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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Bangladesh Index
Late President Ziaur Rahman presenting the Bangladesh flag
to an air force honor guard
Courtesy Bangladesh Ministry of Information
Indian military forces initially remained in newly independent
Bangladesh to consolidate their victory and to assist in
stabilizing the new government, but they completed their withdrawal
on March 12, 1972. A flotilla of Soviet minesweepers arrived in
Bangladesh shortly thereafter, ostensibly to clear Pakistani mines
from Chittagong harbor. The prolonged Soviet presence, a source of
suspicion among Awami League critics, ended in 1975 when Mujib's
successors requested the Soviets to leave.
Regular Bangladeshi armed forces were quickly established but,
because of budgetary constraints, on an extremely limited scale.
The organization of these armed forces reflected not only that of
the colonial British Indian Army, especially as it had continued
under the Pakistan Army, but also the experience of the Mukti
Bahini in the 1971 war of independence. Most of the guerrilla
fighters reverted to civilian status, although some were absorbed
into the regular armed forces. Countrywide, vast but undetermined
numbers of small arms and automatic weapons remained at large in
the population, presaging trouble in the years ahead.
A difficult residual issue was prisoner exchanges. India held
about 90,000 Pakistani prisoners of war and civilian internees,
while Bangladesh retained 195 Pakistanis (mostly military) with the
intent--later put aside--of bringing them to trial for war crimes.
Pakistan also held some 28,000 Bengali military personnel stranded
in West Pakistan. Under agreements reached by the governments of
Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan in August 1973 and April 1974,
prisoner release and repatriation in all categories were completed
by April 30, 1975.
The bitter rift between military personnel who returned to
Bangladesh after liberation and freedom fighters who had fought in
the war was to have profound consequences for the new nation.
The repatriates, who had languished in West Pakistani jails
during the civil war, were absorbed into an army dominated by
former guerrillas, some of whom were civilians inducted as a reward
for their sacrifices. Repatriates, by and large, felt no personal
loyalty to Mujib and viewed the freedom fighters as a undisciplined
and politicized element. Repatriate officers bridled under Mujib's
use of the army in disarming the civilian population and taming his
political opponents. Moreover, repatriates were suspicious of the
regime's pro-Indian sympathies, its rhetorical support for the
Soviet Union, and its efforts to circumscribe the role of Islam in
national affairs. The rift between repatriates and freedom fighters
worsened considerably when Mujib formed the Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini
(National Defense Force), an elite parallel army intended to
insulate the regime against military coups and other armed
challenges to its authority. By 1975 the Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini had
swelled to an estimated 30,000 troops. Repatriates complained that
Mujib destroyed the army's integrity by disbanding the East Bengal
Regiment, which was composed primarily of repatriates; funneling
all new recruits to the Jatiyo; Rakkhi Bahini; favoring freedom
fighters in matters of pay and promotions; and slashing the army's
budget in order to sustain the Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini.
Other armed elements that supported Mujib roamed the
countryside searching out and punishing Pakistani collaborators,
opponents of the regime, and, as was often the case, anyone who
offered resistance to their warlord-style rule. For instance,
freedom fighter leader Kader "Tiger" Siddiqi and his estimated
3,000 armed supporters virtually ruled Mymensingh District while
Mujib was in office.
Other, more radical factions within the army viewed the
liberation movement as unfinished until the "petit bourgeois" Awami
League government was swept aside and replaced by a "people's
government" of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party modeled after the
Chinese experiment. The central figure among these factions was Abu
Taher, a former Pakistan Army colonel who had been trained in
commando operations in the United States and was later cashiered by
Mujib because of his radical views. Taher and an inner circle of
radical freedom fighters belonged to the Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal
(National Socialist Party) and its armed wing, the Biplabi Sainik
Sangstha (Revolutionary Soldiers Organization). The Jatiyo
Samajtantrik Dal developed deep roots in the military and among
radical students connected with the Chhatro Union (Students Union)
of the Bangladesh Communist Party. The Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal
tailored its appeal to lower level officers and jawans. By
1975 Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal sympathizers within the military and
police were estimated to number 20,000.
