Bangladesh Profile

Facts and Figures Name of the Country : People's Republic of Bangladesh Conventional short form : Bangladesh 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 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: 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 (BDR, Bangladesh Ansar, Village Defense Parties, Armed Police Battalions, National Cadet Corps)

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: 133.910 sq km (51,703 sq miles) and Water: 10,088 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 230 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. Maritime claims : territorial sea: 12 nautical miles continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin contiguous zone: 18 nm 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)

Economy Scale GDP : US$ 105 billion (IMF) GDP - real growth rate : 6.0% (IMF 2010 est.) GDP per head : US$638 (IMF) GDP composition : agriculture: 19.9% industry: 20.6% services: 59.5% Industrial growth rate : 6.0% Labor force (FY95-96) : agriculture: 63% Service: 26% Industry: 11% 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, electric cables, pharmaceuticals and chemical, leather, fish and sugar. Exports : $11.17 billion Exports commodities : garments, raw jute and jute goods, tea, leather, frozen fish and seafood, naphtha, furnace oil, urea, ceramic products. Imports : $13.77 billion Imports commodities : machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, cottons textiles, foodstuffs, crude petroleum, fertilizer, yarn, oil seed, clinker. Foreign exchange & gold reserves : $11.2 billion (IMF)

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: 2,768 km. broad gauge: 946 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) Roads : total: 239,226 km paved: 22,726 km unpaved: 216,500 km (2003) Waterways : 8,372 km (includes 3,060 km main cargo routes) (2006) Major Rivers : Padma, Megna, Jumuna, Surma: Brahamaputra: Dhaleswari: Rupsha: Posur: Sangu: Karnaphuli: Teesta: (Total 230 rivers including tributaries) Airports : 10 (ten): 3 International and 7 domestic Telephone : Land base: 1,198,397 (Jan 2008) Cell Phone : 37.55 Million (Feb 2008) Calling Country Code : +88 Internet Service Provider : 60 Source Internet users : 4.5 million (August 2007) Internet TLD : .bd is the Internet country code top-level domain (cc LTD) for Bangladesh. Administered by the Ministry of Post & Telecommunications. Bangladesh Government

Population Population : 164.4 million (UN, 2010) Sex Ratio : Total population: 1.05 males(s)/female(s) Structure (Age) : 0-14 years: 33.1% (male: 25,639,640; female: 24,174,937) 15-64 years: 63.4% (male: 48,659,087; female: 46,712,687) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male: 2,818,638; female: 2,443,350) Population growth rate : 2.056% Birth rate : 29.36 births/1,000 population Death rate : 8.13 deaths/1,000 population Infant mortality rate : total: 59.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 58.05 deaths/1,000 live births male: 60.13 deaths/1,000 live births Life expectancy at birth : total population: 62.84 years Literacy : age 15 and above can read and write: 43.1% of total population. ratio: male: 53.9%: female: 31.8%