Bangladesh

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

mean elevation:

85 m

elevation extremes:

0 m lowest point: Indian Ocean; 1230 highest point: Keokradong

• 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;
• destruction of wetlands;
• severe overpopulation with noise pollution

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

0-14 years:

27.29% (male 22,135,349 /female 21,373,470)

15-24 years:

19.14% (male 15,313,674 /female 15,200,861)

25-54 years:

40.07% (male 30,626,005 /female 33,267,339)

55-64 years:

7.09% (male 5,582,450 /female 5,716,763)

65 years and over:

6.42% (male 4,844,612 /female 5,392,478) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

52.6 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

44.9 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

7.7 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

13 (2015 est.)

at birth:

1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

1 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

0.93 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

0.98 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

0.97 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

degree of risk:

high (2016)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever (2016)

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever and malaria are high risks in some locations (2016)

water contact diseases:

leptospirosis (2016)

animal contact diseases:

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)

etymology:

the origins of the name are unclear, but some sources state that the city's site was originally called "dhakka," meaning "watchtower," and that the area served as a watch-station for Bengal rulers

• 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 (preindependence); latest enacted 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended March 1982, restored November 1986 (2017)

amendments:

• proposed by the House of the Nation;
• approval requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the House membership and assent to by the president of the republic;
• 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

highest courts:

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

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 7 February 2018 (next to be held by 2023);
• the president appoints as prime minister the majority party leader in the National Parliament

election results:

• President Abdul HAMID (AL) reelected by the National Parliament unopposed for a second term;
• Sheikh HASINA reappointed prime minister as leader of the majority AL party following parliamentary elections in 2014

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 single transferable vote; 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;
• composition - men 281, women 69, percent of women 19.7%

• 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]
• Jamaat-i-Islami Bangladesh or JIB (Makbul AHMAD)
• 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 Earl Robert MILLER (since 29 November 2018)

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:

42.7%

industry:

20.5%

services:

36.9% (2016 est.)

lowest 10%:

27% (2010 est.)

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;
• fixed broadband penetration in Bangladesh remains very low mainly due to the dominance of the mobile platform;
• in July 2018 first test run of 5G technology in Bangladesh took place in Dhaka (2017)

domestic:

• fixed-line teledensity remains less than 1 per 100 persons;
• mobile-cellular telephone subscribership has been increasing rapidly and now exceeds 92 telephones per 100 persons;
• slow to moderate mobile subscriber growth is anticipated over the next five years to 2023;
• strong local competition (2017)

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)

number of registered air carriers:

6 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 30 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

2,906,799 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

182,692,553 mt-km (2015)

total:

2,460 km (2014)

narrow gauge:

1,801 km 1.000-m gauge (2014)

broad gauge:

659 km 1.676-m gauge (2014)

total:

21,269 km (2010)

paved:

2,021 km (2010)

unpaved:

19,248 km (2010)

total:

306 (2017)

by type:

bulk carrier 28, container ship 4, general cargo 75, oil tanker 110, other 89 (2017)

major seaport(s):

Chittagong

container port(s) (TEUs):

Chittagong (2,346,909) (2016)

river port(s):

Mongla Port (Sela River)

• 16-21 years of age for voluntary military service;
• Bangladeshi nationality and 10th grade education required;
• officers: 17-21 years of age, Bangladeshi nationality, and 12th grade education required (2018)

• the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial waters of Bangladesh remain a risk for armed robbery against ships;
• in 2017, the number of attacks against commercial vessels increased to 11 over three such incidents in 2016

Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami/Bangladesh (HUJI-B):

aim(s): install an Islamic state in Bangladesh

area(s) of operation:

headquartered in Bangladesh and mostly active in the southeast; maintains a network of madrassas in Bangladesh (April 2018); Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) networks in Bangladesh:

aim(s):

• replace the Bangladesh Government with an Islamic state and implement ISIS's strict interpretation of Sharia;
• ISIS operates in Bangladesh under the name Islamic State in Bangladesh (ISB)

area(s) of operation:

operates primarily in Dhaka

note: targets foreigners, foreign aid workers, university professors, students, and secular bloggers for assassination; core ISIS refers to its Bangladesh branch as Bengal (April 2018)

Bangladesh referred its maritime boundary claims with Burma and India to the International Tribunal on the Law of the SeaIndian 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 implementedBangladesh is struggling to accommodate more than 700,000 newly arrived Rohingya, a Burmese Muslim minority from Arakan State, who fled violence in Rakhine State, Burma, since 2017, joining a Rohingya refugee population of 200,000-300,000 living in Cox's Bazar District that arrived after bouts of violence in the 1990s and 2000sthe Bangladesh-Burma border remains tense, with a Burmese military build-up along the border and a 200 km (124 mi) wire fence the Burmese border authorities are constructing designed to deter illegal cross-border transit

refugees (country of origin):

923,000 (Burma) (2018) (includes an estimated 710,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled conflict since 25 August 2017)

IDPs:

432,000 (conflict, development, human rights violations, religious persecution, natural disasters) (2017)