In the sixteenth century Christianity brought to the historic region of Bengal (now divided between Bangladesh and India) by Portuguese traders and missionaries. Aside from Bengali Christians, a significant number of the population in Bangladesh are Christians.
Rivers are the most important geographical features in Bangladesh, and it is the rivers that created the vast alluvial delta.
A vast majority (98 percent) of the people of Bangladesh are Bengalis and they speak the Bengali language. Minorities include Biharis numbering 250,000 and other tribes numbering about a million, with the Chakma being most numerous in number.