BANGLADESH
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BANGLADESH
@Bangladesh:Geography
Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma
and India
Map references: Asia
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BANGLADESH - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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DACCA 2,366,000 23.42N, 90.22E 880-2 GMT+6
Chittagong 980,000 22.20N, 91.48E 880-31 GMT+6
Khulna 646,000 22.49N, 89.34E 880-41 GMT+6
Narayanganj 271,000 23.36N, 90.28E 880-2 GMT+6
Rajshahi 254,000 24.24N, 88.40E 880-721 GMT+6
Mymensingh 191,000 24.45N, 90.24E 880-91 GMT+6
Comilla 184,000 23.28N, 91.10E 880-81 GMT+6
Barisal 173,000 22.41N, 90.20E 880-431 GMT+6
Sylhet 168,000 24.53N, 91.51E 880-821 GMT+6
Rangpur 153,000 25.45N, 89.21E 880-521 GMT+6
Jessore 149,000 23.10N, 89.12E 880-421 GMT+6
Saidpur 127,000 25.48N, 89.00E 880- GMT+6
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Area:
total area: 144,000 sq km
land area: 133,910 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than Wisconsin
Land boundaries: total 4,246 km, 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
International disputes: a portion of the boundary with India is in
dispute; water-sharing problems with upstream riparian India over the
Ganges
Climate: tropical; cool, dry winter (October to March); hot, humid
summer (March to June); cool, rainy monsoon (June to October)
Terrain: mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast
Natural resources: natural gas, arable land, timber
Land use:
arable land: 67%
permanent crops: 2%
meadows and pastures: 4%
forest and woodland: 16%
other: 11%
Irrigated land: 27,380 sq km (1989)
Environment:
current issues: many people are landless and forced to live on and
cultivate flood-prone land; limited access to potable water;
water-borne diseases prevalent; water pollution especially of fishing
areas results from the use of commercial pesticides; intermittent
water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and
central parts of the country; soil degradation; deforestation; severe
overpopulation
natural hazards: droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely
flooded during the summer monsoon season
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not
ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea
@Bangladesh:People
Population: 128,094,948 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 40% (female 25,195,262; male 26,352,299)
15-64 years: 57% (female 34,862,105; male 37,867,705)
65 years and over: 3% (female 1,761,336; male 2,056,241) (July 1995
est.)
Population growth rate: 2.32% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 34.62 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 11.43 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 104.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 55.46 years
male: 55.69 years
female: 55.22 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.39 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Bangladeshi(s)
adjective: Bangladesh
Ethnic divisions: Bengali 98%, Biharis 250,000, tribals less than 1
million
Religions: Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, Buddhist, Christian, other
Languages: Bangla (official), English
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
total population: 35%
male: 47%
female: 22%
Labor force: 50.1 million
by occupation: agriculture 65%, services 21%, industry and mining 14%
(1989)
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Oman (1991)
@Bangladesh:Government
Names:
conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh
conventional short form: Bangladesh
former: East Pakistan
Digraph: BG
Type: republic
Capital: Dhaka
Administrative divisions: 4 divisions; Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna,
Rajshahi
Independence: 16 December 1971 (from Pakistan)
National holiday: Independence Day, 26 March (1971)
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 Abdur Rahman BISWAS (since 8 October 1991);
election last held 8 October 1991 (next to be held by NA October
1996); results - Abdur Rahman BISWAS received 52.1% of parliamentary
vote
head of government: Prime Minister Khaleda ZIAur RAHMAN (since 20
March 1991)
cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral
National Parliament (Jatiya Sangsad): elections last held 27 February
1991 (next to be held by February 1996); results - percent of vote by
party NA; seats - (330 total, 300 elected and 30 seats reserved for
women) BNP 168, AL 93, JP 35, JI 20, BCP 5, National Awami Party
(Muzaffar) 1, Workers Party 1, JSD 1, Ganotantri Party 1, Islami Oikya
Jote 1, NDP 1, independents 3
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP),
Khaleda ZIAur RAHMAN; Awami League (AL), Sheikh Hasina WAJED; Jatiyo
Party (JP), Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD (in jail); Jamaat-E-Islami (JI),
Ali KHAN; Bangladesh Communist Party (BCP), Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK;
National Awami Party (Muzaffar); Workers Party, leader NA; Jatiyo
Samajtantik Dal (JSD), Serajul ALAM KHAN; Ganotantri Party, leader NA;
Islami Oikya Jote, leader NA; National Democratic Party (NDP), leader
NA; Muslim League, Khan A. SABUR; Democratic League, Khondakar
MUSHTAQUE Ahmed; Democratic League, Khondakar MUSHTAQUE Ahmed; United
People's Party, Kazi ZAFAR Ahmed
Member of: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OIC, SAARC, UN,
UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOMIG, UNOMIL, UNOMOZ, UNOMUR,
UNOSOM, UNPROFOR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Humayun KABIR
chancery: 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 342-8372 through 8376
consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador David N. MERRILL
embassy: Diplomatic Enclave, Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka
mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1212
telephone: [880] (2) 884700 through 884722
FAX: [880] (2) 883-744
Flag: green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of
center; green is the traditional color of Islam
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. Its economy is overwhelmingly agricultural, with the
cultivation of rice the single most important activity in the economy.
Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, the
inefficiency of state-owned enterprises, a rapidly growing labor force
that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy
resources (natural gas), and inadequate power supplies. Excellent rice
crops and expansion of the export garment industry led to real growth
of 4% in 1992 and again in 1993. Policy measures intended to reduce
government regulation of private industry, to curb population growth,
and to expand employment opportunities have had only partial success
given the serious nature of Bangladesh's basic problems.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $130.1 billion (1994
est.)
National product real growth rate: 4.5% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $1,040 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.3% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $2.8 billion
expenditures: $4.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8
billion (FY92/93)
Exports: $2.38 billion (1993)
commodities: garments, jute and jute goods, leather, shrimp
partners: US 33%, Western Europe 39% (Germany 8.4%, Italy 6%) (FY91/92
est.)
Imports: $3.99 billion (1993)
commodities: capital goods, petroleum, food, textiles
partners: Hong Kong 7.5%, Singapore 7.4%, China 7.4%, Japan 7.1%
(FY91/92 est.)
External debt: $13.5 billion (June 1993)
Industrial production: growth rate 6.9% (FY92/93 est.); accounts for
9.4% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity: 2,740,000 kW
production: 9.2 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 70 kWh (1993)
Industries: jute manufacturing, cotton textiles, food processing,
steel, fertilizer
Agriculture: accounts for 33% of GDP, 65% of employment, and one-fifth
of exports; world's largest exporter of jute; commercial products -
jute, rice, wheat, tea, sugarcane, potatoes, beef, milk, poultry;
shortages include wheat, vegetable oils, cotton
Illicit drugs: transit country for illegal drugs produced in
neighboring countries
Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.4 billion;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1980-89), $11.65 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $6.52
million; Communist countries (1970-89), $1.5 billion
Currency: 1 taka (Tk) = 100 poiska
Exchange rates: taka (Tk) per US$1 - 40.250 (January 1995), 40.212
(1994), 39.567 (1993), 38.951 (1992), 36.596 (1991), 34.569 (1990)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
@Bangladesh:Transportation
Railroads:
total: 2,892 km
broad gauge: 978 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 1,914 km 1.000-m gauge (1992)
Highways:
total: 7,240 km
paved: 3,840 km
unpaved: 3,400 km (1985)
Inland waterways: 5,150-8,046 km navigable waterways (includes
2,575-3,058 km main cargo routes)
Pipelines: natural gas 1,220 km
Ports: Barisal, Chandpur, Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Dacca, Khulna,
Mongla (includes Chalna), Narayanganj
Merchant marine:
total: 38 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 293,304 GRT/428,013 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 31, oil tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 3
Airports:
total: 16
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 7
@Bangladesh:Communications
Telephone system: 241,250 telephones; 1 telephone/522 persons; poor
domestic telephone service
local: NA
intercity: NA
international: 2 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) earth stations; adequate
international radio communications and landline service
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 6, shortwave 0
radios: NA
Television:
broadcast stations: 11
televisions: NA
@Bangladesh:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
paramilitary forces: Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Ansars, Armed
Police Reserve, Village Defense Parties, National Cadet Corps
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 33,039,035; males fit for
military service 19,607,817 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $448 million, 1.7% of
GDP (FY93/94)
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