Tensions within the military exploded on August 15, 1975, when
thirty middle-ranking army officers, many of whom were repatriates,
staged a coup. With the support of troops from the First Bengal
Lancers and the Second Field Artillery Regiment, the mutineers
assassinated Mujib and members of his family and called on Ziaur
Rahman (Zia) to become army chief of staff. Osmany, the former
Mukti Bahini chief, lent respectability to the emerging military-
political order by agreeing to serve as defense adviser to the new
figurehead president, Khondakar Mushtaque Ahmed.
Freedom-fighter elements within the army countered this so-
called "majors' plot" by staging a coup of their own on November 3,
1975. Following the murder of prominent Awami League officials
detained in Dhaka Central Jail, troops commanded by Brigadier
Khaled Musharraf dismissed the government, placed Zia under arrest,
created a vaguely defined revolutionary council, and exiled the
ringleaders of the original coup to Libya. A total breakdown in
discipline within the military occurred shortly after this second
coup, as junior army officers and jawans took to the streets
to defend themselves against anticipated assaults from rival army
factions. Simultaneously, the Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal called on
jawans to kill their commanding officers. On November 7, Zia
secured his release from house arrest, reportedly with Jatiyo
Samajtantrik Dal backing, and staged a third coup. Musharraff was
killed, Zia and other senior officers restored a semblance of army
unity, and the jawans returned to barracks.
As Zia attempted to consolidate power under his new title of
chief martial law administrator, additional challenges to his
authority occurred. In April 1976, conservative officers led by Air
Vice Marshal M.G. Tawab attempted to overthrow Zia after recalling
four of the "killer majors" from exile. The conspirators called for
the creation of an Islamic state and demanded a share of political
power. After officers of the two armored regiments, the First
Bengal Cavalry and the First Bengal Lancers, refused to turn over
the rebels, troops loyal to Zia descended on Bogra cantonment to
put down the mutiny. In the aftermath of the failed coup, Tawab was
exiled, the Twenty-second East Bengal Regiment was disbanded, Taher
was hanged, and over 200 servicemen were tried in military courts
on disciplinary charges.
An even more serious breach of discipline occurred on September
29, 1977, when Japanese Red Army terrorists landed a hijacked
aircraft at Dhaka International Airport (present-day Zia
International Airport). While Zia and his senior staff officers
were busy negotiating with the hijackers, an entire army battalion
mutinied in Bogra. As the hostage drama continued, the revolt
spread to Dhaka cantonment and to air force units at the airport
itself.
The uprising was the handiwork of the Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal,
which again exhorted jawans to kill their commanding
officers. Their slogan was "All soldiers are brothers; blood of
officers wanted; no ranks above [low-ranking] subedar." The
mutineers' goal was to create a "classless army" that would act as
a revolutionary vanguard in remaking Bangladeshi society in a
Maoist mold. Alarmed by the spreading disorder within the ranks,
senior army officers rallied behind Zia's leadership. After several
days of heavy fighting that killed an estimated 200 soldiers, loyal
troops succeeded in suppressing the rebellion. Zia then moved
swiftly to purge mutinous elements from the military. Within a span
of 2 months, more than 1,100 had been executed for involvement in
the uprising. According to a well-informed observer, "it was the
most devastating punishment exercise in the history of Bangladesh,
carried out with the utmost speed and with total disregard for
justice and the legal process." As additional precautions, Zia
reorganized the three service branches, disbanded mutinous units,
shuffled his senior commanders, and banned the Jatiyo Samajtantrik
Dal.
