Bangladeshis

Bangladeshis (also spelled BangladeshiesBengali: বাংলাদেশী[baŋlad̪eʃi]), or Bangladeshi people, are citizens of Bangladesh, regardless of origin or country of residence. Bangladesh is largely ethnically homogeneous with about 98% of the country's population being Bengali. The Chittagong Hill Tracts are home to more diverse indigenous peoples while few ethnic groups inhabiting in other regions. Today substantial populations with Bangladeshi ancestry exist in many different parts of the world as a result of emigration, notably in the Middle East, Japan, Malaysia, Bangladeshis in Italy and United Kingdom.

Ethnic groups

The vast majority (about 98.5%) of Bangladeshies are of the Bengali ethno-linguistic group. Bengalis (বাঙালি Bangali) are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group native to the region of Bengal. They speak the Bengali language. This group also spans the neighbouring Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura.Remnants of civilisation in the greater Bengal region date back 4,000 years, when the region was settled by Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman and Austroasiatic peoples. The origin of the word Bangla ~ Bengal is unknown, though it is believed to be derived from the Dravidian-speaking tribe Bang that settled in the area around the year 1000 BCE.