Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Background:- 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, emergency caretaker regime suspended parliamentary elections planned for January 2007 in an effort to reform the political system and root out corruption. In contrast to the strikes and violent street rallies that had marked Bangladeshi politics in previous years, the parliamentary elections finally held in late December 2008 were mostly peaceful and Sheikh HASINA Wajed was elected prime minister. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development. Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India Geographic coordinates: 24 00 N, 90 00 E Area: total: 143,998 sq km country comparison to the world: 94 land: 130,168 sq km water: 13,830 sq km Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Iowa Land boundaries: total: 4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km Coastline: 580 km Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin Climate: tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October) Terrain: mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m Natural resources: natural gas, arable land, timber, coal Land use: arable land: 55.39% permanent crops: 3.08% other: 41.53% (2005) Irrigated land: 47,250 sq km (2003) Total renewable water resources: 1,210.6 cu km (1999) 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 Population: 158,570,535 (July 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 7 Age structure: 0-14 years: 34.3% (male 27,551,594/female 26,776,647) 15-64 years: 61.1% (male 45,956,431/female 50,891,519) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 3,616,225/female 3,778,119) (2011 est.) Median age: total: 23.3 years male: 22.7 years female: 23.7 years (2011 est.) Population growth rate: 1.566% (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 76 Birth rate: 22.98 births/1,000 population (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 72 Death rate: 5.75 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 172 Net migration rate: -1.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 158 Urbanization: urban population: 28% of total population (2010) rate of urbanization: 3.1% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) Major cities - population: DHAKA (capital) 14.251 million; Chittagong 4.816 million; Khulna 1.636 million; Rajshahi 853,000 (2009) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2011 est.) Infant mortality rate: total: 50.73 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 47 male: 53.23 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 69.75 years country comparison to the world: 148 male: 67.93 years female: 71.65 years (2011 est.) Total fertility rate: 2.6 children born/woman (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 81 HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 117 HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 6,300 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 117 HIV/AIDS - deaths: fewer than 200 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 114 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 (2009) Nationality: noun: Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi Ethnic groups: Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims) (1998) Religions: Muslim 89.5%, Hindu 9.6%, other 0.9% (2004) Languages: Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 47.9% male: 54% female: 41.4% (2001 Census) School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): total: 8 years male: 8 years female: 8 years (2007) Education expenditures: 2.4% of GDP (2008) country comparison to the world: 149 Country name: conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh local long form: Gana Prajatantri Bangladesh local short form: former: East Bengal, East Pakistan Government type: parliamentary democracy Capital: name: Dhaka geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 24 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) Administrative divisions: 7 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Sylhet 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 Legal system: based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Executive branch: chief of state: President Zillur RAHMAN (since 12 February 2009) head of government: Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA Wajed (since 6 January 2009) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president (For more information visit the World Leaders website  ) elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); last  election held on 11 February 2009 (next to be held in 2014) election results: Zillur RAHMAN declared president-elect by the Election Commission on 11 February  2009 (sworn in on 12 February); he ran unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote - NA Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats (45 reserved for women) elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies; members serve five-year terms elections: last held on 29 December 2008 (next to be held in 2013) election results: percent of vote by party - AL 49%, BNP 33.2%, JP 7%, JIB 4.6%, other 6.2%; seats  by party - AL 230, BNP 30, JP 27, JIB 2, other 11 Judicial branch: Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president) Political parties and leaders: Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Communist Party of Bangladesh or CPB [Manjurul A.KHAN]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA]; Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh or BDB [Badrudozza CHOWDHURY]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [multiple leaders]; Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh or JIB [Matiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [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, CICA (observer), CP, D-8, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN,  UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Akramul QADER 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. National anthem: 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 Economy - overview: The economy has grown 5-6% per year since 1996 despite political instability, poor infrastructure,corruption, insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Bangladesh remains a poor,  overpopulated, and inefficiently- governednation. Although more than half of GDP is generated through  the service sector, 45% of Bangladeshisare employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. Bangladesh's growth was resilient during the 2008-09 global financial crisis a nd recession. Garment exports, totaling $12.3 billion in  FY09 and remittances from overseas Bangladeshis,totaling $11 billion in FY10,  accounted for almost 25% of GDP. GDP (purchasing power parity): $259.3 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 47 $244.6 billion (2009 est.) $231.4 billion (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars GDP (official exchange rate): $100.1 billion (2010 est.) GDP - real growth rate: 6% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 44 5.7% (2009 est.) 6% (2008 est.) GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,700 (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 195 $1,600 (2009 est.) $1,500 (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 18.4% industry: 28.7% services: 52.9% (2010 est.) Labor force: 73.87 million country comparison to the world: 8 note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances were $10.9 billion in FY09/10 (2010 est.) Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 45% industry: 30% services: 25% (2008) Unemployment rate: 4.8% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 44 5.1% (2009 est.) note: about 40% of the population is underemployed; many participants in the labor force work only a  few hours a week, at low wages Population below poverty line: 40% (2010 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: 26.6% (2008 est.) Distribution of family income - Gini index: 33.2 (2005) country comparison to the world: 95 33.6 (1996) Investment (gross fixed): 24.4% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 48 Budget: revenues: $11.43 billion expenditures: $15.9 billion (2010 est.) Public debt: 39.3% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 75 39.7% of GDP (2009 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.1% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 185 5.4% (2009 est.) Central bank discount rate: 5% (31 October 2010) country comparison to the world: 81 5% (31 December 2008) Commercial bank prime lending rate: 11.18% (30 September 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 46 14.6% (31 December 2009 est.) Stock of narrow money: $13.98 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 67 $10.92 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Stock of broad money: $57.21 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 64 $63.03 billion (31 December 2009) Stock of domestic credit: $62.2 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 60 $53.77 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Market value of publicly traded shares: $7.068 billion (31 December 2009) country comparison to the world: 74 $6.671 billion (31 December 2008) $6.793 billion (31 December 2007) Agriculture - products: rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry