Bangladesh

People's Republic of Bangladesh

President: Iajuddin Ahmed (2002)

Prime Minister: Khaleda Zia (2001)

Land area: 51,703 sq mi (133,911 sq km); total area: 55,599 sq mi (144,000 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 147,365,352 (growth rate: 2.1%); birth rate: 29.8/1000; infant mortality rate: 60.8/1000; life expectancy: 62.5; density per sq mi: 2,850

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Dhaka, 12,560,000 (metro.area), 5,378,023 (city proper)

Other large cities: Chittagong, 2,592,400; Khulna, 1,211,500

Monetary unit: Taka

Principal languages: Bangla (official), English

Ethnicity/race: Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998)

Religions: Islam 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)

Literacy rate: 43% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $301.4 billion; per capita $2,100. Real growth rate: 5.4%. Inflation: 6.7%. Unemployment: 2.5% (includes underemployment). Arable land: 55.39%. Agriculture: rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry. Labor force: 66.6 million; note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; agriculture 63%, industry 11%, services 26% (FY95/96). Industries: cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar. Natural resources: natural gas, arable land, timber, coal. Exports: $9.372 billion (2005 est.): garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood (2001). Imports: $12.97 billion (2005 est.): machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement (2000). Major trading partners: U.S., Germany, UK, France, Italy, India, China, Singapore, Kuwait, Japan, Hong Kong (2004).

Member of Commonwealth of Nations

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 831,000 (2004); mobile cellular: 2,781,600 (2004). Radio broadcast stations: AM 15, FM 13, shortwave 2 (2006) Television broadcast stations: 15 (1999). Internet hosts: 266 (2005). Internet users: 300,000 (2005).

Transportation: Railways: total: 2,706 km (2004). Highways: total: 239,226 km; paved: 22,726 km; unpaved: 216,500 km (2003). Waterways: 8,372 km; note: includes 2,635 km main cargo routes (2005). Ports and harbors: Chittagong, Mongla Port. Airports: 16 (2005).

International disputes: discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in both countries, allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh resists India's attempts to fence or wall off high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; a joint Bangladesh-India boundary inspection in 2005 revealed 92 pillars are missing; dispute with India over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; Burmese Muslim refugees strain Bangladesh's meager resources


 

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