We are visiting Bangladesh, a lush, green country in South Asia that is famous for its many winding rivers. There are around 173 million people living here, making it one of the most crowded and vibrant places on Earth! The capital is Dhaka, a bustling city known as the “Rickshaw Capital of the World.” The official language is Bengali.

Bangladesh covers about 148,460 square kilometers, or 57,320 square miles. To imagine its size, it is about the same size as the state of Iowa in the U.S., or slightly larger than the country of Greece. Even though it isn’t huge, it has more people living in it than almost any other country!

The most popular sport here is Cricket, and the whole nation stops to watch when the national team plays. Their national animal is the magnificent Royal Bengal Tiger, which lives in the deep mangrove forests.

The flag features a dark green background with a red circle slightly off-center, where the green represents the lush greenery of the land and the red circle symbolizes the sun rising over the country and the blood shed for independence.

The food is famous for being spicy and delicious. The national dish is Hilsa Fish with Rice, often cooked with mustard seeds and chilies. They also love Sweets, especially a round, spongy treat soaked in syrup called Rosogolla.

Bangladesh is home to the Sundarbans, which is the largest mangrove forest in the world and is where the tigers swim through the water to hunt! The country also has the longest natural sea beach in the world at Cox’s Bazar, which stretches for over 120 kilometers without stopping. Because the land is so flat and full of water, many children go to Floating Schools—classrooms on boats that pick them up from their homes during the rainy season when the roads are flooded!

From the tiger-filled forests to the endless tea gardens, Bangladesh is a land of rivers and smiles. Dhon-no-bad! That means “Thank you!”