During his six-year tenure in office, Zia implemented a number
of strategies to instill discipline in the armed forces and broaden
the political base of his regime. Zia recognized that officers and
jawans alike nursed serious grievances against their
military and civilian superiors, such as low pay, lack of
promotions, corruption and political machinations. He set out to
professionalize the military by promoting repatriates, increasing
military pay and benefits, and building up the defense budget. Zia
also co-opted the officer corps by expanding the armed forces,
appointing both active-duty and retired military cronies to
lucrative positions in the civil bureaucracy, and exiling potential
challengers to diplomatic posts abroad. Simultaneously, Zia
militarized the national police system by firing thousands of
police on charges of corruption and appointing army officers to
oversee the system.
Despite his efforts to curb the army's appetite for power, Zia
fell victim to assassination. On the night of May 30, 1981, Major
General Muhammed Manzur Ahmed, commander of the Twenty-fourth
Infantry Division and a hero of the war of independence, led troops
to the government rest house in Chittagong where Zia was staying.
After murdering the president and his bodyguards, Manzoor seized
the local radio station and called on troops elsewhere in the
country to support his coup.
Manzur announced the formation of a "revolutionary council,"
dismissed senior officers from their posts in Dhaka, dissolved
Parliament, and abrogated the 1972 Treaty of Cooperation,
Friendship, and Peace with India. Manzur apparently was convinced
that freedom fighters--estimated at 20 percent of the army--would
rally behind him, despite the fact that the leader he murdered was
a venerated freedom fighter himself. Fearing that a successful coup
might trigger another intramilitary bloodletting, senior commanders
in Dhaka lined up behind Zia's aging and infirm constitutional
successor, Supreme Court justice Abdus Sattar. Loyal army units
converged on Chittagong, and the coup attempt was crushed within
forty-eight hours. According to a government white paper published
after the episode, Manzur was apprehended after fleeing to the
Indian border, and he was shot "while attempting to escape."
Thirty-one officers were subsequently tried for mutiny, twelve of
the thirty-one were hanged, and fifty-four senior officers were
dismissed.
Zia's most impressive achievement--the creation of a viable
institutional framework for promoting political stability and
economic growth--did not survive long after his death. "One of
Zia's strongest points," according to commentator Ashish Kumar Roy,
"was the stability he symbolized in a state that seemed to have
become a victim of chronic violence, both civilian and military. By
assassinating him, the military itself destroyed all that Zia had
sought to prove: that the army could be contained, and that genuine
power could be handed back to civilians through a democratic
process." Sattar lacked Zia's charisma, and the country was soon
subjected to mounting political and monetary crises. Although
Sattar and his inherited Bangladesh Nationalist Party won an
electoral mandate in November 1981, most political observers
believed another army coup was only a matter of time
(see The Zia Regime and Its Aftermath, 1977-82
, ch. 1). To compound matters,
Sattar was extremely vulnerable because of the political debt he
owed the army for quashing the coup and guaranteeing constitutional
order. The generals, nevertheless, were reluctant to seize power
immediately because of the fear that public opinion might turn
against the military.
Army Chief of Staff Hussain Muhammad Ershad pressured Sattar to
grant the military a formal, constitutional role in governing the
state. During a press interview in November 1981, Ershad offered
"some straight talk about a very grave and deep-seated politico-
military problem." According to him, the military was an
"efficient, well-disciplined and most honest body of a truly
dedicated and organized national force. The potentials of such an
excellent force in a poor country like ours can effectively be
utilized for productive and nation-building purposes in addition to
its role of national defense." Ershad denied any personal political
ambitions but lamented the shabby treatment civilian politicians
accorded the military. "Our rank-and-file do not want military
adventurism in politics, nor do they want political adventurism in
the military," he declared to his political opponents, thus setting
the stage for the coup he was to engineer later. To remedy the
problems he saw, Ershad put forward a concept that "requires us to
depart from conventional Western ideas of the role of the armed
forces. It calls for combining the roles of nation building and
national defense into one concept of total national defense."
Ershad denied that "total national defense" amounted to military
interference in the democratic process, but his contention was
hotly disputed by civilian politicians.
Sattar responded to Ershad's challenge by trying to establish
a National Security Council in January 1982, comprising the three
service chiefs and seven civilians. Ershad rejected the plan.
