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GEOGRAPHY
Location: Southern Asia, bordering the
Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
Geographic Coordinates: 24D
00N, 90D 00E
Area:
Total: 144,000 sq. km
Land: 133,910 sq. km
Water: 10, 090 sq. km
Area -- comparative: Slightly smaller
than Wisconsin
Land boundaries: 4,246 km
Border countries: Burma 193 km, India
4,053 km
Coastline: 580 km.
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 18 NM
Continental shelf: up to the outer
limit of the continental margin.
Exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Territorial zone: 12 NM
Climate: tropical; cool; dry winter
(October to March); HOT, HUMID SUMMER (March to June); cool, rainy
monsoon (June to October)
Terrain: mostly flat alluvial plain;
hilly in southeast
Elevation extremes: Indian Ocean 0 m
Highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m
Natural resources: natural gas, oil,
arable land, and timber
Land use:
Arable land: 73%
Permanent crops: 2%
Permanent pastures: 5%
Forest and woodland: 15%
Others: 5%
Irrigated land: 31,000 sq. km
PEOPLE
Population: 127,117,967(1999 east)
Age structure:
00 - 14 years: 38% (male 24,516,722;
female 23,346,904)
15 -- 64 years: 59% (male 38,441,064;
female 36,586,743)
65 years and over: 3% (male 2,303,613;
female 1,922,921)
Population growth rate: 1.59%
Birth rate: 25.2 births/1000 population
Death rate: 8.5 death/1000population
Net migration rate: 0.79 migrant(s)/1000
population
Sex ratio: 1.06 males(s)/female
Infant mortality rate: 69.68
deaths/1000 live births
Total fertility rate: 2.86 children
born/woman
Nationality:
Noun: Bangladeshi(s)
Adjective: BANGLADESH
Religions: Muslim88.3%, Hindu 10.5%,
others 1.2%
Ethnic groups: Bengali 98%, Biharis
250,000, and tribals less than 1 million
Languages:
Official: Bangla
Second: English
Literacy: 38.3% (age 15 over 15 can
read and write)
Male: 49.4%
Female: 26.1%
GOVERNMENT
Name:
Conventional long form: People's
Republic of Bangladesh
Conventional short form: Bangladesh.
Government type: republic
Capital: Dhaka
Administrative divisions: 6 divisions;
Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, and Sylhet.
Victory day: 16 December 1971(Liberated
by a revolutionary war)
Independence Day: 25 March 1971
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
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
Chief of state: President
President's duty: the President's
duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to the
constitution, the president's role becomes significant at times when
Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at
presidential direction - to superrvise the elections.
Head of government: Prime Minister
Cabinet: cabinet selected by the Prime
Minister and appointed by the president
Elections: president elected by National Parliament for five year
term; following legislative elections, the leader of the party that
wins most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the
president.
Legislative branch: unicameral National
Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad (330 seats; 300 elected by popular vote
from single territorial constituencies, 30 seats reserved for women;
elected by the parliament members for five years.
Judicial branch: the president appoints
Supreme Court, the chief Justices and other judges
ECONOMY:
GDP:
PURCHASING POWER PARITY -- $175.5
BILLIONS
Real growth rate: 4%
Per capita: purchasing power parity --
$1,380
Composition by sector:
Agriculture: 30%
Industry: 17%
Service: 53%
Population below poverty line: 35.6%
Labor force: 35.2%
Industries: jute manufacturing cotton
textiles, food processing, steel, fertilizer
Industrial production growth rate: 3.6%
Electricity: production: 11.5 billion
kWh
Electricity production source:
Fossil: 97.35%
Hydro. 2.65%
Electricity: consumption: 11.5
billion kWh
Agricultural product: rice, jute, tea,
wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, beef, milk, poultry
Export: $4.4 billions (1997)
Export commodities: garments, jute,
jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood
Export partners: western Europe 42%, US
30%, Hong Kong 4%, Japan 3%,
Imports: $7.1 billion (1997)
Import commodities: capital goods,
textile, food, and petroleum products
Import -- partners: India 21%, China
10%, Western Europe 8%, Hong Kong 7%, Singapore 6%,
Dept -- external: $16.7 billion (1887)
Economic aid -- recipient: $1.475 (FY
96/97)
COMMUNICATION
TELEPHONES: 249,800(1994)
RADIO BROADCAST STATIONS am12, fm12,
short-wave 2( one of Bangladesh's two short-wave stations,
Bangladesh Beter or Radio Bangladesh, transmit its programs to the
world in six languages on four frequencies)(1998)
Television broadcast station: 11(1997)
TRANSPORTATION:
Railway:
Total: 2,745km
Broad gauge: 923km 1.676 -m gauge
Narrow gauge: 1,822km 1.000-m gauge
Highways:
Total: 204,022km
Paved: 25,095km
Unpaved: 178,927km
Waterways: 5,150 - 8,046 km navigable
waterways (includes 2,575 - 3058km main cargo routes)
Pipelines: natural gas 1,220 km
Ports and harbors: Chittagong, Dhaka,
and Mongla Port
Merchant Marine:
Total: 40 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 315,855 GRT/453,002DWT
Ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 33, oil tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1,
roll on/roll-off cargo 2
Airports:
Total: 17
Airport with unpaved runway: 1
Airport with paved runway: 15
MILITARY
Military branches: army, Navy, Air
Force, paramilitary forces (includes Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh
Ansars, Village Defense Parties, National Defense Corp)
Military expenditure -- Dollar figure
$559million (FY96/97)
-- Percent of GDP 1.8% (FY 96/97)
SHORT HISTORY
BANGLADESH Governed for centuries by Afghans, Moguls, and Muslim
rulers, the area that is now Bangladesh became part of British India
in the late 18th century. The history of Bangladesh is related to
that of the larger area of Bengal, which became independent of Delhi
by 1341. After a succession of Muslim rulers, Akbar, the Mughal
emperor 1576, conquered it. By the beginning of 18th century the
governor of the province was virtually independent, but he lost
control to the British East India Company, which after 1775 was the
effective ruler of the vast srea, which also included the Indian
states of West Bengal, Orissa, and Bihar.
British divided Bengal in 1905 into West Bengal and East Bengal,
with East Bengal being more or less coterminous modern Bangladesh.
Since the new province had a majority of Muslim population, Muslims
welcomed the partition, but Indian nationalist leaders who saw it as
an attempt to drive a wedge between Muslims and Hindus fiercely
resented it. The partition was withdrawn in 1911, but it had pointed
to the events of 1947, when British India was partitioned into the
states of India and Pakistan.
Pakistan consisted of two "wings," one of the wests of
India, and the other to the east. The eastern section was
constituted from the eastern portion of Bengal and the former Sylhet
district of Assam and was known until 1955 as East Bengal and then
East Pakistan. Pakistan's two provinces, which differ considerably
in natural setting, economy, and historical background, were
separated from each other by more than 1000 in of India, the east
Pakistanis, who comprised 56% of the total population of Pakistan,
were discontented under a government centered in West Pakistan; the
disparity in government investments and development funds given to
each province also added to the resentment. Efforts over the years
to secure increased economic benefits and political reforms proved
unsuccessful, and serious riots (political violence) broke out in
1968 and 1969. Sheikh Muzibur Rahman spearheaded a movement for
greater autonomy. The dictator military president of Pakistan
resigned in favor of Gen. Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan.
The movement for greater autonomy gained momentum when, in Dec.,
1971, general elections, the Awami League under the leadership of
Sheikh Muzibur Rahman won practically all of Eat Pakistan's seats
and thus achieved a majority in 6the Pakistan National Assembly.
YAHYA Khan, hoping to avert a political confrontation between East
and West Pakistan, twice postponed the opening session of the
national assembly.
The government's attempt to forestall the autonomy bid led to
general strikes and nonpayment of taxes in East Pakistan. Finally
the, Pakistan army attacked the general people of East Pakistan on
March 25, 1971. On the following day it was affirmed that civil was
broke out. During the war of liberation three million innocent
Bengali people were killed by the Pakistani Army, 10 million fled
into exile in India, and lot of women were assaulted by the Pakistan
Army and finally achieved victory & became independent on.
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