, June 25 -- Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury on Thursday said Bangladesh has 50 gazetted ethnic communities and their total population stands at 1.65 million, accounting for around one per cent of the country's population.

The minister made the statement in Parliament while replying to a question from BNP reserved-seat lawmaker Selina Sultana.

The figure is based on the preliminary report of the Population and Housing Census 2022, which counted both scheduled and other ethnic communities, he said.

Among the ethnic communities, the Chakma constitute the largest group, accounting for 29.29 per cent of the total ethnic population, or 483,299 people, the Marma community makes up 13.59 per cent, with a population of 224,261, w...