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| Bangladesh |  |
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| Introduction Geography People Government Economy Communications Transportation Military Transnational Issues | ||
| Bangladesh | Introduction | Top of Page |
| Background: | Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 when Bengali East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan. About a third of this extremely poor country annually floods during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development. |
| Bangladesh | Geography | Top of Page |
| 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 Wisconsin |
| Land boundaries: | total:
4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km |
| Coastline: | 580 km |
| Maritime claims: | contiguous
zone: 18 NM continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 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: | lowest
point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m |
| Natural resources: | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal |
| Land use: | arable
land: 73% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 15% other: 5% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated land: | 31,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
| 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,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
| Bangladesh | People | Top of Page |
| Population: | 131,269,860 (July 2001 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14
years: 35.04% (male 23,550,607; female
22,451,006) 15-64 years: 61.6% (male 41,432,123; female 39,434,633) 65 years and over: 3.36% (male 2,389,639; female 2,011,852) (2001 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 1.59% (2001 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 25.3 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death rate: | 8.6 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | -0.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at
birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.19 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | 69.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total
population: 60.54 years male: 60.74 years female: 60.33 years (2001 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 2.78 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.02% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 13,000 (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 1,000 (1999 est.) |
| 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: 56% male: 63% female: 49% (2000 est.) |
| Bangladesh | Government | Top of Page |
| Country name: | conventional
long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh former: East Pakistan |
| Government type: | parliamentary democracy |
| Capital: | Dhaka |
| Administrative divisions: | 5 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi; note - there may be one additional division named 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 Shahabuddin AHMED (since 9
October 1996); 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 Begum Kahleda Zia(since 01 Oct 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president |
| Legislative branch: | unicameral
National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad (330 seats; 300
elected by popular vote from single territorial
constituencies, members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 01 Oct 2001 |
| 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 [Monjurul Hasan Khan]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIAur Rahman]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Azizol HAQ]; Jamaat-E-Islami or JI [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA |
| International organization participation: | AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Flag description: | green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of center; the red sun of freedom represents the blood shed to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush countryside, and secondarily, the traditional color of Islam |
| Bangladesh | Economy | Top of Page |
| Economy - overview: | Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains one of the world's poorest, most densely populated, and least developed nations. 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. 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. Even so, Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA's Awami League government has made some headway improving the climate for foreign investors and liberalizing the capital markets. Progress on other economic reforms has been halting because of opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups. |
| GDP: | purchasing power parity - $203 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 5.3% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $1,570 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture:
30% industry: 18% services: 52% (2000 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | 35.6% (FY95/96 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest
10%: 3.9% highest 10%: 28.6% (1995-96 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 5.8% (2000 est.) |
| Labor force: | 64.1 million
(1998) 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%, services 26%, industry 11% (FY95/96) |
| Unemployment rate: | 35.2% (1996) |
| Budget: | revenues:
$4.9 billion expenditures: $6.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
| Industries: | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 6.1% (2000 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 12.06 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source: | fossil
fuel: 93.7% hydro: 6.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity - consumption: | 11.216 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture - products: | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry |
| Exports: | $5.9 billion (2000) |
| Exports - commodities: | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood |
| Exports - partners: | US 31.2%, Germany 9.95%, UK 8.06%, France 5.82%, Italy 4.42% (1999) |
| Imports: | $8.1 billion (2000) |
| Imports - commodities: | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, raw cotton, food, crude oil and petroleum products, cement |
| Imports - partners: | India 12.2%, Singapore 7.8%, Japan 6.7%, China 6.4%, US 5.3% (1999) |
| Debt - external: | $17 billion (2000) |
| Economic aid - recipient: | $1.575 billion (2000 est.) |
| Currency: | taka (BDT) |
| Exchange rates: | taka per US dollar - 54.000 (January 2001), 52.142 (2000), 49.085 (1999), 46.906 (1998), 43.892 (1997), 41.794 (1996) |
| Fiscal year: | 1 July - 30 June |
| Bangladesh | Communications | Top of Page |
| Telephones - main lines in use: | 500,000 (2000) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: | 283,000 (2000) |
| 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: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2000) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | AM 12, FM 12, shortwave 2 (1999) |
| Radios: | 6.15 million (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations: | 15 (1999) |
| Televisions: | 770,000 (1997) |
| Internet country code: | .bd |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 10 (2000) |
| Internet users: | 30,000 (2000) |
| Bangladesh | Transportation | Top of Page |
| Railways: | total:
2,745 km broad gauge: 923 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2000) |
| Highways: | total:
201,182 km paved: 19,112 km unpaved: 182,070 km (1997) |
| Waterways: | up to 8,046
km depending on season note: includes 3,058 km main cargo routes |
| Pipelines: | natural gas 1,250 km |
| Ports and harbors: | Chittagong, Dhaka, Mongla Port, Narayanganj (2001) |
| Merchant marine: | total:
35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 268,566 GRT/375,110
DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 25, container 3, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2000 est.) |
| Airports: | 18 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways: | total:
15 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways: | total:
3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
| Bangladesh | Military | Top of Page |
| Military branches: | Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, paramilitary forces (includes Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Ansars, Village Defense Parties, National Cadet Corps), Armed Police battalions |
| Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 36,005,553 (2001 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 21,362,279 (2001 est.) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $559 million (FY96/97) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1.8% (FY96/97) |
| Bangladesh | Transnational Issues | Top of Page |
| Disputes - international: | a portion of the boundary with India is indefinite; exchange of 151 enclaves along border with India subject to ratification by Indian parliament; dispute with India over South Talpatty/New Moore Island |
| Illicit drugs: | transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries |