Bangladesh

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

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

noun:

Bangladeshi(s)

adjective:

Bangladeshi

total:

29.2 years (2023 est.)

male:

28.3 years

female:

30 years

at birth:

1.04 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.87 male(s)/female

total population:

0.96 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

total:

29.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male:

32.1 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

26.9 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

75 years (2023 est.)

male:

72.8 years

female:

77.2 years

degree of risk:

high (2023)

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 diseases:

leptospirosis

animal contact diseases:

rabies

total:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

34.7% (2020 est.)

male:

52.2% (2020 est.)

female:

17.1% (2020 est.)

women married by age 15:

15.5%

women married by age 18:

51.4% (2019 est.)

• 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, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

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

urban population:

40.5% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

2.88% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

severe localized food insecurity:

• due to economic constraints and high prices of important food items - food insecurity is expected to remain fragile, given persisting economic constraints;
• domestic prices of wheat flour and palm oil, important food items, were at high levels in May 2023 (2023)

particulate matter emissions:

45.99 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

84.25 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

59.3 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal:

3.6 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

770 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

31.5 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

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

amendments:

• proposed by the House of the Nation;
• approval requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the House membership and assent of the president of the republic;
• amended many times, last in 2018

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 Mohammad Shahabuddin CHUPPI (since 24 April 2023)

head of government:

Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA Wazed (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 13 February 2023 (next to be held by 2028);
• 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 election in 2023

description:

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

elections:

last held on 30 December 2018 (next to be held on 7 January 2024)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party as of February 2022 - AL 299, JP 27, BNP 7, other 10, independent 7;
• composition - men 277, women 73, percent of women 20.9%

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:

• 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 Jamaat-i-Islami or JIB [Shafiqur RAHMAN]
• Bangladesh Nationalist Front or BNF [S. M. Abul Kalam AZAD]
• Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Tarique RAHMAN, acting chairperson; Begum Khaleda ZIA]
• Bangladesh Tariqat Federation or BTF [Syed Nozibul Bashar MAIZBHANDARI]
• Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Rowshan ERSHAD]
• Jatiya Party or JP (Manju faction) [Anwar Hossain MANJU]
• Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Oli AHMED]
• National Socialist Party (Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal) or JSD [Hasanul Haque INU]
• Workers Party or WP [Rashed Khan MENON]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Muhammad IMRAN (since 12 December 2022)

chancery:

3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 244-0183

FAX:

[1] (202) 244-2771

email address and website:

[email protected]; http://www.bdembassyusa.org/

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Peter HAAS (since 15 March 2022)

embassy:

Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka - 1212

mailing address:

6120 Dhaka Place, Washington DC 20521-6120

telephone:

[880] (2) 5566-2000

FAX:

[880] (2) 5566-2907

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://bd.usembassy.gov/

• 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

total World Heritage Sites:

3 (2 cultural, 1 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Bagerhat Historic Mosque (c);
• Ruins of the Buddhist Vihara at Paharpur (c);
• Sundarbans (n)

• one of the fastest growing economies;
• significant poverty reduction;
• COVID-19 adversely impacted female labor force participation and undermined previously stable financial conditions;
• looking to diversify beyond clothing industry;
• fairly low government debt;
• new taxation law struggling to increase government revenues

Fitch rating:

BB- (2014)

Moody's rating:

Ba3 (2012)

Standard & Poors rating: BB- (2010)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

total:

14.7% (2021 est.)

male:

12.5%

female:

19.6%

on food:

53.5% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

1.9% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

lowest 10%:

4%

highest 10%:

27% (2010 est.)

Number of operational nuclear reactors:

0

Number of nuclear reactors under construction:

2 (2023)

Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors:

0GW

Percent of total electricity production:

0%

Percent of total energy produced:

0%

Number of nuclear reactors permanently shut down:

0

production:

1.016 million metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

9.345 million metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

8.329 million metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

293 million metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

13,500 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

122,500 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

21,600 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

28 million barrels (2021 est.)

production:

28,629,927,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)

consumption:

31,268,968,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)

exports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

imports:

2,639,041,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)

proven reserves:

126.293 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• Bangladesh’s economic resurgence over the last decade took a battering in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic;
• the country had been on track to move off the United Nation’s Least Developed Countries list by 2026, however the crisis may have pushed that back a few years;
• the telecommunications sector experienced a set of challenges, with mobile data usage exploding at the same time as many consumers were being forced to curb their spending in other areas;
• the demand on data grew so large and so rapidly that Bangladesh came close to running out of bandwidth;
• at the start of 2020, Bangladesh was consuming around 900Gb/s on average, well below the 2,642GB/s capacity of its submarine cables;
• this ballooned to over 2,300Gb/s during the pandemic;
• Bangladesh was looking forward to adding 7,200Gb/s capacity when the SEA-ME-WE-6 submarine cable goes into service in mid-2024, but the sudden upsurge in downloads is forcing state-run company Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) to scramble to find alternatives before the country’s internet supply is maxed out;
• the increased demand during the Covid-19 crisis also put pressure on the country’s existing mobile networks, already under strain as a result of strong growth in the mobile broadband market coupled with significant untapped potential for mobile services in general across the country;
• this led to premium prices being paid at auction for spectrum in the 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands, most of which will be used to enhance and expand LTE services;
• a 5G spectrum auction had been anticipated for 2020, but low interest from the MNOs in going down that path when there are still so many areas waiting for LTE access means that 5G will likely be deferred until 2023 (2021)

domestic:

• fixed-line teledensity remains less than 1 per 100 persons;
• mobile-cellular telephone subscribership has been increasing rapidly and now exceeds 107 per 100 persons;
• mobile subscriber growth is anticipated over the next five years to 2023 (2021)

international:

• country code - 880;
• landing points for the SeaMeWe-4 and SeaMeWe-5 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 (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

6 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 30

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

5,984,155 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

63.82 million (2018) mt-km

total:

2,460 km (2014)

narrow gauge:

1,801 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge

broad gauge:

659 km (2014) 1.676-m gauge

total:

369,105 km (2018)

paved:

110,311 km (2018)

unpaved:

258,794 km (2018)

major seaport(s):

Chattogram (Chittagong)

container port(s) (TEUs):

Chattogram (Chittagong) (3,214,548) (2021)

LNG terminal(s) (import):

Moheshkhali (2 FSRU)

river port(s):

Mongla Port (Sela River)