

As for Christians, the overall percentage has decreased very slightly (from 0.31% to 0.30%), but as the overall population grows, they are increasing in absolute numbers. For example, the Catholic Directory -published by the Catholic Episcopal Conference (CBCB)- in 2019 registered the presence in the country of 395,522 Catholics compared to 343,104 in 2011.