The Bangladesh famine of 1974 began in March 1974 and ended around December of the same year. The famine is considered one of the worst in the 20th century; it was caused by government mismanagement, food grain smuggling to neighboring countries and flooding along the Brahmaputra River among other issues, resulting in high mortality. The government of Bangladesh estimated the number of deaths at 27,000 while experts attributed the death of 1.5 million people in total to the famine.