Country Profile - Bangladesh

Facts and Figures Name of the Country : People's Republic of Bangladesh Conventional short form : Bangladesh Bangladesh : Country Map Independence Day : 26 March, 1971 Victory Day : 16 December 1971 and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh. National Flag : bottle green with a large red disc slightly to the hoist side of center; the red disc represents the sun rising over Bangladesh and the blood shed to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lushness of the land of Bangladesh. Flag ratio 10:6 View - Official specification of the National Flag Legal system : based on English common law. Suffrage : 18 years of age; universal. Capital City : Dhaka. Nationality : Bangladeshi. Official Currency : Taka: (Currency Code: BDT) Denominations of currency in force: Notes: 1000: 500: 100: 50: 20: 10: 5: 2: Coins: 5: 2: 1 Fiscal Year : 1 July - 30 June. Languages : Bengali (official), English is widely spoken and used. Int. Mother Language Day : 21st February Religions : Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism and others. National Anthem : Amar Sonar Bangla (My Golden Bengal) First 10 lines. Local Time : GMT + 6 hours. Official Monogram : National Icon : View - National Icons Military : Army, Navy and Air Force, Coastal Guard, Paramilitary Forces (BGB, Bangladesh Ansar, Village Defense Parties, Armed Police Battalions, National Cadet Corps) Last Update: 9th January 2012

Geography Geographical Location : In South Asia; between 20º 34' and 26º 38' North latitude and between 88º 01' and 92° 41' East longitude; consists of flat fertile alluvial land. Area and Formation : 143,998 square km. Land: 130168 sq km and Water: 13,830 sq km; mostly flat fertile alluvial land replete with mangrove forests and tropical rain forests with a few hilly areas in the east and southeast. The highest point in the country stands in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (Keokradong) reaching 4,035 ft. [1,230 m.] Bangladesh is a land of rivers; the three major rivers are Padma, Meghna and Jamuna. The total forest area covers about 9% of the land area. The country produces timber, bamboo and cane. Bamboos grow in almost all areas but quality timber grows mostly in the valleys. Among the timber sal, gamari, chaplish, telsu, jarui, teak, garjan, chandon and sundori are important. Sundari trees grow in the Sundarbans located in the South Western part of the country bordering the Bay of Bengal. Varieties of wild animals are found in the forest areas. Sundarban is the home of the world famous “Royal Bengal Tiger”. Of other animals’ elephants, bears, deer, monkeys, boars, leopard and crocodiles are worth mentioning. A few hundred species and sub-species of bird are found in the country. Some of them are seasonal and migratory types. Except the hilly regions the Northeast and the Southeast, some areas of high lands in the North and North Western part, the country consists of low, flat and fertile land. A network of rivers of which the Padma, the Jamuna, the Teesta, the Brahmaputra, the Surma, the Meghna and the Karnaphuli are important, and their tributaries numbering about 310 with a total length of about 24140 km. Covering the country flow down to the Bay of Bengal. Heavy silts deposited by rivers during the rainy season are thus continuously enriching the alluvial soil. Location & Boundary : Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India. North - India (W. Bengal and Meghalaya); West - India (W. Bengal); East - India (Tripura and Assam) and Myanmar; South - Bay of Bengal. Land boundaries border countries : Total: 4,246 km Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km Coastline : 580 km. [the total length of the boundary between the land area including islands and the sea] Maritime claims : territorial sea: 12 nautical miles continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin contiguous zone: 18 nautical miles exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles Resources (Natural) : natural gas, coal, hard rock, lime stones, ceramic clay, glass sand timber and arable land. Climate : Bangladesh has a tropical monsoon climate. Rainy season of the southwest monsoon from June to September the rainfall is heavy and frequent ranges between 1,500 -- 2,500 mm/60--100 inches of rain a year. The cool season starts from November to February and hot season from March until early June. Humidity is high. Rainfall : Monsoon - Average Rainfall: 1194 mm to 3454 mm; 120-345 cm (47"- 136") (Average during the monsoon) Average Temperature : Winter (November - February) Temperature: Maximum 28º C Minimum 09º C Summer (April - September) Temperature: Maximum 35º C Minimum 21º C Humidity : Highest-98 % (July & August) Last Update: 9th January 2012

Economy Scale GDP total : US$100.00 billion (at current prices 2010-11) GDP - real growth rate : 6.0% (at constant prices 2009-10) GDP - per capita [PPP] : US$1,700 (2010 est.) GDP composition : agriculture: 18.8% industry: 28.5% services: 52.6% (2010 est.) Industrial growth rate : 6.4% (2010) Sector-wise contribution to GDP during 2009-10 : agriculture: 20.16% Service: 49.90% Industry: 29.95% Agriculture - products : rice, wheat, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit, vegetables, bananas, mangoes, coconut, beef, milk and poultry Industries : cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea, paper, newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, ship building, electric cables, pharmaceuticals and chemical, leather, fish and sugar. Exports : US$16.20 billion (2009-10) Exports commodities : garments, textile fabrics, home textile, raw jute and jute goods, tea, leather, frozen fish and seafood, naphtha, furnace oil, urea, ceramic products, light engineering products including bi-cycle. Imports : US$23.74 billion (2009-10) Imports commodities : machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, cottons textiles, foodstuffs, crude petroleum, fertilizer, yarn, oil seed, clinker. Foreign exchange & gold reserves : $9.66 billion (January, 2012.) Last Update: 9th January 2012: Source: BBS, MoF & index mundi

Transport & Communication Sea Port : Chittagong and Mongla (Khulna) River Port : Narayangonj, Barisal, Khulna, Chandpur, Bhairab Bazar,Sirajgonj. Land Port : Benapole, Tamabil, Burimari, Bangla Hilli, Akharura, Darsana, Bhomra, Halurgha, Birol, Bibir Bazar, Sonamasjid, and Teknaf. Railways : total: 2,622 km. (2010) broad gauge: 946 km 1.676-m gauge Roads : total: 239,226 km paved: 22,726 km unpaved: 216,500 km (2003) Waterways : 8,370 km (includes 3,060 km main cargo routes: the network is reduced to 5200 in the dry season) (2007) Major Rivers : Padma, Megna, Jumuna, Surma: Brahamaputra: Dhaleswari: Rupsha: Posur: Sangu: Karnaphuli: Teesta: (Total 310 rivers including tributaries) Airports : 10 (ten): 3 International and 7 domestic Telephone [PSTN] : Total:1,028,190: Out of which BTCL: 872,410 & 155,780 others (May 2010) Cell Phone : 84.076 Million (November 2011) Calling Country Code : +88 Internet Service Provider : Nationwide: 112: Central Zone: 80: South-East Zone: 23: South-West Zone: 07: North-East Zone: 10: North-West Zone: 13 [January 2011] Source: BTRC Internet users : 6.173 million (2009) Internet TLD : .bd is the Internet country code top-level domain (cc LTD) for Bangladesh. Administered by the Ministry of Post & Telecommunications. Bangladesh Government Last Update: 9th January 2012

Population Population : 158,570,535 (July 2011 est.) Sex Ratio: at birth : 1.04 males(s)/female(s) [2011 est.] Structure (Age) [2011 est.] : 0-14 years: 34.3% (male: 27,551,594; female: 26,776,647) 15-64 years: 61.1% (male: 45,956,431; female: 50,891,519) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male: 3,616,225; female: 3,778,119) Population growth rate : 1.566% (2011 est.). Birth rate : 22.98 births/1,000 population (2011 est.) Death rate : 5.75 deaths/1,000 population (2011 est.) Infant mortality rate : total: 50.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.) female: 48.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.) male: 53.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.) Life expectancy at birth : total population: 69.75 years (2011 est.) male: 67.93 years : female: 71.65 years (2011 ets.) Literacy : age 15 and above can read and write: total population: 47.9% ratio: male: 54%: female: 41.4% (2001 Census)