Human geography Most people in Bangladesh are Muslims, although about 10% are Hindus and there are a few Buddhists and Christians. The national language of Bangladesh is Bangla which is a type of Bengali, but there are also people that speak Urdu and Hindi. English is taught at school, so I met several people who spoke it, although many children don't get the chance to go to school. People who spoke English were a great help to me when I got lost, which was actually most days. I did think I had a good sense of direction, but then a friend of mine did say that I would be able to get lost on the back of a postage stamp! I blame the maps myself. Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world, and one of the most crowded. Two thirds of Bangladeshis earn a living from farming or fishing and so depend on the weather. Floods often destroy people's crops leaving them without food, safe water or income. The capital city is Dhaka which is in the middle of the country on the Buriganga river. It used to be a major trading centre and I saw loads of reminders of this. I enjoyed wandering along the river, watching the boats and the people swimming and doing their washing. There're also over 300,000 rickshaws, which are like little bright taxis stuck on the back of a bike. The first time I got one I was terrified, especially when we started weaving in and out of traffic, but I soon started to enjoy looking it. I doubt the poor man pulling me had much fun though!