Bangladesh

• tropical;
• mild winter (October to March);
• hot, humid summer (March to June);
• humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)

agricultural land:

70.1%;

• arable land 59%;
• permanent crops 6.5%;
• permanent pasture 4.6%

forest:

11.1%

other:

18.8% (2011 est.)

• droughts;
• cyclones;
• much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season

• 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

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

noun:

Bangladeshi(s)

adjective:

Bangladeshi

at birth:

1.04 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.93 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.97 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

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 (2016)

conventional long form:

People's Republic of Bangladesh

conventional short form:

Bangladesh

local long form:

Gana Prajatantri Bangladesh

local short form:

Bangladesh

former:

East Bengal, East Pakistan

etymology:

the name - a compound of the Bengali words "Bangla" (Bengal) and "desh" (country) - means "Country of Bengal"

name:

Dhaka

geographic coordinates:

23 43 N, 90 24 E

time difference:

UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

• Independence Day, 26 March (1971);
• Victory Day, 16 December (1971);
• note - 26 March 1971 is the date of the Awami League's declaration of an independent Bangladesh, and 16 December (Victory Day) memorializes the military victory over Pakistan and the official creation of the state of Bangladesh

history:

previous 1935, 1956, 1962 (pre-independence); latest enacted 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended March 1982, restored November 1986

amendments:

• proposed by the House of the Nation;
• approval requires at least a two-thirds majority vote by the House membership, assented to by the president of the republic, and approved in a referendum by a majority of voters;
• amended many times, last in 2014 (2017)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Bangladesh

dual citizenship recognized:

yes, but limited to select countries

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

• President Abdul HAMID (since 24 April 2013);
• note - Abdul HAMID served as acting president following the death of Zillur RAHMAN in March 2013;
• HAMID was subsequently indirectly elected by the National Parliament and sworn in 24 April 2013

head of government:

Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA (since 6 January 2009)

cabinet:

Cabinet selected by the prime minister, appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president indirectly elected by the National Parliament for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 22 April 2013 (next to be held by 2018);
• the president appoints as prime minister the majority party leader in the National Parliament

election results:

President Abdul HAMID (AL) elected by the National Parliament unopposed; Sheikh HASINA reappointed prime minister as leader of the majority AL party

description:

unicameral House of the Nation or Jatiya Sangsad (350 seats; 300 members in single-seat territorial constituencies directly elected by simple majority popular vote; 50 members - reserved for women only - indirectly elected by the elected members by proportional representation vote using the single transferable vote method; all members serve 5-year terms)

elections:

• last held on 5 January 2014 (next to be held by January 2019);
• note - the 5 January 2014 poll was marred by widespread violence, boycotts, general strikes, and low voter turnout

election results:

• percent of vote by party - AL 79.1%, JP (Ershad) 11.3%, WP 2.1%, JSD 1.8%, other 1%, independent 4.8%;
• seats by party - AL 234, JP 34, WP 6, JSD 5, other 5, independent 15;
• 1 seat repolled

highest court(s):

Supreme Court of Bangladesh (organized into the Appellate Division with 7 justices and the High Court Division with 99 justices)

judge selection and term of office:

chief justice and justices appointed by the president; justices serve until retirement at age 67

subordinate courts:

• subordinate courts: civil courts include: Assistant Judge's Court;
• Joint District Judge's Court;
• Additional District Judge's Court;
• District Judge's Court;
• criminal courts include: Court of Sessions;
• Court of Metropolitan Sessions;
• Metropolitan Magistrate Courts;
• Magistrate Court;
• special courts/tribunals

• Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]
• Bangladesh Nationalist Front or BNF [Abdul Kalam AZADI]
• Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA]
• Bangladesh Tariqat Federation or BTF [Syed Nozibul Bashar MAIZBHANDARI]
• Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]
• Jatiya Party or JP (Manju faction) [Anwar Hossain MANJU]
• Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Oli AHMED]
• National Socialist Party or JSD [KHALEQUZZAMAN]
• Workers Party or WP [Rashed Khan MENON]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mohammad ZIAUDDIN (since 18 September 2014)

chancery:

3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 244-0183

FAX:

[1] (202) 244-2771

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Marcia BERNICAT (since 4 February 2015)

embassy:

Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212

mailing address:

G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000

telephone:

[880] (2) 5566-2000

FAX:

[880] (2) 5566-2915

• 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

name:

"Amar Shonar Bangla" (My Golden Bengal)

lyrics/music:

Rabindranath TAGORE

note: adopted 1971; Rabindranath TAGORE, a Nobel laureate, also wrote India's national anthem

agriculture:

47%

industry:

13%

services:

40% (2010 est.)

lowest 10%:

4%

highest 10%:

27% (2010 est.)

general assessment:

• inadequate for a modern country;
• introducing digital systems;
• trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities

domestic:

• fixed-line teledensity remains less than 1 per 100 persons;
• mobile-cellular telephone subscribership has been increasing rapidly and now exceeds 80 telephones per 100 persons

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 (2016)

• state-owned Bangladesh Television (BTV) operates 1 terrestrial TV station, 3 radio networks, and about 10 local stations;
• 8 private satellite TV stations and 3 private radio stations also broadcasting;
• foreign satellite TV stations are gaining audience share in the large cities;
• several international radio broadcasters are available (2009)

number of registered air carriers:

6; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 30

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

2,906,799

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

182,692,553 mt-km (2015)

total:

2,460 km

broad gauge:

659 km 1.676-m gauge

narrow gauge:

1,801 km 1.000-m gauge (2014)

country comparison to the world: 66

total:

21,269 km

paved:

2,021 km

unpaved:

19,248 km (2010)

country comparison to the world: 106

total:

62

by type:

bulk carrier 25, cargo 28, chemical tanker 1, container 5, petroleum tanker 3

foreign-owned:

8 (China 1, Singapore 7)

registered in other countries:

10 (Comoros 1, Hong Kong 1, Panama 5, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Sierra Leone 1, Singapore 1) (2010)

country comparison to the world: 65

major seaport(s):

Chittagong

river port(s):

Mongla Port (Sela River)

container port(s):

Chittagong (1,392,104) (2011)

• 16-19 years of age for voluntary military service;
• Bangladeshi birth and 10th grade education required;
• initial obligation 15 years (2012)

• the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial waters of Bangladesh remain a risk for armed robbery against ships;
• in 2016, the number of attacks against commercial vessels decreased to three over 11 such incidents in 2015

• Bangladesh referred its maritime boundary claims with Burma and India to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea;
• Indian Prime Minister Singh's September 2011 visit to Bangladesh resulted in the signing of a Protocol to the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh, which had called for the settlement of longstanding boundary disputes over undemarcated areas and the exchange of territorial enclaves, but which had never been implemented;
• Bangladesh struggles to accommodate 32,000 Rohingya, Burmese Muslim minority from Arakan State, living as refugees in Cox's Bazar;
• Burmese border authorities are constructing a 200 km (124 mi) wire fence designed to deter illegal cross-border transit and tensions from the military build-up along border

refugees (country of origin):

891,200 (Burma) (2017) (includes an estimated 615,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled conflict since 25 August 2017)

IDPs:

426,000 (conflict, development, human rights violations, religious persecution, natural disasters) (2016)