Sylhet - Demographics

Demographics

The population of Sylhet within the city corporation, was approximately 427,265 as of 2007 and estimated 463,198 in 2008 (density population is 17,479 per km²). Together with the metropolitan area it has a population of 2,675,346 as of 2001, constituting 2.06% of the national population. The population growth rate of the city is 1.73%, which has reduced from 1.93% in 1991. As of 2001, It had average literacy rate of 69.73%. The highest literacy rate was 84.24% in Ward 22 and the lowest was 48.15% in Ward 10 (2001). The total number of households in the city was 55,514.

The Sylheti language is the main language spoken in the city as well as throughout the division, and is considered as a dialect of Bengali, which contains a separate written form that is not widely known, where in this case Bengali is written, and sometimes spoken. It is often accepted that Sylheti is a separate language on its own right, however it has not been given an official status by the government. There is much debate to whether it should be recognized, for example there is greater differences of Sylheti to Bengali, than Assamese to Bengali, which is recognised as separate. Most Sylhetis are at least bilingual to some degree, as they are taught Bengali at all levels of education in Bangladesh.

The majority of Sylhetis are Muslims (85%), other religious groups include Hindus (15%), and very few numbers of other religions, mainly Buddhists and Christians (less than 0.1%). The majority of the Muslims are mainly Sunni Hanafi; and there are significant numbers of people who also follow Sufi ideals, the most influential is the teachings of Saheb Qibla Fultali who descends from the village of Fultoli, Zakigang. He was a descendant of Shah Kamal, one of the disciples of Shah Jalal. Research in Bangladesh found that 60% of Sylhetis pray daily as compared to 35% in the whole country.

Sylhet has high rates of power shortage, including water shortage. According to the Power Development Board, Sylhet is only receiving 50MW, which is half than the demand of 100MW. The city corporation is also supplying only 22,500 gallons of water, far less than the demand of about 65,000. The major sources of water to the city is the tube wells and the Surma River. There are also high levels of arsenic in the water in Sylhet than in most other regions, this is mainly due to the multiple depth screening in the tubewells. According to the World Health Organization in 1997, about 61% are highly contaminated by arsenic, however in 1999, the percentage of boreholes tested where arsenic levels are above 50 micrograms per litre, was under 25%. There are about 331 registered restaurants in the city, only 15% maintain sanitary facilities and 85% have unhygienic conditions that are unsafe for the public.

Thousands of foreigners have origins in Sylhet. The largest numbers of people from Sylhet living abroad is in the United Kingdom, with a population of about 300,000 (95% of the Bangladeshi population). Over 150,000 people are Bangladeshi-born, who have migrated to the UK. They are highly concentrated in the east London boroughs, having established themselves within the communities, notably in Brick Lane which has been dubbed as Banglatown. Sylheti foreigners are known as "Londoni" in Sylhet. Many have also immigrated to the United States—they are mainly spread out across the country, but have a large concentration in New York City and Hamtramck, Michigan. Tens of thousands of Sylhetis are also working as guest workers in the Middle Eastern Gulf states.