| Introduction :: Bangladesh |
Background:
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| Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the region and it became part of British India. In 1947, West Pakistan and East Bengal (both primarily Muslim) separated from India (largely Hindu) and jointly became the new country of Pakistan. East Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955, but the awkward arrangement of a two-part country with its territorial units separated by 1,600 km left the Bengalis marginalized and dissatisfied. East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed Bangladesh. A military-backed, emergency caretaker regime suspended parliamentary elections planned for January 2007 in an effort to reform the political system and root out corruption. In contrast to the strikes and violent street rallies that had marked Bangladeshi politics in previous years, the parliamentary elections finally held in late December 2008 were mostly peaceful. Sheikh HASINA Wajed was reappointed prime minister. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development. |
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Location:
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| Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
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Geographic coordinates:
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24 00 N, 90 00 E
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Area:
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total: 143,998 sq km
country comparison to the world: 101
land:
130,168 sq km
water:
13,830 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Iowa
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Land boundaries:
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total: 4,246 km
border countries:
Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km
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Coastline:
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580 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone:
18 nm
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
continental shelf:
up to the outer limits of the continental margin
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Climate:
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tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)
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Terrain:
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mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point:
Keokradong 1,230 m
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Natural resources:
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natural gas, arable land, timber, coal
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Land use:
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arable land: 55.39%
permanent crops:
3.08%
other:
41.53% (2005)
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Irrigated land:
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47,250 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources:
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1,210.6 cu km (1999)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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total: 79.4 cu km/yr (3%/1%/96%)
per capita:
560 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards:
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droughts; cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season
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Environment - current issues:
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many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; waterborne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note:
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most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal |
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Population:
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| 156,050,883 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 34.6% (male 27,065,625/female 26,913,961)
15-64 years:
61.4% (male 45,222,182/female 50,537,052)
65 years and over:
4% (male 3,057,255/female 3,254,808) (2009 est.)
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Median age:
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total: 23.3 years
male:
22.9 years
female:
23.5 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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1.292% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 104
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Birth rate:
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24.68 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 71
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Death rate:
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9.23 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 82
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Net migration rate:
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-2.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 145
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Urbanization:
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urban population: 27% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization:
3.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.9 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.94 male(s)/female
total population:
0.93 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 59.02 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 39
male:
66.12 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
51.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 60.25 years
country comparison to the world: 183
male:
57.57 years
female:
63.03 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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2.74 children born/woman (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 82
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
country comparison to the world: 140
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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12,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 95
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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fewer than 500 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 82
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Major infectious diseases:
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degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases:
dengue fever and malaria are high risks in some locations
water contact disease:
leptospirosis
animal contact disease:
rabies
note:
highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)
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Nationality:
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noun: Bangladeshi(s)
adjective:
Bangladeshi
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Ethnic groups:
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Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims) (1998)
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Religions:
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Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)
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Languages:
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Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
47.9%
male:
54%
female:
41.4% (2001 Census)
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
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total: 8 years
male:
8 years
female:
8 years (2004)
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Education expenditures:
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2.7% of GDP (2005)
country comparison to the world: 151
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