Dhaka: urban growth, opportunity and service pressure
A dated example of rapid growth in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with economic opportunities, infrastructure pressures and a current water-resilience response. Confirm that your centre selected Dhaka as its named urban area.
Exam scope and assessment notes
Cambridge IGCSE Geography 0460, 2027–2029 syllabus, Topic 7.3.2. The syllabus does not prescribe one universal set of named detailed specific examples: centres select places suited to their learners. Sixteen optional StudyForA evidence packs now cover all sixteen example objectives, but the centre's choices are unconfirmed. Match each pack to your centre's chosen place and replace any mismatch before treating the course as complete. Original StudyForA explanations and self-check practice are not Cambridge papers, official grades or teacher-marked coursework. Map, graph and written answers are not automatically assessed. Paper 4 practice uses supplied or invented data and cannot certify safe fieldwork, equipment use or real data collection. Centre-set coursework and specialist teacher review remain pending.
Before you begin
- No previous Geography course is assumed. Use the supplied map, data or scenario; distinguish observation from explanation and support conclusions with evidence.
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
Give one economic reason that attracts migrants to Dhaka.
What you will learn
- Explain rural-to-urban migration and economic pull factors in Dhaka
- Compare opportunities with housing, transport, waste and water challenges
- Describe current urban-management measures
- Evaluate whether growth is managed sustainably and equitably
Economic opportunity attracts people to Dhaka
Dhaka is Bangladesh's main economic and political centre. A World Bank urban project document estimated the Dhaka Metropolitan Area population had risen from 1.7 million in 1974 to 18 million in 2015, with more than three million net migrants arriving in 2001–2011. The report linked growth to Dhaka's role as a jobs and services hub; these are dated estimates, not a current population count.
People may move from rural areas for jobs, education, health care and other services. Natural increase also adds to urban growth. Manufacturing, trade and services create opportunities, while migration can strengthen labour supply and the city's contribution to national production. A complete explanation includes both migration and natural increase rather than assuming that all growth comes from rural arrivals.
Growth brings opportunities and uneven challenges
A large city concentrates employment, markets, education and specialist services. But rapid growth can outpace housing, roads, drainage, water and waste systems. The World Bank's February 2026 water-resilience announcement reported that only about one-fifth of residents had piped sewer connections and that untreated wastewater entered interconnected waterways. Water pollution affects health, ecosystems and livelihoods, and the burden is greatest where households have fewer service choices.
Dense settlement on a low-lying delta also makes flood management and drainage important. Unplanned expansion can block canals and natural drainage. Congestion, insecure housing and unequal access to services reduce the benefits that growth could otherwise bring.
Management needs coordinated services and evidence
In February 2026 the World Bank approved financing for the Metro Dhaka Water Security and Resilience Program. Its stated plans include safely managed sanitation for 550,000 people, improved solid-waste services for 500,000, pollution monitoring and river restoration. These are programme targets, not completed outcomes.
Sustainable urban management also needs reliable public transport, drainage protection, serviced housing, waste collection, enforcement and coordination across city authorities. Evaluate who receives services, whether informal and low-income neighbourhoods are included, and whether construction keeps pace with urban growth.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
Why is a 2026 programme target not evidence that 550,000 people already have safe sanitation?
Worked example
A 2015 World Bank document estimated 18 million residents in Dhaka's metropolitan area. Explain why this historical estimate should not be presented as Dhaka's 2026 population, then name one service that needs to expand as a city grows.
Show the worked solution
- Population estimates refer to a specific date and geography.
- A later population may change through migration and natural increase.
- Name a service and link it to residents' needs.
Answer The 18 million figure is a 2015 estimate for the metropolitan area, so it is not a 2026 count; the boundary and population have changed. Sewerage is one service that must expand as more households need safe wastewater management.
Look for these in your work
- Date and boundary noted
- Change over time explained
- Service linked to growth
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Explain two causes of Dhaka's growth and connect each to evidence or a process.
Give me a hint
Distinguish migration from natural increase, then link the city's economic role to pull factors.
Compare my reasoning
- Employment, services and education can attract rural-to-urban migrants.
- Population also grows through natural increase when births exceed deaths.
- A World Bank project document estimated more than three million net migrants entered Dhaka metro in 2001–2011; this is a dated interval.
Dhaka's jobs and services attracted rural-to-urban migrants, and natural increase also added residents. A World Bank document estimated more than three million net migrants in 2001–2011, but that historical figure does not describe every later year.
Look for these in your work
- Two growth processes included
- Economic pull explained
- Historical evidence bounded by date
The 2026 programme targets sanitation for 550,000 people and waste services for 500,000. Explain one opportunity of urban growth and one challenge that the programme addresses.
Give me a hint
Connect the city's job and service concentration to opportunity, then explain what untreated wastewater or waste can do.
Compare my reasoning
- Urban concentration gives access to jobs, markets and services.
- Unmanaged wastewater and solid waste can pollute waterways and harm health.
- The announced targets aim to improve sanitation and waste services; they are not completed results.
Dhaka's concentration of employers and services creates access to jobs and markets. Rapid growth can exceed sanitation and waste capacity, so untreated discharge pollutes waterways and threatens health. The 2026 programme addresses these services, but its targets must be checked against later delivery data.
Look for these in your work
- Opportunity explained
- Service challenge connected to impact
- Programme target not confused with outcome
Evaluate whether the Metro Dhaka Water Security and Resilience Program alone can make urban growth sustainable.
Give me a hint
Balance sanitation and waste improvements with transport, housing, drainage, governance and fair access.
Compare my reasoning
- The announced programme targets sanitation, waste collection, pollution monitoring and river restoration.
- Urban growth also creates housing, transport, drainage and cross-boundary planning needs.
- Judge delivery by outcomes and whether underserved neighbourhoods benefit.
The programme addresses major water and waste pressures, but it cannot by itself manage every effect of Dhaka's growth. Housing, transport, drainage and coordination across local authorities also matter. Its targets are promising plans; later evidence must show completed services and fair access before its full sustainability can be judged.
Look for these in your work
- Programme strengths identified
- Other urban pressures considered
- Outcomes and equity used for judgement
Common mistakes
- Treating all Dhaka growth as rural migration
- Using a 2015 population estimate as current
- Confusing a planned project target with completed service coverage
- Listing opportunities without explaining who can access them
- Assuming one city authority controls the whole metropolitan area
- Calling a project sustainable without considering equity, maintenance and environmental effects
- Using this optional pack without confirming the centre's selected urban area
What can you explain now?
Which two processes can increase an urban population: net migration and natural increase, or only migration?
Compare with the explanation
Both net migration and natural increase
Urban growth can come from people moving in and from births exceeding deaths.
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Make it stick
State one migration pull factor, explain natural increase, give one opportunity and one challenge in Dhaka, and name one management measure.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.