Sattar, hoping to forestall an army takeover, reorganized his
crumbling cabinet the following month and reconstituted the
National Security Council with the three service chiefs and only
three civilians. Despite this concession, which was opposed by
opposition politicians and by some members of Sattar's own party,
Ershad staged a coup on March 24, 1982. Unlike previous coups,
there was no bloodshed, senior military commanders acted in unison,
and the population accepted the military takeover, albeit sullenly.
Ershad cited the political and social evils that necessitated
drastic action on the part of the "patriotic armed forces" and
again denied any personal political ambitions
(see The Ershad Period
, ch. 4).
Data as of September 1988
- Bangladesh-Government Budget Process
- Bangladesh-Rural Society
- Bangladesh-Inland Waterways and Ports TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
- Bangladesh-Biofuels
- Bangladesh-Telecommunications
- Bangladesh-Aid Dependence
- Bangladesh-Industrial Crops
- Bangladesh-Women in Politics
- Bangladesh-The Zia Regime and Its Aftermath, 1977-82
- Bangladesh-United States
- Bangladesh-Population Control
- Bangladesh-Constitution STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT
- Bangladesh-Social Classes and Stratification
- Bangladesh-Health Care Facilities
- Bangladesh-Export Sectors FOREIGN TRADE
- Bangladesh-Awami League
- Bangladesh-THE MILITARY IN THE LATE 1980s
- Bangladesh-Foreign Governments and Private Donors
- Bangladesh-Defense Spending
- Bangladesh-ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- Bangladesh-Legislature
- Bangladesh-Reappraisal of British Policy
- Bangladesh-Violence and Crime PUBLIC ORDER AND INTERNAL SECURITY
- Bangladesh-Development Budget
- Bangladesh-Education Planning and Policy
- Bangladesh-Wheat
- Bangladesh-BANGLADESH
- Bangladesh-The "Revolution" of Ayub Khan, 1958-66
- Bangladesh-Islam
- Bangladesh-Economic Reconstruction after Independence
- Bangladesh-THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT AND THE RISE OF MUSLIM CONSCIOUSNESS, 1857-1947
- Bangladesh-Hinduism
- Bangladesh-Transition to Nationhood, 1947-58 PAKISTAN PERIOD, 1947-71
- Bangladesh-Bangladesh Rifles
- Bangladesh-Navy
- Bangladesh-Colonial Origins ARMED FORCES AND SOCIETY
- Bangladesh-Criminal Justice
- Bangladesh-PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS
- Bangladesh-Tourism
- Bangladesh-Foreign Acquisitions and Ties
- Bangladesh-Chapter 5 - National Security
- Bangladesh-Foreword
- Bangladesh-United Nations
- Bangladesh-Society
- Bangladesh-Party Politics
- Bangladesh-Postindependence Period
- Bangladesh-The British Raj
- Bangladesh-Recruitment
- Bangladesh-Insurgency in the Chittagong Hills
- Bangladesh-Technological Advances
- Bangladesh-The Land GEOGRAPHY
- Bangladesh-Buddhism
- Bangladesh-Jute
- Bangladesh-Local Elites POLITICAL DYNAMICS
- Bangladesh-Historical Perspective ECONOMIC CONTEXT
- Bangladesh-National Security
- Bangladesh-Economic Policy and Planning MANAGING THE ECONOMY
- Bangladesh-Population Structure and Settlement Patterns POPULATION
- Bangladesh-FOREIGN POLICY
- Bangladesh-Achieving Stability, 1982-83 THE ERSHAD PERIOD
- Bangladesh-Geography
- Bangladesh-Restoration of Military Rule, 1975-77
- Bangladesh-Early Independence Period, 1971-72 BIRTH OF BANGLADESH
- Bangladesh-Islam in Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-Ansars
- Bangladesh-Coal
- Bangladesh-Other Industries
- Bangladesh-Islamic Parties
- Bangladesh-The British Legacy EDUCATION
- Bangladesh-Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand
- Bangladesh-Early Settlements EUROPEAN COLONIZATION, 1757-1857
- Bangladesh-The Superpowers
- Bangladesh-Disease and Disease Control
- Bangladesh-Railroads
- Bangladesh-Executive
- Bangladesh-Chapter 3 - The Economy
- Bangladesh-Other Nations
- Bangladesh-Balance and Terms of Trade
- Bangladesh-River Systems
- Bangladesh-Early Developments in Islam
- Bangladesh-Two Nations Concept, 1930-47
- Bangladesh-Education System
- Bangladesh -Country Profile
- Bangladesh-Mission
- Bangladesh-Civil Aviation
- Bangladesh-Council of Ministers
- Bangladesh-Medical Education and Training
- Bangladesh-Police
- Bangladesh-China and Other Asian Nations
- Bangladesh-Transportation and Communications
- Bangladesh-EARLY HISTORY, 1000 B.C.-A.D - 1202
- Bangladesh-Fall of the Bangabandhu, 1972-75
- Bangladesh-Other Export Industries
- Bangladesh-Chapter 2 - The Society and Its Environment
- Bangladesh-Role of English and Arabic in Education
- Bangladesh-A Great Divide in South Asian History THE UPRISING OF 1857
- Bangladesh-Chapter 4 - Government and Politics
- Bangladesh-Bangladesh National Party
- Bangladesh-The Division of Bengal, 1905-12
- Bangladesh-Transition to a New Social Order SOCIAL SYSTEM
- Bangladesh-Pakistan Era
- Bangladesh-Test Case for Development FOREIGN ASSISTANCE
- Bangladesh-Ready-made Garments
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-Civil Service
- Bangladesh-AUXILIARY FORCES
- Bangladesh-Alliances
- Bangladesh-Government and Politics
- Bangladesh-More Opposition Pressure
- Bangladesh-Table A - Chronology of Important Events
- Bangladesh-Other Food Crops
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-Road Transportation
- Bangladesh-Mineral Development
- Bangladesh-Air Force
- Bangladesh-Traditional Sectors INDUSTRY
- Bangladesh-Leftist Parties
- Bangladesh-Seafood
- Bangladesh-Urban Society
- Bangladesh-Ethnicity and Linguistic Diversity
- Bangladesh-Garments
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-Relaxation of Martial Law, 1986-87
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-The National Party
- Bangladesh-HEALTH
- Bangladesh-The Islamic World
- Bangladesh-Army THE THREE SERVICES
- Bangladesh-Chapter 1 - Historical Setting
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-The Banking System
- Bangladesh-Fisheries
- Bangladesh-The Liberation War
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-Local Administration
- Bangladesh-International Organizations
- Bangladesh-Economy
- Bangladesh-The War for Bangladeshi Independence, 1971
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-Money and Banking
- Bangladesh-Introduction
- Bangladesh-Family, Household, and Kinship
- Bangladesh-Electric Power
- Bangladesh-Security Environment
- Bangladesh-Christianity
- Bangladesh-Pakistan
- Bangladesh-Joint Ventures and Foreign Investment
- Bangladesh-Religious Education
- Bangladesh-Climate
- Bangladesh-Aid-to-Civil Roles
- Bangladesh-Religion and Society RELIGION
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-Food Crops
- Bangladesh-THE MEDIA
- Bangladesh-Bilateral Investment
- Bangladesh-Structure of Agricultural Production AGRICULTURE
- Bangladesh
- Bangladesh-Legal Basis ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMED FORCES
- Bangladesh-PREFACE
- Bangladesh-Judiciary
- Bangladesh-South and Southeast Asia
Background | | 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 and Sheikh HASINA Wajed was reelected 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 | | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
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Area(sq km) | | total: 143,998 sq km land: 130,168 sq km water: 13,830 sq km
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Geographic coordinates | | 24 00 N, 90 00 E
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Land boundaries(km) | | total: 4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km
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Coastline(km) | | 580 km
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Climate | | tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)
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Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m
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Natural resources | | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal
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Land use(%) | | arable land: 55.39% permanent crops: 3.08% other: 41.53% (2005)
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Irrigated land(sq km) | | 47,250 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 1,210.6 cu km (1999)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 79.4 cu km/yr (3%/1%/96%) per capita: 560 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards | | droughts; cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season
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Environment - current issues | | 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 | | 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 | | 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 | | 156,050,883 (July 2009 est.)
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Age structure(%) | | 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(years) | | total: 23.3 years male: 22.9 years female: 23.5 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate(%) | | 1.292% (2009 est.)
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Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 24.68 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 9.23 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
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Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | -2.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Urbanization(%) | | 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(male(s)/female) | | 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(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 59.02 deaths/1,000 live births 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(years) | | total population: 60.25 years male: 57.57 years female: 63.03 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 2.74 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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Nationality | | noun: Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi
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Ethnic groups(%) | | Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims) (1998)
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Religions(%) | | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)
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Languages(%) | | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English
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Country name | | conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh local long form: Gana Prajatantri Banladesh local short form: Banladesh former: East Bengal, East Pakistan
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Government type | | parliamentary democracy
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Capital | | name: Dhaka geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 24 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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Administrative divisions | | 6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet
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Constitution | | 4 November 1972; effective 16 December 1972; suspended following coup of 24 March 1982; restored 10 November 1986; amended many times
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Legal system | | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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Suffrage | | 18 years of age; universal
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Executive branch | | chief of state: President Zillur RAHMAN (since 12 February 2009) head of government: Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA Wajed (since 6 January 2009) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); last election held on 11 February 2009 (next scheduled election to be held in 2014) election results: Zillur RAHMAN declared president-elect by the Election Commission on 11 February 2009 (sworn in on 12 February); he ran unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote - NA
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Legislative branch | | unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies; members serve five-year terms elections: last held 29 December 2008 (next to be held in 2013) election results: percent of vote by party - AL 49%, BNP 33.2%, JP 7%, JIB 4.6%, other 6.2%; seats by party - AL 230, BNP 30, JP 27, JIB 2, other 11
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Judicial branch | | Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president)
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Political pressure groups and leaders | | Advocacy to End Gender-based Violence through the MoWCA (Ministry of Women's and Children's Affairs) other: environmentalists; Islamist groups; religious leaders; teachers; union leaders
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International organization participation | | ADB, ARF, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Flag description | | green field with a large red disk shifted slightly to the hoist side of center; the red disk represents the rising sun and the sacrifice to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush vegetation of Bangladesh
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Economy - overview | | The economy has grown 5-6% per year since 1996 despite inefficient state-owned enterprises, delays in exploiting natural gas resources, insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. Garment exports and remittances from Bangladeshis working overseas, mainly in the Middle East and East Asia, fuel economic growth. In 2008 Bangladesh pursued a monetary policy aimed at maintaining high employment, but created higher inflation in the process.
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GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $226.4 billion (2008 est.) $214 billion (2007 est.) $201.5 billion (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP (official exchange rate) | | $84.2 billion (2008 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 5.8% (2008 est.) 6.2% (2007 est.) 6.4% (2006 est.)
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GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $1,500 (2008 est.) $1,400 (2007 est.) $1,300 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 19.1% industry: 28.6% services: 52.3% (2008 est.)
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Labor force | | 70.86 million note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $4.8 billion in 2005-06. (2008 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: 63% industry: 11% services: 26% (FY95/96)
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Unemployment rate(%) | | 2.5% (2008 est.) 2.5% (2007 est.)
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Population below poverty line(%) | | 45% (2004 est.)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 4.3% highest 10%: 26.6% (2005)
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Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 33.2 (2005) 33.6 (1996)
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Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 24.3% of GDP (2008 est.)
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Budget | | revenues: $8.825 billion expenditures: $12.54 billion (2008 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 8.9% (2008 est.) 9.1% (2007 est.)
