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.

Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India

24 00 N, 90 00 E

Asia

slightly smaller than Iowa

580 km

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

mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast

natural gas, arable land, timber, coal

50,500 sq km (2008)

1,210.6 cu km (1999)

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

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

Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims) (1998)

Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English

Muslim 89.5%, Hindu 9.6%, other 0.9% (2004)

158,570,535 (July 2011 est.)

1.566% (2011 est.)

22.98 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

5.75 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

-1.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

DHAKA (capital) 14.251 million; Chittagong 4.816 million; Khulna 1.636 million; Rajshahi 853,000 (2009)

340 deaths/100,000 live births (2008)

2.6 children born/woman (2011 est.)

3.4% of GDP (2009)

0.295 physicians/1,000 population (2007)

0.4 beds/1,000 population (2005)

urban: 85% of population

rural: 78% of population

total: 80% of population

urban: 15% of population

rural: 22% of population

total: 20% of population (2008)

urban: 56% of population

rural: 52% of population

total: 53% of population

urban: 44% of population

rural: 48% of population

total: 47% of population (2008)

less than 0.1% (2009 est.)

6,300 (2009 est.)

fewer than 200 (2009 est.)

41.3% (2007)

2.4% of GDP (2008)

parliamentary democracy

7 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Sylhet

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

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

enacted 4 November 1972; effective 16 December 1972; suspended following coup of 24 March 1982; restored 10 November 1986; amended many times

mixed legal system of mostly English common law and Islamic law

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

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

Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president)

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]

Advocacy to End Gender-based Violence through the MoWCA (Ministry of Women's and Children's Affairs)

ADB, ARF, BIMSTEC, C, CICA (observer), CP, D-8, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, 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, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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

Bengal tiger

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-governed nation. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, 45% of Bangladeshis are 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 and 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.

$258.6 billion (2010 est.)

$243.9 billion (2009 est.)

$230.6 billion (2008 est.)

$104.9 billion (2010 est.)

6% (2010 est.)

5.8% (2009 est.)

6% (2008 est.)

$1,700 (2010 est.)

$1,600 (2009 est.)

$1,500 (2008 est.)

73.86 million

5.1% (2010 est.)

5.1% (2009 est.)

40% (2010 est.)

33.2 (2005)

33.6 (1996)

23.8% of GDP (2010 est.)

10.9% of GDP (2010 est.)

-4.2% of GDP (2010 est.)

35.4% of GDP (2010 est.)

35.4% of GDP (2009 est.)

8.1% (2010 est.)

5.4% (2009 est.)

5% (31 December 2010 est.)

5% (31 December 2009 est.)

13% (31 December 2010 est.)

14.6% (31 December 2009 est.)

$14.12 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$10.88 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$56.44 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$47.38 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$64.71 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$53.59 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$47 billion (31 December 2010)

$7.068 billion (31 December 2009)

$6.671 billion (31 December 2008)

rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry

cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar

7% (2010 est.)

25.62 billion kWh (2009 est.)

23.94 billion kWh (2009 est.)

0 kWh (2009 est.)

0 kWh (2009 est.)

5,724 bbl/day (2010 est.)

98,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)

2,770 bbl/day (2009 est.)

77,340 bbl/day (2010 est.)

28 million bbl (1 January 2011 est.)

19.75 billion cu m (2009 est.)

20.1 billion cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2009 est.)

0 cu m (2009 est.)

195.4 billion cu m (1 January 2011 est.)

$3.734 billion (2010 est.)

$3.556 billion (2009 est.)

$19.24 billion (2010 est.)

$15.07 billion (2009 est.)

garments, frozen fish and seafood, jute and jute goods, leather

US 22.1%, Germany 14.1%, UK 8.5%, France 6.8%, Netherlands 6.1% (2010)

$24.72 billion (2010 est.)

$19.68 billion (2009 est.)

machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement

China 18.9%, India 12.7%, Singapore 6%, Malaysia 4.7%, Japan 4% (2010)

$11.18 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$10.34 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$24.6 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$23.82 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$6.107 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$5.139 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$91.2 million (31 December 2010 est.)

$91 million (31 December 2009 est.)

taka (BDT) per US dollar -

70.59 (2010)

69.04 (2009)

68.554 (2008)

69.893 (2007)

69.031 (2006)

900,000 (2010)

68.65 million (2010)

state-owned broadcaster (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 (2007)

.bd

68,224 (2010)

617,300 (2009)

17 (2010)

gas 2,714 km (2010)

8,370 km (includes up to 3,060 km of main cargo routes; the network is reduced to 5,200 km in the dry season) (2007)

Chittagong, Mongla Port

the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial waters of Bangladesh remain a high risk for armed robbery against ships; attacks against vessels increased in 2010 for the second consecutive year; 23 commercial vessels were attacked both at anchor and while underway; crews were robbed and stores or cargoes stolen

Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army (Sena Bahini), Bangladesh Navy (Noh Bahini, BN), Bangladesh Air Force (Biman Bahini, BAF) (2010)

16 years of age for voluntary enlisted military service (Air Force); 17 years of age (Army and Navy); conscription is by law possible in times of emergency, but has never been implemented (2010)

1.3% of GDP (2009)

Bangladesh referred its maritime boundary claims with Burma and India to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea; 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 29,000 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

transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries