Bangladesh 2
January 13th

“The eyes of the LORD your God are continually on Bangladesh”
It is a land the LORD your God cares for; the eyes of the LORD your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end(Deuteronomy 11:12)

》 Country Profile

Continent | Southern Asia
Population | 174,701,211
Area | 148,460 km², located along the Bay of Bengal between India.
Capital City | Dhaka (23.21 million people)
People Groups | 333 total, with Bengalis making up 98.9% (Shaikh 76%, Sylheti Muslims 6.6%) Urdu Muslims 1.9% and others 10.2%.
People Groups Unreached | 301 (90.4% of the population)
Official Language(s) | Bengali, English
Total Languages | 48
Bible Translations | Completed 21, New Testament 11, Partial 5
Religion | Christianity 0.42%, Islam 91%, Hinduism 8%, Buddhism 3.8%

》 About Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a Sunni Islamic country, and Islam is such a large part of the country’s history, very much so that Islamic phrases are mentioned twice in the introduction to the constitution and in Article 1. In the past, the country has been free of Islamic extremist groups, but attacks by Islamic radicals have been ongoing, beginning with the July 2016 Islamist terrorist attack in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

Protestant missions began in 1793 when William Carey, the father of modern missionary work, arrived in West Bengal, at the time part of India. He established a Baptist Missionary Society mission in Dinajpur in 1795 and a mission in the capital city of Dhaka in 1816. William Carey translated the Bible into Bengali and influenced the school system. He was followed by missionaries in the 19th century  from the British Missionary Society, Presbyterian World Mission, Australian Baptist Mission, New Zealand Baptist Mission, Assemblies of God in America, and the Assemblies of God. After the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971, more Protestant missionaries arrived. Along with Christians, Muslim converts to Christianity face the most difficulties in Bangladesh. Converts to Christianity are immediately put under pressure and face severe violence and harassment. Although Bangladesh is considered an Islamic country, there are many Hindu elements in its culture, traditions, and customs.

Bangladesh’s economy is based on rice farming, with an abundance of land and labor, and more than half of the population is employed in agriculture. The large population and low wages have led to a large number of garment companies, with garments providing more than 80% of exports. Foreign workers’ wages and remittances are the main source of foreign exchange. In 1970, the country was considered an underdeveloped country, but in recent years, industrial development has led to a significant rise in economic growth. However, 20% of the population lives in poverty, and pollution, poor safety standards, waterborne diseases, lack of infrastructure, and low literacy rates persist. Despite the crisis caused by COVID-19, the economy is now growing significantly and is on the brink of moving from developing to mid-level country status. 
Bangladesh’s GDP per capita is approximately $4,800

》 Scripture Focus

》 Prayer Points

1. Let us pray for the Muslims in Bangladesh. As Bengali Muslims are increasingly trying to Islamize the country, the culture, land, and existence of minority tribes are being threatened. Pray for just solutions and for the many Christian organizations helping these tribes. Most of these groups have never heard the gospel. Pray that they will respond to God’s call and become His people.
Also, Let us pray for the Rohingya, one of the most persecuted ethnic groups in the world. The Myanmar military’s treatment of them is extremely brutal, often described as “ethnic cleansing.” To escape this severe persecution, the Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh. Currently, around 600,000 Rohingya refugees are living in Bangladesh.
Pray that Bangladesh will become a place that welcomes and serves these displaced people who are not accepted anywhere else. Also, pray that the church in Bangladesh will share the gospel with the Rohingya and obey God’s command to act justly and love the foreigner.

2. Bangladesh is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to climate change, with floods, cyclones and droughts becoming recurring disasters. Pray for the increasingly severe environmental disasters. Bangladesh has experienced more than 200 natural disasters in the last 30 years. In 2022, the country experienced its worst floods in 122 years, flooding 12 districts and isolating nearly a quarter of the country’s 15 million people, according to the Bangladesh Disaster Management Authority.
In particular, the loss of life and damage to property among low-income residents is more than 10 times greater than among higher-income residents. The homes of low-income people are not safe places for them. 
Let us pray that God’s eyes will always be on them and watch over them from the beginning of the year to the end of the year as they live without safeguards to deal with the climate crisis.

3. Despite economic growth, poverty is still widespread, and many people have lost their jobs and faced economic hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. Poor families often keep young children out of school and send them to work. Working 12-hour days in poor conditions, they are at high risk of low pay and exposure to sexual harassment, violence, and drug-related crimes. In addition, sex trafficking is legal in Bangladesh, and 70% of prostitutes are teenage girls. They are exploited in brothels and suffer from alcohol and drug addiction and sexually transmitted diseases.
Let us pray for the next generation in Bangladesh, where half of the population is under the age of 15. And also pray that they will receive the education and care they deserve. Let us pray that the rampant sin and broken social order in this land that the Lord has promised to care for will be restored. Pray that the next generation will be raised in the gospel, and that the nation will rule and care for the land He has given them in His Word.

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