Map of Bangladesh | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

top of page


Background: The huge delta region formed at the confluence of the Ganges and Brahmaputra River systems - now referred to as Bangladesh - was a loosely incorporated outpost of various empires centered on the Gangetic plain for much of the first millennium A.D. Muslim conversions and settlement in the region began in the 10th century, primarily from Arab and Persian traders and preachers. Europeans established trading posts in the area in the 16th century. Eventually the area known as Bengal, primarily Hindu in the western section and mostly Muslim in the eastern half, became part of British India. Partition in 1947 resulted in an eastern wing of Pakistan in the Muslim-majority area, which became East Pakistan. Calls for greater autonomy and animosity between the eastern and western wings of Pakistan led to a Bengali independence movement. That movement, led by the Awami League (AL) and supported by India, won the independence war for Bangladesh in 1971.


top of page


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

Geographic coordinates: 24 00 N, 90 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 148,460 km²
Land: 130,170 km²
Water: 18,290 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Pennsylvania and New Jersey combined; slightly smaller than Iowa

Land boundaries
Total: 4,413 km
Border countries: (2) Burma 271 km; India 4,142 km

Coastline: 580 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 18 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 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
Highest point: Mowdok Taung 1,060 m
Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation: 85 m

Natural resources: natural gas, arable land, timber, coal

Land use
Agricultural land: 70.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 59% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 6.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 4.6% (2018 est.)
Forest: 11.1% (2018 est.)
Other: 18.8% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 81,270 km² (2020)

Major rivers
By length in km:

Major watersheds area km²: Indian Ocean drainage: Brahmaputra (651,335 km²), Ganges (1,016,124 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 3.6 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 770 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 31.5 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 1.23 trillion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: droughts; cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season

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


top of page


Population: 167,184,465 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: 0.91% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 24.3% (2016 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Bangladeshi(s)
Adjective: Bangladeshi

Ethnic groups: Bengali at least 98.9%, other indigenous ethnic groups 1.1% (2011 est.)
Note: Bangladesh's government recognizes 27 indigenous ethnic groups under the 2010 Cultural Institution for Small Anthropological Groups Act; other sources estimate there are about 75 ethnic groups; critics of the 2011 census claim that it underestimates the size of Bangladesh's ethnic population

Languages: Bangla 98.8% (official, also known as Bengali), other 1.2% (2011 est.)
Major-language samples: বিশ্ব ফ্যাক্টবুক, মৌলিক তথ্যের অপরিহার্য উৎস (Bangla)

Religions: Muslim 88.4%, other 11.6% (2020 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 25.38% (male 21,587,699/female 20,846,378)
15-64 years: 67.09% (male 54,560,958/female 57,599,478)
65 years and over: 7.53% (2023 est.) (male 5,871,022/female 6,718,930)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 47.7
Youth dependency ratio: 39.1
Elderly dependency ratio: 8.6
Potential support ratio: 11.6 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 29.2 years (2023 est.)
Male: 28.3 years
Female: 30 years

Population growth rate: 0.91% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 17.5 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 5.5 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 40.5% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 2.88% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 23.210 million DHAKA (capital), 5.380 million Chittagong, 955,000 Khulna, 962,000 Rajshahi, 964,000 Sylhet, 906,000 Bogra (2023)

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; destruction of wetlands; severe overpopulation with noise pollution
International agreements 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
International agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
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.)

Sex ratio
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.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 18.6 years (2017/18 est.)
Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49

Maternal mortality ratio: 123 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
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

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75 years (2023 est.)
Male: 72.8 years
Female: 77.2 years

Total fertility rate: 2.08 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 62.7% (2019)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 99% of population
Improved rural: 98.7% of population
Improved total: 98.9% of population
Unimproved urban: 1% of population
Unimproved rural: 1.3% of population
Unimproved total: 1.1% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 2.6% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 0.67 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density: 0.8 beds/1,000 population (2016)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases
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

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 3.6% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 34.7% (2020 est.)
Male: 52.2% (2020 est.)
Female: 17.1% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 22.6% (2019)

Education expenditures: 2.1% of GDP (2021 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 74.9%
Male: 77.8%
Female: 72% (2020)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 12 years
Male: 12 years
Female: 13 years (2020)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 14.7% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 12.5%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 19.6%


top of page


Country name
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"

Government type: parliamentary republic

Capital
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

Administrative divisions: 8 divisions; Barishal, Chattogram, Dhaka, Khulna, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Sylhet

Dependent areas

Independence: 16 December 1971 (from Pakistan)

National holiday: 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

Constitution
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

Legal system: mixed legal system of mostly English common law and Islamic law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
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 2,028); the president appoints as prime minister the majority party leader in the National Parliament
Election results: President Mohammad Shahabuddin CHUPPI (AL) elected unopposed by the National Parliament; Sheikh HASINA reappointed prime minister to a fourth term following the 7 January 2024 parliamentary election

Legislative branch
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 7 January 2024 (next to be held in 2,029)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party (directly elected) - AL 222, JP 11, other 3, independent 62, vacant 2; composition NA

Judicial branch
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: 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

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ADB, ARF, BIMSTEC, C, CD, CICA (observer), CP, D-8, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Muhammad IMRAN (since 12 December 2022)
In the us chancery: 3,510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 244-2,771
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Peter HAAS (since 15 March 2022)
From the us embassy: Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka - 1212
From the us mailing address: 6,120 Dhaka Place, Washington DC 20,521-6,120
From the us telephone: [880] (2) 5,566-2000
From the us FAX: [880] (2) 5,566-2,907
From the us email address and website:

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 symbols: Bengal tiger, water lily; national colors: green, red

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

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 3 (2 cultural, 1 natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


top of page


Economy overview: 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

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 68.7% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 6% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 30.5% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 15% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -20.3% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 14.2% (2017 est.)
Industry: 29.3% (2017 est.)
Services: 56.5% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: rice, potatoes, maize, sugar cane, milk, vegetables, onions, jute, mangoes/guavas, wheat

Industries: jute, cotton, garments, paper, leather, fertilizer, iron and steel, cement, petroleum products, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, ceramics, tea, salt, sugar, edible oils, soap and detergent, fabricated metal products, electricity, natural gas

Industrial production growth rate: 10.29% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 70.961 million (2021 est.)
Note: extensive migration of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia

Unemployment rate:
Note: about 40% of the population is underemployed; many persons counted as employed work only a few hours a week and at low wages

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 14.7% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 12.5%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 19.6%

Population below poverty line: 24.3% (2016 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 32.4 (2016 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 4%
Highest 10%: 27% (2010 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $30.023 billion (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $46.379 billion (2019 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: -3.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 7% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Public debt:

Revenue
From forest resources: 0.08% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0.02% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

Inflation rate consumer prices:

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance:

Exports:
Note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.
Partners: United States 15%, Germany 14%, United Kingdom 8%, Spain 7%, France 7% (2019)
Commodities: clothing, knitwear, leather footwear (2021)

Imports:
Partners: China 31%, India 15%, Singapore 5% (2019)
Commodities: refined petroleum, cotton, natural gas, scrap iron, wheat (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


top of page


Electricity
Access population without electricity: 11 million (2020)
Access electrification-total population: 98.9% (2021)
Access electrification-urban areas: 99.7% (2021)
Access electrification-rural areas: 98.5% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 18.461 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 76,849,877,000 kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
Imports: 6.786 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 9.537 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 98.6% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0.6% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
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.)

Petroleum
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.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 26,280 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports: 901 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 81,570 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
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.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 96.18 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 16.538 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 18.535 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 61.107 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 9.917 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


top of page


Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 274,295 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 0 (2021 est.) less than 1
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 181,021,227 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 107 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: state-owned Bangladesh Television (BTV) broadcasts throughout the country. Some channels, such as BTV World, operate via satellite. The government also owns a medium wave radio channel and some private FM radio broadcast news channels. Of the 41 Bangladesh approved TV stations, 26 are currently being used to broadcast. Of those, 23 operate under private management via cable distribution. Collectively, TV channels can reach more than 50 million people across the country.

Internet
Country code: .bd
Users total: 66.3 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 39% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 10,052,819 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 6 (2020 est.)


top of page


Military expenditures:

Military and security forces:
Note 1: the Armed Forces of Bangladesh are jointly administered by the Ministry of Defense (MOD) and the Armed Forces Division (AFD), both under the Prime Minister's Office; the AFD has ministerial status and parallel functions with MOD; the AFD is a joint coordinating headquarters for the three services and also functions as a joint command center during wartime; to coordinate policy, the prime minister and the president are advised by a six-member board, which includes the three service chiefs of staff, the principal staff officer of the AFD, and the military secretaries to the prime minister and president
Note 2: the RAB, Ansars, and VDP are paramilitary organizations for internal security; the RAB is a joint task force founded in 2004 and composed of members of the police, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Border Guards seconded to the RAB from their respective units; its mandate includes internal security, intelligence gathering related to criminal activities, and government-directed investigations

Military service age and obligation: 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 (2023)

Space program
Overview: has a modest space program focused on designing, building, and operating satellites, particularly those with remote sensing (RS) capabilities; researching a variety of other space-related capabilities and technologies; has a government-owned company for acquiring and operating satellites (Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited or BSCL, established in 2017); has relations with several foreign space agencies and commercial entities, including those of France, Japan, Russia, and the US (2023)
Overview note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in space programs

Terrorist groups
Terrorist groups: Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami/Bangladesh; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham in Bangladesh (ISB); al-Qa'ida; al-Qa'ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS)
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in terrorist organizations


top of page


National air transport system
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

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: S2

Airports: 18 (2021)
With paved runways: 16
With paved runways civil airports: 1
With paved runways military airports: 2
With paved runways joint use (civil-military) airports: 2
With paved runways other airports: 11
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 2
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports: 3 (2021)

Pipelines: 2,950 km gas (2013)

Railways
Total: 2,460 km (2014)
Narrow gauge: 1,801 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge
Broad gauge: 659 km (2014) 1.676-m gauge

Roadways
Total: 369,105 km (2018)
Paved: 110,311 km (2018)
Unpaved: 258,794 km (2018)

Waterways: 8,370 km (2011) (includes up to 3,060 km of main cargo routes; network reduced to 5,200 km in the dry season)

Merchant marine
Total: 511 (2022)
By type: bulk carrier 56, container ship 10, general cargo 150, oil tanker 152, other 143

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Chattogram (Chittagong)
Container ports teus: Chattogram (Chittagong) (3,214,548) (2021)
Lng terminals import: Moheshkhali (2 FSRU)
River ports: Mongla Port (Sela River)


top of page


Disputes international:

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 967,842 (Burma) (2023)
IDPs: 427,000 (conflict, development, human rights violations, religious persecution, natural disasters) (2022)
Stateless persons: 929,606 (2022)

Illicit drugs: transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries; does not manufacture precursor chemicals with the exception of sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid, and toluene