Product Code Database
Dhaka ( or ; , ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city and largest city of Bangladesh. With an estimated population of 36.6 million, Dhaka is the second largest city by population in the world, and is widely considered to be the most densely populated built-up urban area in the world. Dhaka is an important cultural, economic, and scientific hub of Eastern South Asia. Dhaka ranks fourth in South Asia and 55th in the world in terms of GDP. Lying on the Ganges Delta, it is bounded by the Buriganga River, Turag River, Dhaleshwari and Shitalakshya rivers. It is also the largest Bengali language city in the world.
The area of Dhaka has been inhabited since the first millennium. An early modern city developed from the 17th century as a provincial capital and commercial centre of the Mughal Empire. Dhaka was the capital of a proto-industrialized Mughal Bengal for 75 years (1608–39 and 1660–1704). It was the hub of the muslin trade in Bengal and one of the most prosperous cities in the world. The Mughal city was named Jahangirnagar ( The City of Jahangir) in honour of the erstwhile ruling emperor Jahangir. The city's wealthy Mughal elite included princes and the sons of Mughal emperors. The pre-colonial city's glory peaked in the 17th and 18th centuries, when it was home to merchants from across Eurasia. The Port of Dhaka was a major trading hub for both riverine and maritime commerce. The Mughals decorated the city with well-laid gardens, tombs, mosques, palaces, and forts. The city was once called the Venice of the East.
Under British Raj, the city saw the introduction of electricity, , Movie theater, Western-style universities and colleges, and a modern water supply. It became an important administrative and educational centre in the British Raj, as the capital of Eastern Bengal and Assam province after 1905. In 1947, after the end of British rule, the city became the administrative capital of East Pakistan. It was declared the legislative capital of Pakistan in 1962. In 1971, following the Liberation War, it became the capital of an independent Bangladesh. In 2008, Dhaka celebrated 400 years as a municipal city.
A Global city, Dhaka is the centre of political, economic and cultural life in Bangladesh. It is the seat of the Government of Bangladesh, many Bangladeshi companies, and leading Bangladeshi educational, scientific, research, and cultural organizations. Since its establishment as a modern capital city, the population, area, and social and economic diversity of Dhaka have grown tremendously. The city is now one of the most densely industrialized regions in the country. The city accounts for 35% of Bangladesh's economy. The Dhaka Stock Exchange has over 750 listed companies. Dhaka hosts over 50 diplomatic missions, as well as the headquarters of BIMSTEC, CIRDAP, and the International Jute Study Group. Dhaka has a renowned culinary heritage. The city's culture is known for its , Kacchi Biryani, art festivals, street food, and religious diversity. While it has a heritage of 2000 buildings from the Mughal and British periods, Dhaka's most prominent architectural landmark is the modernist Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. The city is associated with two Nobel laureates. Dhaka's annual Bengali New Year parade, its Jamdani sari, and its rickshaw art have been recognized by UNESCO as the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The city has produced many writers and poets in several languages, especially in Bengali and English.
Some references also say it was derived from a Prakrit dialect called Dhakaiya Kutti; or Dhakkaiyya, used in the Rajtarangini, meaning a Watchtower; or it is the same as Davaka, mentioned in the Prayagraj pillar inscription of Samudragupta as an eastern frontier kingdom. According to Rajatarangini, written by a Kashmiri Brahman, Kalhana, the region was originally known as Dhakka. The word Dhakka means watchtower. Bikrampur and Sonargaon—the earlier strongholds of Bengal rulers—were situated nearby. So, Dhaka was possibly used as the watchtower for fortification purpose.
Bengal became the economic engine of the Mughal Empire. Dhaka played a key role in the proto-industrialization of Bengal. It was the centre of the muslin trade in Bengal, leading to muslin being called "Daka" in distant markets as far away as Central Asia.Richard Maxwell Eaton (1996), The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204-1760, page 202, University of California Press Mughal India depended on Bengali products like rice, silk and cotton textiles. European East India Companies from Britain, Holland, France, and Denmark also depended on Bengali products. Bengal accounted for 40% of Netherlands imports from Asia, with many products being sold to Dutch ships in Bengali harbours and then transported to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies. Bengal accounted for 50% of textiles and 80% of silks in Dutch textile imports from Asia.Om Prakash, "Empire, Mughal", in John J. McCusker (ed.), History of World Trade Since 1450, vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA, 2006, pp. 237–240, World History in Context. Retrieved 3 August 2017 Silk was also exported to premodern Japan.John F. Richards (1995), The Mughal Empire, page 202, Cambridge University Press The region had a large shipbuilding industry which supplied the Mughal Navy. The shipbuilding output of Bengal during the 16th and 17th centuries stood at 223,250 tons annually, compared to 23,061 tons produced by North America from 1769 to 1771.Indrajit Ray (2011). Bengal Industries and the British Industrial Revolution (1757-1857). Routledge. p. 174. ISBN 978-1-136-82552-1. The Mughals decorated the city with well-laid-out gardens. Caravanserai included the Bara Katra and Choto Katra. The architect of the palatial Bara Katra was Abul Qashim Al Hussaini Attabatayi Assemani. According to inscriptions in the Bangladesh National Museum, the ownership of Bara Katra was entrusted to an Islamic waqf. The Bara Katra also served as a residence for Mughal governors, including Prince Shah Shuja (the son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan). Dhaka was home to an array of Mughal bureaucrats and military officials, as well as members of the imperial family. The city was guarded by Mughal artillery like the Bibi Mariam Cannon (Lady Mary Cannon).
Islam Khan I was the first Mughal governor to reside in the city. Khan named it "Jahangirnagar" ( The City of Jahangir) in honour of the Emperor Jahangir. The name was dropped soon after the English conquered. The main expansion of the city took place under Governor Shaista Khan. The city then measured , with a population of nearly one million. Dhaka became home to one of the richest elites in Mughal India. The construction of Lalbagh Fort was commenced in 1678 by Prince Azam Shah, who was the governor of Bengal, a son of Emperor Aurangzeb and a future Mughal Emperor himself. The Lalbagh Fort was intended to be the viceregal residence of Mughal governors in eastern India. Before the fort's construction could be completed, the prince was recalled by Emperor Aurangzeb. The fort's construction was halted by Shaista Khan after the death of his daughter Pari Bibi, who is buried in a tomb in the centre of the unfinished fort. Pari Bibi, whose name means Fairy Lady, was legendary for her beauty, engaged to Prince Azam Shah, and a potential future Mughal empress before her premature death. Internal conflict in the Mughal court cut short Dhaka's growth as an imperial city. Prince Azam Shah's rivalry with Murshid Quli Khan resulted in Dhaka losing its status as the provincial capital. In 1717, the provincial capital was shifted to Murshidabad where Murshid Quli Khan declared himself as the Nawab of Bengal.
After the Battle of Buxar in 1765, the Treaty of Allahabad allowed the British East India Company to become the tax collector in Bengal on behalf of the Mughal Emperor in Delhi. The Naib Nazim continued to function until 1793 when all his powers were transferred to the East India Company. The city formally passed to the control of the East India Company in 1793. British military raids damaged a lot of the city's infrastructure.Lloyd's Evening Post, 16–18 May 1764 The military conflict caused a sharp decline in the urban population.Historical Background for the Establishment of Naib-Nazimship (Deputy Governorship for the four Divisions of Subah Bangla), Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Dhaka's fortunes received a boost with connections to the mercantile networks of the British Empire. With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in United Kingdom, Dhaka became a leading centre of the jute trade, as Bengal accounted for the largest share of the world's jute production. But the British neglected Dhaka's industrial and urban development until the late 19th century. Income from the pre-colonial, proto-industrialized textile industry dried up. Bengali weavers went out of business after the imposition of a 75% tax on the export of cotton from Bengal,Taylor, James (1840). A Sketch of the Topography and Statistics of Dacca. Calcutta: G.H. Huttmann, Military Orphan Press. pp. 301–307. as well as the surge in imports of cheap, British-manufactured fabrics after the advent of the spinning mule and steam power. The rapid growth of the colonial capital Calcutta contributed to the decline in Dhaka's population and economy in the early 1800s. In 1824, an Anglican bishop described Dhaka as a "City of magnificent ruins".Lalbagh Kella (Lalbagh Fort) Dhaka Bangladesh 2011 54.JPG Evan so, it still had an estimated 90,000 houses and huts and a population of around 300,000 by the 1840s.
According to those who lived in the historic city, "Dhaka was a courtly, genteel town – the very last flowering, in their telling, of Mughal etiquette and sensibility. It is this history that is today still reflected in the faded grandeur of the old city, now crumbling due to decades of neglect. The narrow, winding, high-walled lanes and alleyways, the old high-ceilinged houses with verandas and balconies, the old neighbourhoods, the graveyards and gardens, the mosques, the grand old mansions – these are all still there if one goes looking". Railway stations, postal departments, civil service posts and river port stations were often staffed by Anglo-Indians.Railways, steamer services, postal departments and lower civil services
The city's hinterland supplied rice, jute, , turmeric, ginger, leather hides, silk, rugs, saltpeter, salt, sugar, indigo, cotton, and iron. British opium policy in Bengal contributed to the with China. American traders collected artwork, handicrafts, terracotta, sculptures, religious and literary texts, manuscripts, and military weapons from Bengal. Some objects from the region are on display in the Peabody Essex Museum. The increase in international trade led to profits for many families in the city, allowing them to buy imported luxury goods.
This period is described as being "the colonial-era part of Dhaka, developed by the British during the early 20th century. Similar to colonial boroughs the length and breadth of the Subcontinent, this development was typified by stately government buildings, spacious tree-lined avenues, and sturdy white-washed bungalows set amidst always overgrown (the British never did manage to fully tame the landscape) gardens. Once upon a time, this was the new city; and even though it is today far from the ritziest part of town, the streets here are still wider and the trees more abundant and the greenery more evident than in any other part".
Some of the early educational institutions established during the period of British rule include the Dhaka College, the Dhaka Medical School, the Eden College, St. Gregory's School, the Mohsinia Madrasa, Jagannath College and the Ahsanullah School of Engineering. Horse racing was a favourite pastime for elite residents in the city's Ramna Race Course beside the Dhaka Club. The Viceroy of India would often dine and entertain with Bengali aristocrats in the city. began appearing after the turn of the century. A 1937 Sunbeam-Talbot Ten was preserved in the Liberation War Museum. The Nawabs of Dhaka owned Rolls-Royces. Austin cars were widely used. Beauty Boarding was a popular inn and restaurant.
Dhaka's fortunes changed in the early 20th century. British neglect of Dhaka's urban development was overturned with the first partition of Bengal in 1905, which restored Dhaka's status as a regional capital. The city became the seat of government for Eastern Bengal and Assam, with a jurisdiction covering most of modern-day Bangladesh and all of what is now Northeast India. The partition was the brainchild of Lord Curzon, who finally acted on British ideas for partitioning Bengal to improve administration, education, and business. Dhaka became the seat of the Eastern Bengal and Assam Legislative Council. While Dhaka was the main capital throughout the year, Shillong acted as the summer retreat of the administration. Lieutenant Governors were in charge of the province. They resided in Dhaka. The Lt Governors included Sir Bampfylde Fuller (1905–1906), Sir Lancelot Hare (1906–1911), and Sir Charles Stuart Bayley (1911–1912). Their legacy lives on in the names of three major thoroughfares in modern Dhaka, including Hare Road, Bayley Road, and Fuller Road. The period saw the construction of stately buildings, including the High Court and Curzon Hall. The city was home to diverse groups of people, including Armenians, Jews, Anglo-Indians and Hindus. The Hindus included both Marwari people and Bengali Hindus, with a plurality emerging by 1941 and engaged in professions like teaching, medicine, law, and business. Dhaka was the seat of government for 4 administrative divisions, including the Assam Valley Division, Chittagong Division, Dhaka Division, Rajshahi Division, and the Surma Valley Division. There were a total of 30 districts in Eastern Bengal and Assam, including Dacca, Mymensingh, Faridpur and Barisal Division in Dacca Division; Comilla Division, Noakhali, Chittagong and the Hill Tracts in Chittagong Division; Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, Rangpur, Bogra, Pabna and Malda division in Rajshahi Division; Sylhet, Barak Valley, the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, the Nagaland and the Mizoram in Surma Valley Division; and Goalpara, Kamrup, the Meghalaya, Darrang, Nagaon district, Sibsagar and Lakhimpur in Assam Valley Division. The province was bordered by Cooch Behar State, Hill Tipperah and the Kingdom of Bhutan. On the political front, partition allowed Dhaka to project itself as the standard-bearer of Muslim communities in British Raj, as opposed to the heavily Hindu-dominated city of Calcutta. In 1906, the All India Muslim League was founded in the city during a conference on liberal education hosted by the Nawab of Dhaka and the Aga Khan III. The Muslim population in Dhaka and eastern Bengal generally favoured partition in the hopes of getting better jobs and educational opportunities. Many Bengalis, however, opposed the bifurcation of the ethnolinguistic region. The partition was annulled by an announcement from King George V during the Delhi Durbar in 1911. The British decided to reunite Bengal while the capital of India was shifted to New Delhi from Calcutta.
