Background: Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 when Bengali East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan. A third of this desperately poor country annually floods during the monsoon rainy season hampering normal economic development.

Geographic coordinates: 24 00 N, 90 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 144,000 km²
Land: 133,910 km²
Water: 10,090 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Wisconsin

Land boundaries
Total: 4,246 km
Border countries: (2) Burma 193 km; , India 4,053 km

Coastline: 580 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 18 nm
Continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 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 lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Reng Tlang 957 m

Natural resources: natural gas, arable land, timber

Land use
Arable land: 73%
Permanent crops: 2%
Permanent pastures: 5%
Forests and woodland: 15%
Other: 5% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 31,000 km² (1993 est.)

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

Population: 127,567,002 (July 1998 est.)
Growth rate: 1.76% (1998 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Bangladeshi(s)
Adjective: Bangladesh

Ethnic groups: Bengali 98%, Biharis 250,000, tribals less than 1 million

Languages: Bangla (official), English

Religions: Muslim 88.3%, Hindu 10.5%, other 1.2%

Age structure
0-14 years: 38% (male 24,339,519; female 23,377,955)
15-64 years: 59% (male 38,897,130; female 36,818,818)
65 years and over: 3% (male 2,239,638; female 1,893,942) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.76% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 28.89 births/1000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 10.6 deaths/1000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.69 migrant(s)/1000 population (1998 est.)

Environment
Current issues: many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; limited access to potable water; water-borne diseases prevalent; water pollution especially of fishing areas results from the use of commercial pesticides; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation; deforestation; severe overpopulation
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.18 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 97.67 deaths/1000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 56.66 years
Male: 56.69 years
Female: 56.63 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.32 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 38.1%
Male: 49.4%
Female: 26.1% (1995 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh
Conventional short form: Bangladesh
Former: East Pakistan

Government type: republic

Capital: Dhaka

Administrative divisions: 4 divisions; Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi
Note: there may be two new divisions named Barisal and Sylhet

Independence: 16 December 1971 (from Pakistan)

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 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 Shahabuddin AHMED (since 9 October 1996); note_the president's duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to the constitution ("Caretaker Government Amendment"), the president's role becomes significant at times when Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at presidential direction_to supervise the elections: ead of
Government: Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA Wajed (since 23 June 1996)
Cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president
Elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 24 July 1996 (next to be held by NA October 2001); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president
Election results: Shahabuddin AHMED elected president without opposition; percent of National Parliament vote_NA

Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad (330 seats; 300 elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies, 30 seats reserved for women; members serve five-year terms)
Elections: last held 12 June 1996 (next to be held NA 2001)
Election results: percent of vote by party_AL 33.87%, BNP 30.87%; seats by party_AL 178, BNP 113, JP 33, JI 3, other 2, election still to be held 1; note_the elections of 12 June 1996 brought to power an Awami League government for the first time in twenty-one years; held under a neutral, caretaker administration, the elections were characterized by a peaceful, orderly process and massive voter turnout, ending a bitter two-year impasse between the former BNP and opposition parties that had paralyzed National Parliament and led to widespread street violence

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, the Chief Justices and other judges are appointed by the president

International organization participation: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUA, NAM, OIC, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNOMIL, UNPREDEP, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Khwaja Mohammad SHEHABUDDIN
In the us chancery: 2,201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,007
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 342-8,372 through 8,376
In the us consulates general: Los Angeles and New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador John C. HOLZMAN
From the us embassy: Diplomatic Enclave, Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212
From the us mailing address: G.P.O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000
From the us telephone: [880] (2) 884,700 through 884,722
From the us fax: [880] (2) 883-744

Flag description: green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of center; the red sun of freedom represents the blood shed to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush countryside, and secondarily, the traditional color of Islam

Economy overview: Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains one of the world's poorest, most densely populated, and least developed nations. Annual GDP growth has averaged over 4% in recent years from a low base. Its economy is largely agricultural, with the cultivation of rice the single most important activity in the economy. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, the inefficiency of state-owned enterprises, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), inadequate power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Frequent strikes that crippled the economy in 1995 and early 1996 subsided after Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA Wajed's Awami League government assumed power in mid-1996, allowing a return to normal economic activity. The current government has made some headway improving the climate for foreign investors and liberalizing the capital markets; for example, it has negotiated with foreign firms for oil and gas exploration, better countrywide distribution of cooking gas, and the construction of natural gas pipelines and power plants. Progress on other economic reforms has been halting because of opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups.

Real gdp growth rate: 5.5% (1997 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $1,330 (1997 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 30%
Industry: 18%
Services: 52% (1996)

Agriculture products: rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes; beef, milk, poultry

Industries: jute manufacturing, cotton textiles, food processing, steel, fertilizer

Industrial production growth rate: 5.3% (1996)

Labor force
Total: 56 million
By occupation agriculture: 63%
By occupation services: 25%
By occupation industry and mining: 10% (1996)
Note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, and Oman (1996)

Unemployment rate: 35.2% (1996)

Budget
Revenues: $3.6 billion
Expenditures: $5.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $3 billion (FY96/97)

Fiscal year: 1 July_30 June

Exports: total value:$3.9 billion (1996)
Commodoties: garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood
Partners: Western Europe 42%, US 30%, Hong Kong 4%, Japan 3% (FY95/96 est.)

Imports: total value:$6.9 billion (1996)
Commodoties: capital goods, textiles, food, petroleum products
Partners: India 21%, China 10%, Western Europe 8%, Hong Kong 7%, Singapore 6% (FY95/96 est.)

Debt external: $17.1 billion (1996)

Exchange rates: taka (Tk) per US$1_45.450 (January 1998), 43.892 (1997), 41.794 (1996), 40.278 (1995), 40.212 (1994), 39.567 (1993)

Electricity
Capacity: 2.978 million kW (1995)
Production: 11.5 billion kWh (1997)
Consumption per capita: 71 kWh (1997 est.)

Telephones: 249,800 (1994 est.)

Telephone system
Domestic: poor domestic telephone service
International: satellite earth stations_2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $481 million (FY95/96)
Percent of gdp: 1.7% (FY95/96)

Airports: 16 (1997 est.)
With paved runways total: 15
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 7 (1997 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 1
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1 (1997 est.)

Pipelines: natural gas 1,220 km

Railways
Total: 2,892 km
Broad gauge: 978 km 1.676-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 1,914 km 1.000-m gauge (1992)

Waterways: 5,150-8,046 km navigable waterways (includes 2,575-3,058 km main cargo routes)

Merchant marine
Total: 39 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 310,728 GRT/444,245 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 31, oil tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1997 est.)

Disputes international: a portion of the boundary with India is indefinite

Illicit drugs: transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries