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Introduction | Bangladesh

Background: | 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. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development.

Geography | Bangladesh

Location: | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
Geographic coordinates: | 24 00 N, 90 00 E
Map references: | Asia
Area: | total: 144,000 sq km land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than Iowa
Land boundaries: | total: 4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km
Coastline: | 580 km
Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin
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: | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m
Natural resources: | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal
Land use: | arable land: 55.39% permanent crops: 3.08% other: 41.53% (2005)
Irrigated land: | 47,250 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards: | droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season
Environment - current issues: | 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
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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

People | Bangladesh

Population: | 147,365,352 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 32.9% (male 24,957,997/female 23,533,894) 15-64 years: 63.6% (male 47,862,774/female 45,917,674) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 2,731,578/female 2,361,435) (2006 est.)
Median age: | total: 22.2 years male: 22.2 years female: 22.2 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate: | 2.09% (2006 est.)
Birth rate: | 29.8 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: | 8.27 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate: | -0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.16 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 60.83 deaths/1,000 live births male: 61.87 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 62.46 years male: 62.47 years female: 62.45 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 3.11 children born/woman (2006 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 13,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 650 (2001 est.)
Major infectious diseases: | degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria are high risks in some locations water contact disease: leptospirosis animal contact disease: rabies (2005)
Nationality: | noun: Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi
Ethnic groups: | Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998)
Religions: | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)
Languages: | 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% (2003 est.)

Government | Bangladesh

Country name: | conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh local long form: Gana Prajatantri Banladesh local short form: Banladesh former: East Bengal, East Pakistan
Government type: | parliamentary democracy
Capital: | name: Dhaka geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 25 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions: | 6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet
Independence: | 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: | 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972; suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986; amended many times
Legal system: | based on English common law
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: | chief of state: President Iajuddin AHMED (since 6 September 2002); note - the president's duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to the constitution ("Caretaker Government Amendment"), the president's role becomes significant at times when Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at presidential direction - to supervise the elections head of government: Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA (since 10 October 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president 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 to be held by 2007); 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 by the Election Commission elected unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote - NA
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 elections: last held 1 October 2001 (next to be held no later than January 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance partners 41%, AL 40%; seats by party - BNP 193, AL 58, JI 17, JP (Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 2, JP (Manzur) 4, other 12; note - the election of October 2001 brought a majority BNP government aligned with three other smaller parties - JI, IOJ, and Jatiya Party (Manzur)
Judicial branch: | Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president)
Political parties and leaders: | Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul Haq AMINI]; Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh or JIB [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]; Jatiya Party (Manzur faction) [Naziur Rahman MANZUR]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Badrudozza CHOWDHURY and Oli AHMED]
Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA
International organization participation: | ARF, AsDB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Shamsher Mobin CHOWDHURY chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183 FAX: [1] (202) 244-5366 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia A. BUTENIS embassy: Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212 mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone: [880] (2) 885-5500 FAX: [880] (2) 882-3744
Flag description: | green field with a large red disk shifted slightly to the hoist side of center; the red disk represents the rising sun and the sacrifice to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush vegetation of Bangladesh

Economy | Bangladesh

Economy - overview: | Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although 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. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of government. Progress also has been blocked by opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups. The BNP government, led by Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA, has the parliamentary strength to push through needed reforms, but the party's political will to do so has been lacking in key areas. One encouraging note: growth has been a steady 5% for the past several years.
GDP (purchasing power parity): | $305.9 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): | $63.56 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 6.4% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $2,100 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 19.9% industry: 19.8% services: 60.3% (2004 est.)
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 (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 63% industry: 11% services: 26% (FY95/96)
Unemployment rate: | 2.5% (includes underemployment) (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line: | 45% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3.9% highest 10%: 28.6% (1995-96 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 31.8 (2000)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 7% (2005 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): | 24.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $5.993 billion expenditures: $8.598 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Public debt: | 44.5% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products: | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry
Industries: | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar
Industrial production growth rate: | 6.7% (2005 est.)
Electricity - production: | 17.42 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 93.7% hydro: 6.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption: | 16.2 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2003)
Oil - production: | 6,825 bbl/day (2003)
Oil - consumption: | 84,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: | NA bbl/day
Oil - proved reserves: | 28.45 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production: | 11.9 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 11.9 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: | 300.2 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance: | $37 million (2005 est.)
Exports: | $9.372 billion (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood (2001)
Exports - partners: | US 23.6%, Germany 13.5%, UK 9.4%, France 6.4% (2005)
Imports: | $12.97 billion (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities: | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement (2000)
Imports - partners: | India 14.1%, China 13.5%, Kuwait 8.5%, Singapore 6.2%, Japan 4.1%, Hong Kong 4.1% (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $2.825 billion (2005 est.)
Debt - external: | $20.63 billion (2005 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: | $1.575 billion (2000 est.)
Currency (code): | taka (BDT)
Currency code: | BDT
Exchange rates: | taka per US dollar - 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003), 57.888 (2002), 55.807 (2001)
Fiscal year: | 1 July - 30 June

Communications | Bangladesh

Telephones - main lines in use: | 1.07 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 9 million (2005)
Telephone system: | general assessment: totally inadequate for a modern country domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: country code - 880; satellite earth stations - 6; international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2005)
Radio broadcast stations: | AM 15, FM 13, shortwave 2 (2006)
Radios: | 6.15 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: | 15 (1999)
Televisions: | 770,000 (1997)
Internet country code: | .bd
Internet hosts: | 469 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 10 (2000)
Internet users: | 300,000 (2005)

Transportation | Bangladesh

Airports: | 16 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 15 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)
Pipelines: | gas 2,604 km (2006)
Railways: | total: 2,768 km broad gauge: 946 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)
Roadways: | total: 239,226 km paved: 22,726 km unpaved: 216,500 km (2003)
Waterways: | 8,372 km note: includes 5,635 km main cargo routes; network reduced to 5,200 km in dry season (2005)
Merchant marine: | total: 42 ships (1000 GRT or over) 341,733 GRT/485,840 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 29, container 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3 foreign-owned: 1 (China 1) registered in other countries: 10 (Antigua and Barbuda 4, Comoros 1, Malta 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Singapore 1) (2006)
Ports and terminals: | Chittagong, Mongla Port

Military | Bangladesh

Military branches: | Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force (Bangladesh Biman Bahini, BAF) (2006)
Military service age and obligation: | 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2005)
Manpower available for military service: | males age 18-49: 35,170,019 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: | males age 18-49: 26,841,255 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $1.01 billion (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1.8% (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues | Bangladesh

Disputes - international: | discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in both countries, allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh resists India's attempts to fence or wall off high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; a joint Bangladesh-India boundary inspection in 2005 revealed 92 pillars are missing; dispute with India over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; Burmese Muslim refugees strain Bangladesh's meager resources
Refugees and internally displaced persons: | refugees (country of origin): 20,402 (Burma) IDPs: 61,000 (land conflicts, religious persecution) (2005)
Illicit drugs: | transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries

This page was last updated on 19 December, 2006