As a "splendid compensation" for the annulment of partition, the British gave the city a newly formed university in the 1920s. The University of Dhaka was initially modelled on the residential style of the University of Oxford. It became known as the Oxford of the East because of its residential character. Like Oxford, students in Dhaka were affiliated with their halls of residence instead of their academic departments (this system was dropped after 1947 and students are now affiliated with academic departments). The university's faculty included scientist Satyendra Nath Bose (who is the namesake of the Higgs boson); linguist Muhammad Shahidullah, Sir A F Rahman (the first Bengali vice-chancellor of the university); and historian R. C. Majumdar. The university was established in 1921 by the Imperial Legislative Council. It started with three faculties and 12 departments, covering the subjects of Sanskrit, Bengali, English, liberal arts, history, Arabic, Islamic Studies, Persian, Urdu, philosophy, economics, politics, physics, chemistry, mathematics, and law.
The East Bengal Cinematograph Company produced the first full-length silent film in Dhaka during the 1920s, including Sukumari and The Last Kiss. DEVCO, a subsidiary of the Occtavian Steel Company, began widescale Electric power distribution in 1930. The Tejgaon Airport was constructed during World War II as a base for Allied Forces. The Dhaka Medical College was established in 1946.
At the time of the partition of India, many rich Hindu families relocated to West Bengal. Their properties were seized by the state under laws that eventually became known as the Vested Property Act.
The Dhaka Stock Exchange was opened on 28 April 1954. The first local airline Orient Airways began flights between Dhaka and Karachi on 6 June 1954. The RAJUK was established in 1956 to coordinate the city's development. The first master plan for the city was drawn up in 1959. The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization established a medical research centre (now called ICDDR,B) in the city in 1960.
The early period of political turbulence was seen between 1947 and 1952, particularly the Bengali language movement. From the mid-1960s, the Awami League's 6-point autonomy demands began giving rise to pro-independence aspirations across East Pakistan. In 1969, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was released from prison amid a mass upsurge which led to the resignation of Ayub Khan in 1970. The city had an influential press with prominent newspapers like the Pakistan Observer, Ittefaq, Forum, and the Weekly Holiday. During the political and constitutional crisis in 1971, the military junta led by Yahya Khan refused to transfer power to the newly elected National Assembly, causing mass riots, civil disobedience, and a movement for self-determination. On 7 March 1971, Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman addressed a massive public gathering at the Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka, in which he warned of an independence struggle. Subsequently, East Pakistan came under a non-co-operation movement against the Pakistani state. On Pakistan's Republic Day (23 March 1971), Bangladeshi flags were hoisted throughout Dhaka in a show of resistance.
