Bangladesh
People's Republic of BangladeshGana Prajatantri Banladesh
parliamentary democracyIndependence 16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan)
Bangladesh as the 2008 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 139 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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
Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
20 fieldsLand useshare of 144,000 sq km
Climate
- tropical;
- mild winter (October to March);
- hot, humid summer (March to June);
- humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)
- total:
- 79.4 cu km/yr (3%/1%/96%)
- per capita:
- 560 cu m/yr (2000)
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;
- waterborne 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, Ship Pollution, 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
22 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2008 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2008 est.)
Male · female
Religions(1998)
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:
- 1.15 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 1.05 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Major infectious diseases
- degree of risk:
- high
- food or waterborne diseases:
- bacterial and protozoal 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
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)
Government
Parliamentary democracy; President Iajuddin AHMED (since 6 September 2002)
18 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Legislature, 300 seats, elected 1 October 2001one dot, one seat
Percent of vote
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
Capital
- name:
- Dhaka
- geographic coordinates:
- 23 43 N, 90 24 E
- time difference:
- UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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
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;
- percent of National Parliament vote - NA
Legislative branch
- unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad;
- 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies;
- members serve five-year terms;
- note - parliament not in session during the extended caretaker regime
- elections:
- last held 1 October 2001 (the scheduled January 2007 election has been postponed until 29 December 2008)
- election results:
- percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance partners 41%, AL 40%, other 19%;
- 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 to power a majority BNP government aligned with three other smaller parties - JI, IOJ, and Jatiya Party (Manzur)
Political parties and leaders
- Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA];
- Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Manjurul A. KHAN];
- Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA];
- Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul Haq AMINI];
- Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh or JIB [Matiur 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
Advocacy to End Gender-based Violence through the MoWCA (Ministry of Women's and Children's Affairs)
- other:
- environmentalists;
- Islamist groups;
- religious leaders;
- teachers;
- union leaders
International organization participation
ADB, ARF, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador M. Humayun KABIR
- chancery:
- 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 244-0183
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 244-7830/2771
- consulate(s) general:
- Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador James F. MORIARTY
- 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
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.
51 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2007 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
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.
Labor force
69.4 million note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $4.8 billion in 2005-06. (2007 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
Imports - commodities
machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement
Exchange rates
taka (BDT) per US dollar - 69.893 (2007), 69.031 (2006), 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- inadequate for a modern country;
- fixed-line telephone density remains less than 1 per 100 persons;
- mobile-cellular telephone subscribership has been increasing rapidly and is approaching 25 per 100 persons
- 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;
- landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-4 fiber-optic submarine cable system that provides links to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia;
- satellite earth stations - 6;
- international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2007)
Transportation
10 fieldsMerchant marine, 40 ships by typeone square, one ship
Airports by runway lengthpaved only
Airports by runway lengthunpaved only
Networkskm
Waterways
8,370 km note: includes up to 3,060 km main cargo routes; network reduced to 5,200 km in dry season (2006)
Transportation - note
- the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial waters of Bangladesh as high risk for armed robbery against ships;
- numerous commercial vessels have been attacked both at anchor and while underway;
- crews have been robbed and stores or cargoes stolen
Military
Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force (Bangladesh Biman Bahini, BAF) (2008)
6 fieldsMilitary branches
Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force (Bangladesh Biman Bahini, BAF) (2008)
Military service age and obligation
- 16 years of age for voluntary military service;
- 17 years of age for officers (both with parental consent);
- conscription legally possible in emergency, but has never been implemented (2008)
Transnational Issues
3 fieldsDisputes - international
- discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, exchange territory for 51 small Bangladeshi exclaves in India and 111 small Indian exclaves in Bangladesh, allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border;
- Bangladesh protests India's fencing and walling off high-traffic sections of the porous boundary;
- a joint Bangladesh-India boundary commission resurveyed and reconstructed 92 missing pillars in 2007;
- dispute with India over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation;
- after 21 years, Bangladesh resumes talks with Burma on delimiting a maritime boundary
Refugees and internally displaced persons
- refugees (country of origin):
- 26,268 (Burma)
- IDPs:
- 65,000 (land conflicts, religious persecution) (2007)
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Bangladesh.” The World Factbook 2008. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/bangladesh/2008.