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Stock of money | | $9.294 billion (31 December 2008) $8.444 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of quasi money | | $37.98 billion (31 December 2008) $32.35 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of domestic credit | | $47.03 billion (31 December 2008) $40.1 billion (31 December 2007)
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Market value of publicly traded shares | | $6.671 billion (31 December 2008) $6.793 billion (31 December 2007) $3.61 billion (31 December 2006)
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Economic aid - recipient | | $1.321 billion (2005)
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Public debt(% of GDP) | | 39.4% of GDP (2008 est.) 43% of GDP (2004 est.)
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Agriculture - products | | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry
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Industries | | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar
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Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 6.9% (2008 est.)
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Current account balance | | $1.032 billion (2008 est.) $856.8 million (2007 est.)
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Exports | | $15.44 billion (2008 est.) $12.47 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports - commodities(%) | | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood
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Exports - partners(%) | | US 21%, Germany 13.2%, UK 8.6%, France 6.3%, Netherlands 4.7% (2008)
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Imports | | $21.51 billion (2008 est.) $16.67 billion (2007 est.)
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Imports - commodities(%) | | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement
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Imports - partners(%) | | China 14.7%, India 14.7%, Kuwait 7.5%, Singapore 7.1%, Japan 4.1% (2008)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $5.789 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $5.278 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Debt - external | | $22.83 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $21.23 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | | $5.971 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $5.261 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | | $97 million (31 December 2008 est.)
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Exchange rates | | taka (BDT) per US dollar - 68.554 (2008 est.), 69.893 (2007), 69.031 (2006), 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004)
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Currency (code) | | taka (BDT)
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Telephones - main lines in use | | 1.39 million (2009)
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Telephones - mobile cellular | | 45.75 million (2009)
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Telephone system | | general assessment: inadequate for a modern country; fixed-line telephone density remains less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone subscribership has been increasing rapidly and has reached 30 per 100 persons domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: country code - 880; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-4 fiber-optic submarine cable system that provides links to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia; satellite earth stations - 6; international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2008)
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Internet country code | | .bd
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Internet users | | 556,000 (2008)
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Airports | | 17 (2009)
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Pipelines(km) | | gas 2,597 km (2008)
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Roadways(km) | | total: 239,226 km paved: 22,726 km unpaved: 216,500 km (2003)
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Ports and terminals | | Chittagong, Mongla Port
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Military branches | | Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army (Sena Bahini), Bangladesh Navy (Noh Bahini, BN), Bangladesh Air Force (Biman Bahini, BAF) (2009)
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Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 16 years of age for voluntary military service; 17 years of age for officers (both with parental consent); conscription legally possible in emergency, but has never been implemented (2008)
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Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 41,199,340 (2008 est.)
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Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 24,946,041 females age 16-49: 31,409,069 (2009 est.)
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Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 1,538,865 female: 1,666,670 (2009 est.)
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Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 1.5% of GDP (2006)
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Disputes - international | | discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, exchange territory for 51 small Bangladeshi exclaves in India and 111 small Indian exclaves in Bangladesh, allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh protests India's fencing and walling off high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; a joint Bangladesh-India boundary commission resurveyed and reconstructed 92 missing pillars in 2007; dispute with India over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; after 21 years, Bangladesh resumes talks with Burma on delimiting a maritime boundary
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Refugees and internally displaced persons | | refugees (country of origin): 26,268 (Burma) IDPs: 65,000 (land conflicts, religious persecution) (2007)
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Electricity - production(kWh) | | 22.99 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 93.7% hydro: 6.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
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Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 21.38 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
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Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
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Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 6,426 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 95,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 2,612 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 87,660 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 28 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
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Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 17.9 billion cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 17.9 billion cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
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Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 141.6 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 12,000 (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths | | fewer than 500 (2007 est.)
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Major infectious diseases | | 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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Literacy(%) | | 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)(years) | | total: 8 years male: 8 years female: 8 years (2004)
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Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 2.7% of GDP (2005)
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