World Facts Index
 Europeans
began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in the 16th century;
eventually the British came to dominate the region and it became part of British
India. In 1947, West Pakistan and East Bengal (both primarily Muslim) separated
from India (largely Hindu) and jointly became the new country of Pakistan. East
Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955, but the awkward arrangement of a two-part
country with its territorial units separated by 1,600 km left the Bengalis
marginalized and dissatisfied. East Pakistan seceded from its union with West
Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed Bangladesh. A military-backed caretaker regime
suspended planned parliamentary elections in January 2007 in an effort to reform
the political system and root out corruption; the regime has pledged new
democratic elections by the end of 2008. About a third of this extremely poor
country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic
development.
Geography of Bangladesh
|
Location:
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Southern Asia, bordering
the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India |
|
Coordinates:
|
24 00 N, 90 00 E |
|
Area:
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total: 144,000 sq km
land: 133,910 sq km
water: 10,090 sq km |
|
Area comparative:
|
slightly smaller than Iowa |
|
Land boundaries:
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total: 4,246 km
border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km |
|
Coastline:
|
580 km |
|
Maritime claims:
|
contiguous zone: 18
NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental
margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
|
Climate:
|
tropical; mild winter
(October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy
monsoon (June to October) |
|
Terrain:
|
mostly flat alluvial plain;
hilly in southeast |
|
Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Indian
Ocean 0 m
highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m |
|
Natural resources:
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natural gas, arable land,
timber, coal |
|
Natural hazards:
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droughts, cyclones; much of
the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season |
|
Environment - current issues:
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many people are landless
and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; water-borne
diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of
fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground
water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic; intermittent water
shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central
parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation;
severe overpopulation |
|
Geography - note:
|
most of the country is
situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the
Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and
later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal
|
More Geography
Population of Bangladesh
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Population:
|
153,546,896 (July 2008 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14 years: 33.4% (male 26,364,370/female
24,859,792)
15-64 years: 63.1% (male 49,412,903/female 47,468,013)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 2,912,321/female 2,529,502) |
|
Median age:
|
22.8 years |
|
Infant mortality:
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57.45 deaths/1,000 live births |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 63.21 years
male: 63.14 years
female: 63.28 years |
|
Total fertility rate:
|
3.08 children born/woman |
|
Nationality:
|
noun: Bangladeshi(s)
adjective: Bangladeshi |
|
Ethnic groups:
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Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali
Muslims |
|
Religions:
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Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% |
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Languages:
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Bangla (official, also known as Bengali),
English |
|
Literacy:
|
definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 43.1%
male: 53.9%
female: 31.8%
|
Government
|
Country name:
|
conventional long form: People's
Republic of Bangladesh
former: East Pakistan |
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Government type:
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parliamentary democracy |
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Capital:
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Dhaka |
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Administrative divisions:
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6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka,
Khulna, Rajshahi, and Sylhet |
|
Independence:
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16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note
- 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known
as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh |
|
National holiday:
|
Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note -
26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory
Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh |
|
Constitution:
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4 November 1972, effective 16 December
1972, suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended many
times |
|
Legal system:
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based on English common law |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
|
Executive branch:
|
chief of state: President Iajuddin AHMED (since
6 September 2002)
note: the country has a caretaker government until a general election is held;
Iajuddin AHMED remains as President and Minister of Defense, and all other
Cabinet portfolios are held by Caretaker Advisers (CAs); the Chief CA,
Fakhruddin AHMED, is roughly equivalent to a prime minister
elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term
(eligible for a second term); election scheduled for 16 September 2002 was not
held since Iajuddin AHMED was the only presidential candidate; he was sworn in
on 6 September 2002 (next election NA); following legislative elections, the
leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister
by the president
election results: Iajuddin AHMED declared president-elect by the Election
Commission; he ran unopposed as president |
|
Legislative branch:
|
unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300
seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies (the constitutional
amendment reserving 30 seats for women over and above the 300 regular parliament seats
expired in May 2001); members serve five-year terms |
|
Judicial branch:
|
Supreme Court (the chief justices and other
judges are appointed by the president) |
Economy
The economy has grown 5-6% over the past few years despite inefficient
state-owned enterprises, delays in exploiting natural gas resources,
insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms.
Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation.
Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly
two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice
as the single-most-important product. Garment exports and remittances from
Bangladeshis working overseas, mainly in the Middle East and East Asia, fuel
economic growth.
|
GDP:
|
$208.3 billion (2007 est.) |
|
GDP growth rate:
|
6.3% |
|
GDP per capita:
|
$1,400 |
|
GDP composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 19%
industry: 28.7%
services: 52.3% |
|
Labor force:
|
66.6 million
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and
Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in 1998-99 |
|
Labor force by occupation:
|
agriculture: 63%
industry: 11%
services: 26% |
|
Unemployment:
|
2.5% (includes underemployment) |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $5.993 billion
expenditures: $8.598 billion |
|
Industries:
|
cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea
processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar |
|
Electricity production by source:
|
fossil fuel: 93.7%
hydro: 6.3%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% |
|
Agriculture:
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rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane,
potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry |
|
Exports:
|
garments, jute and jute goods, leather,
frozen fish and seafood |
|
Export partners:
|
US 24.2%, Germany 13.2%, UK 10.6%, France 6% |
|
Imports:
|
machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron
and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement |
|
Import partners:
|
India 14.7%, China 14.6%, Kuwait 8%, Singapore 6%, Japan
4.4%, Hong Kong 4.1% |
|
Economic aid recipient:
|
$1.575 billion |
|
Currency:
|
taka (BDT) |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
Copyright 2004 - 2008 worldfacts.us |