Bangladesh is the world’s eighth most populous country with over 170 million people. Following independence from Pakistan in 1971, its politics were dominated for the last four decades by conflict between Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, until the latter was overthrown in a mass uprising in 2024. An interim government led by Nobel prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus led the country until a landslide election win by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in February 2026 resulted in Tarique Rahman becoming Prime Minister.

One achievement of the interim government was the promulgation of the Personal Data Protection Ordinance 2025(1) (PDPO) on 9 October 2025. The Ordinance came into force immediately, except for sections 23 (Chief Data Officer) and 31-46 (complaints and offences) (s. 1(3)). Amendments to the Ordinance have already been made in 2026, to sections 29(7)(b), and 48, as discussed later.