On 25 March 1971, the Pakistan Army launched military operations under Operation Searchlight against the population of East Pakistan. Dhaka bore the brunt of the army's atrocities, witnessing a genocide and a campaign of wide-scale repression, with the arrest, torture, and murder of the city's civilians, students, intelligentsia, political activists and religious minorities. The army faced mutiny from the East Pakistan Rifles and the Bengali police. Large parts of the city were burnt and destroyed, including Hindu neighbourhoods. Much of the city's population was either displaced or forced to flee to the countryside. Dhaka was struck with numerous air raids by the Indian Air Force in December. The Pakistan Eastern Command surrendered to Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora at the Ramna Race Course in Dhaka on 16 December 1971.J. F. R. Jacob (1997). 817304189X, Manohar. 817304189X
After independence, Dhaka's population grew from several hundred thousand to several million in five decades. Dhaka was declared the national capital by the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh in 1972. The post-independence period witnessed rapid growth as Dhaka attracted migrant workers from across rural Bangladesh. 60% of population growth has been due to rural migration. The city endured socialist unrest in the early 1970s, followed by a few years of martial law. The stock exchange and free market were restored in the late 1970s. In the 1980s, Dhaka saw the inauguration of the National Parliament House (which won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture), a new Dhaka Airport and the Bangladesh National Museum. Bangladesh pioneered the formation of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and hosted its first summit in Dhaka in 1985. A mass uprising in 1990 led to the return of parliamentary democracy. Dhaka hosted a trilateral summit between India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in 1998; the summit of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation in 1999 and conferences of the Commonwealth, SAARC, the OIC and United Nations agencies during various years.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Dhaka experienced improved economic growth and the emergence of affluent business districts and satellite towns. Between 1990 and 2005, the city's population doubled from 6 million to 12 million. There has been increased foreign investment in the city, particularly in the financial and textile manufacturing sectors. Between 2008 and 2011, the government of Bangladesh organized three years of celebrations to mark 400 years since Dhaka's founding as an early modern city. But frequent by political parties have greatly hampered the city's economy. The hartal rate has declined since 2014. In some years, the city experienced a widespread flash flood during the monsoon.
Dhaka is one of the fastest-growing megacities in the world. It is predicted to be one of the world's largest cities by 2025, along with Tokyo, Mexico City, Shanghai, Beijing and New York City. Most of its population are rural migrants, including climate refugees. Congestion is one of the most prominent features of modern Dhaka. In 2014, it was reported that only 7% of the city was covered by roads. The first phase of Dhaka Metro Rail from Uttara to Agargaon was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 28 December 2022. However, nearly one third of Dhaka's population lives in , as of 2016. The city's main river, the Buriganga River, has become one of the most polluted rivers in the country.
The city of Dhaka is built over a network of rivers. The city’s life is strongly intertwined with the rivers, as they are used for multiple purposes, including transportation. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a
Dhaka does not have a well-defined central business district. Old Dhaka is the historic commercial centre, but most development has moved to the north. In 1985, the area around Motijheel Thana was considered the "modern" CBD, while by 2005 Gulshan Thana was considered the "newest" part of the CBD. Many Bangladeshi government institutions can be found in Motijheel Thana, Segunbagicha, Tejgaon Thana, Karwan Bazar, and Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
Much activity is centred around a few large roads, where road laws are rarely obeyed and street vendors and beggars are frequently encountered.
For much of recent history, Dhaka was characterized by roadside markets and small shops that sold a wide variety of goods. Recent years have seen the widespread construction of shopping malls. (2026). 9780761476313, Marshall Cavendish Corporation. ISBN 9780761476313 Three of the largest shopping malls in the city and the wider South Asian region are the Jamuna Future Park, Centrepoint and Bashundhara City.
According to the World Air Quality Report 2024, Dhaka is one of the world's 20 most polluted cities.
The city is surrounded by six interconnected river systems—the Buriganga and Dhaleshwari in the southwest, Turag River and Tongi Khal in the north, and Balu River and Sitalakhya river in the east—which support trade, transport, and stormwater drainage. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License However, the current water quality of the river network is very poor, due to the discharge of untreated wastewater from households and industries.
There are several lakes within the city, such as Crescent Lake, Dhanmondi Lake, Baridhara-Gulshan Lake, Banani Lake, Uttara Lake, Hatirjheel Lake, and Ramna Lake.
Water pollution is caused by the discharge of municipal wastewater from households and industry without treatment. As of 2011 only 20% of the city is connected to a Sewerage, whereas 80% is not connected. As a result, the rivers in Dhaka have severe pathogen pollution, as indicated by the fecal coliform count that is several hundred times higher than the recommended national and international standards of less than 200 cfu per litre for bathing and swimming. Chemical surveys in the rivers near Dhaka show extremely high organic pollution loading, high ammonia, and very low dissolved oxygen levels, which are close to zero in the dry season.
In addition to the organic and pathogen pollution load from the 1.2 million m3 of untreated sewage, the rivers receive about 60,000 m3 of industrial effluent every day from nine major industrial clusters (as of 2021). There are an estimated 500–700 wet processing and dyeing Textile factory releasing a range of chemicals including salts, dyes and bleaches, and 155 tanneries discharging heavy metals, including chromium.
