The world has welcomed 2025 with vibrant celebrations, and Bangladesh has been no exception, marking the occasion in various ways.
Along with extending New Year’s greetings, a unique trend in Bangladesh is observed on January 1—an abundance of birthday wishes.
In this era of social media, it’s common to find that many individuals in one’s Facebook friend list share their birthday on this particular day.
Even a glance at the birth dates recorded in Bangladesh’s birth registration or passport system reveals that January 1 is disproportionately represented compared to other days of the year.
While there’s no specific research on why so many people are born on this date, surveys and data analysis often indicate a significant prevalence of January 1st as a registered birth date.
Specialists working with children have also noticed this trend.
Pediatrician Dr Ishtiaque Mannan said: “It’s not that most children are actually born on January 1. In reality, the majority of births in our country, especially in rural areas, still occur at home. In such areas, where education levels remain relatively low, parents are not always attentive to birth registration. Moreover, even when births occur at home or hospitals, they are often not registered accurately or on time.”
He added: “Later, when children are admitted to school or require a certificate for exams, a birth date becomes necessary. In such cases, schoolteachers or officials sometimes assign an arbitrary date, often choosing a commonly remembered one like January 1. This leads to the phenomenon where many people end up with two birthdays: their actual one and the official one.”
Experts point out that this trend is not limited to Bangladesh.
It is also prevalent in countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal, Vietnam, and Afghanistan.
However, Dr Ishtiaque Mannan said that despite many birth dates being arbitrarily assigned, a significant number of children are indeed born on January 1st, making it genuinely their birthday.
