Information of Bangladesh

Introduction
Official Name	The People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Government	Parliamentary form of Government,headed by the Prime Minister
Background	Bangladesh emerged as an independent country in 1971 through the nine month long liberation war against the occupation forces of Pakistan. The history and culture of the country is as old as it is eventful.
Administrative Information
Capital	Dhaka, Area 1464 sq. km
Standard Time	GMT+6 hours
Administrative Units	Division:6; Zila:64; Thana:507; Union:4484; Village:87319
Major Cities	Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Barisal, Mymensing & Comilla
Geograhical Information
Location	South Asia
Geographic Coordinates	Between 20°34′ and 26°38′ North Latitude and 88°01′ and 92°41′ East Longitude
Area/Land	Total: 147,570 square km (56,977 Sq. miles) Land: 119,624 sq km Forest Area: 21,912.77 sq km River: 22,155 km
Borders	India on the west, the north & the north-east and Myanmar on the south-east and the Bay of Bengal on the south
Land Boundaries	Total: 4,246 km Border Countries: Myanmar 193 km, India 4,053 km
Terrain	Mostly flat alluvial fertile plain; hilly in southeast
Elevation Extremes	Lowest Point: Indian Ocean 0 m Highest Point: Keokradong 1,230 m
Geographical Information
Coastline/Maritime Claims				580 km Territorial sea: 12 nm Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate				Tropical; mild winter (October to March), average temp (Max 29° C and Min 11° C); hot, humid summer (March to June), Average Summer temp ( Max 40° C and Min 21° C); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October). Other seasons: Autumn, Late Autumn & Spring
Annual rainfall				Varies from 160 cm to 400 cm at different areas. Average 199.73 cm
Humidity				Highest 99 % during peak summer in July, Lowest 36% during winter in Dec-Jan
Natural Resources				Natural Gas, Arable Land, Timber, Coal
Natural Hazards				Droughts, Cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season
Environment International Agreements				Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
People
Population				144,319,628 (July 2005 est.)
Age Structure				0-14 years: 33.1% (male 24,590,207/female 23,162,420) 15-64 years: 63.5% (male 46,764,824/female 44,868,733) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 2,650,683/female 2,282,761) (2005 est.)
Population Growth Rate				1.43% (2003)
Nationality				Bangladeshi
Ethnic Groups				Bengali 98%; tribal groups and non-Bengali Muslims are 2% (1998)
Religion				Muslim 83%, Hindu 16% and other 1% (1998)
Official Languages		Bangla (also known as Bengali), English
Literacy		62.66%
Labor Force		Civilian Labor force: 44.3 million, (male: 34.5 million, female: 9.8 million) Sectoral distribution of Labor force: Agriculture 51.69%, Industry 13.56%, Others 34.75% (Labor Force Survey 1999/2000)Extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers’ remittances estimated at $4.8 billion in 2005-06
HIV/AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate		Less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
Transportation
Airports		Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Jessore, Rajshahi, Iswardi, Cox’s Bazar, Syedpur and Barisal
International Airports		Dhaka, Sylhet and Chittagong
Seaports		Chittagong and Mongla
Railways		Total: 2,855 km Broad gauge: 884 km 1.676-m gauge Narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)
Roadways		Total: 239,226 km Paved: 22,726 km Unpaved: 216,500 km (2003)
Waterways		8,372 km (includes 2,575 km main cargo routes, 2004)
Economy
GDP/rate of growth			US$ 62.08 billion /6.71% (2005-06)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)			US$ 299.9 billion (2005 est.)
GDP per capita (Purchasing Power Parity)			US$ 2100 (2005 est.)
Per Capita GDP/GNI			US$456 / US$482 (2005-06)
Sectoral share of GDP			US$456 / US$482 (2005-06)Agriculture: 21.77%, Industry: 29.01%, Service: 49.22%
Annual Export/Import			US$ 10.5 billion (2005-06) / US$ 10.6 billion (July- March 2005-06)
Major exports			Readymade garments, frozen foods (shrimps), leather, leather products, jute, jute products, tea, ceramic, textile fabrics, home textile, chemical product, light engineering products including bi-cycle
Major Exporting Country			US 26.3%, Germany 15.7%, UK 12.5%, France 8.1%, Italy 4.7% (2004-05)
Major imports			Oil, edible oil, petroleum product, wheat, seeds, fertilizer, yarn, capital goods, machinery, power generating machinery, scientific & medical equipment, iron & steel, motor vehicles, raw cotton, chemicals
Major Importing Country			India 17.8%, China 14.3%, Singapore 7.8%, Japan 4.8%, Hong Kong 4.7%, Kuwait 4.6% (2004-05)
Major trading partners			USA, EU countries, China, India, Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and UAE
Banking hour			Sunday- Thursday (9:00 am – 3:00 pm)
Currency (code)			taka (BDT)
Exchange rate			US$ 1.00= Tk. 67.00 (Buying), Tk. 67.70 (Selling) Euro 1.00=Tk. 85.35 (Buying), Tk. 86.26 (Selling)(October 3, 2006)
Fiscal year			1 July – 30 June
Agriculture – products			Rice, Jute, Tea, Wheat, Sugarcane, Potatoes, Tobacco, Pulses, Oilseeds, Spices, Fruit; Beef, Milk, Poultry and Others.
Industries			Cotton Textiles, Jute, Garments, Tea processing, Paper Newsprint, Cement, Chemical Fertilizer, Light Engineering, Sugar
Industrial production growth rate			10.45% (2005-06 est.)
Natural gas – proved reserves			150.3 billion cu m (1 January 2002)