Four of the rivers surrounding Dhaka—Buriganga River, Sitalakhya, Balu River and Turag River—are so polluted that they have been declared as ecologically critical areas in 2009 by the Department of Environment. This makes them unsuitable for any human use. Nevertheless, people living in low-income and slum areas still have a lot of direct contact with river water, exposing them to health risks. They use river water for dishwashing, laundry, cleaning fish and vegetables, and personal washing, washing and dyeing denim, washing fish baskets or plastic sheets, collecting plastic waste and fishing. As a result, many of the immediate environmental burdens of river pollution are borne by these low-income residents.
Bodies of water and around Dhaka face destruction as they are being filled to construct multi-storied buildings and other real estate developments. Coupled with pollution, such erosion of natural habitats threatens to destroy much of the regional biodiversity.
Dhaka hosts 54 resident embassies and high commissions and numerous international organizations. Most diplomatic missions are located in the Gulshan Thana and Baridhara areas of the city. The Agargaon area near Parliament is home to the country offices of the United Nations, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the Islamic Development Bank.
Under a new act in 1993, an election was held in 1994 for the first elected Mayor of Dhaka. The Dhaka City Corporation ran the affairs of the city until November 2011.
| Dhaka North City Corporation Dhaka South City Corporation | Public service | Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives ∟ Local Government Division |
| Dhaka Metropolitan Police | Law enforcement | Ministry of Home Affairs ∟ Bangladesh Police |
| RAJUK | Urban planning | Ministry of Housing and Public Works |
| Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited | Electric power distribution | Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources ∟ Power Division |
| Dhaka WASA | Water supply | Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives ∟ Local Government Division |
| Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority | Transport | Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges ∟Road Transport and Highways Division |
Almost all large local conglomerates have their corporate offices located in Dhaka. Microcredit also began here and the offices of the Nobel Prize-winning Grameen Bank and BRAC (the largest non-governmental development organization in the world) are based in Dhaka. Urban developments have sparked a widespread construction boom; new high-rise buildings and have changed the city's landscape. Growth has been especially strong in the finance, banking, manufacturing, telecommunications, and service sectors, while tourism, hotels, and restaurants continue as important elements of the Dhaka economy.
Dhaka has rising traffic congestion and inadequate infrastructure; the national government has recently implemented a policy for rapid urbanization of surrounding areas and beyond by the introduction of a ten-year relief on income tax for new construction of facilities and buildings outside Dhaka.
This rapid population growth makes it difficult for the city government to provide the necessary infrastructure in a timely manner, e.g. for water supply, electricity and waste management.
Slums may be found in the outskirts and in less-visible areas such as alleyways. As of 2021, the largest slum is in Kamrangirchar, where about 600,000 people live in slum conditions.
| + Religious groups in Dhaka City (1872−2011) ! rowspan="2" | Religious group ! colspan="2" | 1872 ! colspan="2" | 1881 ! colspan="2" | 1891 ! colspan="2" | 1901 ! colspan="2" | 1911 ! colspan="2" | 1921 ! colspan="2" | 1931 ! colspan="2" | 1941 ! colspan="2" | 2011 | ||||||||
| Hinduism | 34,433 | 39,635 | 41,566 | 48,668 | 60,235 | 69,330 | 80,024 | 129,233 | 566,368 | |||||||||
| Islam | 34,275 | 38,918 | 40,183 | 41,361 | 47,295 | 49,325 | 57,764 | 82,683 | 11,400,096 | |||||||||
| Christianity | 479 | 467 | 484 | 898 | 710 | 683 | 349 | 62,064 | ||||||||||
| Buddhism | 4 | 76 | 28 | 85 | 12 | 26 | 13,267 | |||||||||||
| Jainism | 13 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Tribal | 9 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Sikhism | 1 | 0 | 16 | 67 | 16 | 53 | ||||||||||||
| Judaism | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Zoroastrianism | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Others | 21 | 528 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 890 | 2,182 | |||||||||
The Dhaka Elevated Expressway, the first of its kind in the country, improves connectivity between the northern part of the city and the central, southern, and south-eastern parts. An extension, the Dhaka–Ashulia Elevated Expressway, is expected to open in 2026.
Set to open in December 2024, the Dhaka BRT system is expected to reduce travel time from Dhaka to the satellite town of Gazipur from as long as four hours to just 35–40 minutes.
Dhaka Metro Rail is a Rapid transit system serving the city. It is a part of the 20-year-long Strategic Transport Plan (STP) outlined by the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA). The first phase of Dhaka Metro's MRT Line 6 was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and commenced commercial operations on 28 December 2022.
The metro network is planned to contain six lines. Before the opening of the Dhaka Metro Rail, Dhaka was the biggest city in the world without a mass rapid transit system. Unrelated to the metro, there is also a proposal to build a Dhaka Subway and an orbital railway system.
The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Dhaka WASA) is "responsible for providing drinking water, sewerage, and storm-water drainage services to the city". The work of Dhaka WASA is funded by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives.
87% of the city's growing water demand is sourced from groundwater (as of 2021). This is because the extreme contamination of rivers and lakes makes surface water treatment economically and technologically unfeasible. While around 20% of the daily demand of 2.4 billion litres of water is met with surface water from five , the groundwater table is falling at a rate of two to three metres per year.
The Bangladesh Urban Informal Settlements Survey 2016 included a representative sample of 588 households across small, medium and large in Dhaka. It showed that 68% of the households accessed piped water through a shared connection within the slum compound. The poorest households shared a waterpoint with 43 other households on average compared to 23 sharers among the richest households. In terms of sanitation, only 8% of the slum households had access to a flush toilet connected to a septic tank, while 78% used improved and the remaining 10% depended on hanging latrines.
Dhaka is served by two sewage treatment plants. The Pagla Sewerage Treatment Plant (PSTP) in Narayanganj District has a capacity of 120 megalitres per day but can only utilise one-third of its capacity, handling just 10 per cent of the city's waste. The Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant, opened in 2023, is South Asia's largest, with a capacity to treat 500 megalitres, or 20–25% of the city's 2,000 megalitres of sewage generated daily. However, it is also hampered by a lack of sewage connections.
As of 2023, the Bangladesh Government and the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) are implementing an ambitious plan, called Dhaka Sewerage Master Plan, to treat most of the residential and industrial wastewater through the construction of several sewage treatment plants. The Bangladesh Government is planning to install over 12 large new sewage treatment plants over the next 20 years.
Since 1939, Haji biryani has been a leading biryani restaurant in the city. Dhaka also has a style of Murag Pulao (chicken biryani) which uses turmeric and malai (cream of milk) together. Local are widely eaten when dining out. The seekh kebab and chicken tikka are the most popular dishes in kebab restaurants, which are eaten with either naan or paratha. Liver is often eaten with breads, as a stuffing, or as a curry. Star Kabab is the most popular kebab chain in the city, alongside other chains and gourmet restaurants. Different kinds of bhurta, which refers to mashed vegetables, are widely eaten. Various types of Bengali fish curry are found in the city. Along with South Asian cuisine, a large variety of Western and Chinese cuisine is served at numerous restaurants and food courts. Upmarket areas include many Thai, Japanese and Korean restaurants. Italian cuisine food is also very popular in Dhaka, especially in upmarket areas.
During Ramadan, Chowkbazar Thana becomes a busy marketplace for iftar items. The Jalebi of Dhaka are much thicker than counterparts in India and Pakistan. The Shahi jilapi (king's jilapi) is one of the thickest jilapi produced. The panipuri and jhalmuri are popular street food. Dhaka hosts an array of Bengali dessert chains that sell a wide variety of sweets. and shingaras are also widely eaten traditional snacks. In recent years, the number of Bangladeshi-owned Hamburger outlets has increased across the city. Notable bakeries include the Prince of Wales bakery in Old Dhaka and the Cooper's chain.
In the old part of the city, the fading grandeur of the Mughal era is evident in the crumbling, neglected caravanserai like Bara Katra and Chhota Katra. Some structures like the Nimtali arch have been restored. The old city features narrow alleyways with high-walled lanes and houses with indoor courtyards. The early 20th century government quarter in Ramna includes stately colonial buildings set amidst gardens and parks. Among colonial buildings, the Curzon Hall stands out for "synthesizing imperial grandiosity with sporadic Mughal motifs".
Amongst modernist buildings, the Grameenphone headquarters is described as "a paradigm setter for corporate Bangladesh". The Museum of Independence and its attached national monument were inspired by the "land-water mysticism of deltaic Bengal" and the "evocative expansiveness of a Roman forum or the geographical assemblage of an Egyptian mastaba sanctuary". Dhaka's Art Institute, designed by Muzharul Islam, was the pioneering building of Bengali regional modernism. The vast expanse of the national parliament complex was designed by Louis Kahn. It is celebrated as Dhaka's pre-eminent civic space. The national parliament complex comprises 200 acres (800,000 m2) in the heart of the city. The Kamalapur railway station was designed by American architect Robert Boughey. In the last few decades, Bangladesh's new wave of cultural architecture has been influenced by Bengali aesthetics and the environment. City Centre Bangladesh is currently the tallest building in the city.
Dhaka is the centre of the national media in Bangladesh. It is home to the state-owned Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar. In recent years, the number of privately owned television channels and radio stations has increased greatly. There are over two dozen Bengali language television channels in the private sector, including 24-hour news channels. Radio is also popular across the city. Dhaka is home to national newspapers, including Bengali newspapers like Prothom Alo, Ittefaq, Daily Inqilab, Janakantha, and Jugantor; as well as English language newspapers The Daily Star, The Financial Express, The Business Standard, Dhaka Tribune, and New Age. Broadcast media based in Dhaka include Channel 24, Banglavision, DBC News, Somoy TV, BTV and Ekattor.
There are 52 universities in Dhaka. Dhaka College is the oldest institution for higher education in the city and among the earliest established in British India, founded in 1841. Since independence, Dhaka has seen the establishment of numerous public and private colleges and universities that offer undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as a variety of doctoral programs. The University of Dhaka is the oldest public university in the country which has more than 30,000 students and 1,800 faculty staff. It was established in 1921 being the first university in the region. The university has 23 research centres and 70 departments, faculties, and institutes. Eminent seats of higher education include Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Bangladesh Medical University (BMU), Jagannath University and Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University. Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP), situated in Mirpur Cantonment, is the largest public university affiliated with the armed forces. Dhaka Medical College is one of the oldest and largest medical colleges in the country. Founded in 1875, the Dhaka Medical School was the first medical school in British East Bengal, which became Sir Salimullah Medical College in 1962. Other government medical colleges are Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College, Mugda Medical College and Armed Forces Medical College, Dhaka.
Two are prominently associated with the city, including Amartya Sen who grew up in the city during the 1930s and 1940s, and attended St. Gregory's School; and Muhammad Yunus, who studied at Dhaka University, founded the Grameen Bank and lives in the city.
Dhaka has the distinction of having hosted the first official Test cricket match of the Pakistan cricket team in 1954 against India. The National Stadium, Dhaka was formerly the main venue for domestic and international cricket matches, but now exclusively hosts football matches. It hosted the opening ceremony of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, while the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, exclusively used for cricket, hosted 6 matches of the tournament including two quarter-final matches. Dhaka has also hosted the South Asian Games three times, in 1985, 1993 and 2010. Dhaka is the first city to host the games three times. The National Stadium was the main venue for all three editions. Dhaka also hosted the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, along with Chittagong and Sylhet, in 2014.
In football, the Dhaka derby between Dhaka Mohammedan and Dhaka Abahani is the biggest sports rivalry in the country. The two clubs have maintained their fierce rivalry over the years in the Bangladesh Football League and previously in the historic Dhaka Football League, one of the oldest football leagues on the continent, operating since at least 1911. The National Stadium in Dhaka has been the home venue for the national football team since 2005. It has hosted the SAFF Championship on three occasions, with the first being the 2003 edition, which Bangladesh went on to win. The 1978 AFC Youth Championship was the first major international tournament hosted by the stadium.
The National Sports Council, responsible for promoting sports activities across the nation, is based in Dhaka. Dhaka also has stadiums largely used for domestic events such as the Bangladesh Army Stadium, the Bir Sherestha Shaheed Shipahi Mostafa Kamal Stadium, the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium, the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium and the Outer Stadium Ground. The city's colleges and universities are active in intercollegiate athletics.
There are two in Dhaka, Army Golf Club and Kurmitola Golf Club.
|
|
