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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Bangladesh Index
India
Relations between Bangladesh and India have often been
difficult. There was considerable hostility on both sides of the
border when East Pakistan was established in 1947 in the midst of
intense communal struggles among various ethnic groups. As part of
Pakistan, East Pakistan was at war with India in 1947 and 1948 and
again in 1965. During the 1971 war of independence, Bangladeshi
freedom fighters were aided by India, but the country's distrust of
its giant neighbor reemerged as soon as the fighting ended. In
general, a considerable body of Bangladeshi public opinion has
viewed India as a bully, throwing its weight around and threatening
the sovereignty of its smaller neighbors. The fact that the two
nations are so closely intertwined--with 2,400 kilometers of
border, common river systems, and numerous transborder cultural or
economic contacts--has provided numerous opportunities for
bilateral disputes that often reinforce Bangladeshi fears.
Conversely, the fact that the two countries are so closely
interconnected has sometimes forced them to come to terms with each
other, and as of mid-1988 bilateral problems had not escalated into
a major armed conflict. Indeed, relations between Bangladesh and
India have been diplomatically proper, with a trend toward
increasing cordiality and cooperation over time.
Mujib's government, which lasted from 1971 to 1975, owed a
large debt to India for aid to Bangladesh during its independence
struggle, and relations were initially positive. In March 1972, the
Indo-Bangladeshi Treaty of Cooperation, Friendship, and Peace
pledged each nation to consultations if either were attacked. This
was an important safeguard for the new nation, but critics have
pointed out that the treaty does not specify the external threats
to either nation, suggesting the possibility that India could use
the treaty as an excuse for intervention in Bangladesh. The series
of coups that replaced Mujib's government brought bilateral
relations to their lowest level and led many Bangladeshis to fear
Indian intervention. The Indian government, then controlled by
Indira Gandhi's Indian National Congress, looked with misgivings on
the anti-Indian and anti-Soviet stance of the new military regimes.
For several years, pro-Mujib guerrilla forces operating along the
Indian border reportedly received covert support from Indian
sources. In 1977, however, Gandhi's government fell, the new Janata
Party leadership took a more accommodating stance toward
Bangladesh, and Zia's government stabilized. Indian forces
cooperated with the Bangladesh military in disarming Bangladeshi
rebels in the summer of 1977, and a number of bilateral agreements
were signed shortly thereafter. When Gandhi again became prime
minister in 1979, she continued a policy of accommodation with
Zia's regime. Subsequently, she recognized Ershad's government, and
she met with Ershad in October 1982. After Gandhi's assassination
in 1984, her son and successor as prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi,
encouraged cooperative agreements with Bangladesh and enjoyed a
good relationship with Ershad.
Events during the 1980s suggested the prospect of a new era in
Indo-Bangladeshi relations. In 1981 both countries drew up the
Memorandum of Understanding on Technical Cooperation. In 1982 the
first meeting of the Joint Economic Commission was held, and in
1987 the bilateral Cultural and Exchange Programme was renewed for
two years. A bilateral trade pact was extended from 1986 until
October 1989. In addition, an inland trade and transit protocol,
allowing Indian vessels to pass through Bangladesh, exemplified a
maturing cooperative relationship, necessitated by Bangladesh's
geographical position. The original protocol was signed in November
1972, renewed in 1984, and extended in 1986 on a quarterly basis.
The agreement was later renegotiated and, according to its
provisions, stayed effective until October 1989. India agreed to
pay transit charges and port fees, while Bangladesh agreed to
maintain its own waterways. The ability of both governments to
compromise on economic issues boded well for the possibility of
future bilateral agreements.
Despite considerable progress in expanding contacts between the
two countries, a number of serious issues concerning river waters
and borders continued to stir up anti-Indian emotions in Bangladesh
during the late 1980s. These issues involved national honor and
sovereignty--strongly charged topics in both nations--and progress
toward resolving them was extremely slow. Every delay in resolving
bilateral problems provided fuel for a steady stream of anti-Indian
editorials in the Bangladeshi press and for statements by political
parties of all persuasions condemning Indian foreign policy. The
most difficult long-term bilateral problems revolved around water
disputes. These problems surfaced during the 1950s and 1960s, when
the major Indian port of Calcutta on the Hooghli River experienced
siltation problems. The Indian government decided that the solution
was to divert the Ganges River water into the Hooghli River during
the dry season, from January to June, in order to flush out the
accumulating silt. By 1974 the Indians had built a major barrage,
or dam, across the Ganges at Farakka, near the Bangladeshi border.
Before the Farakka Barrage went into operation, the Bangladeshi
government repeatedly expressed concern that the diversion would
adversely affect water resources along the course of the Ganges
through Bangladesh. After the Farakka Barrage began operating in
1975, dry-season water levels dropped precipitously in western
Bangladesh, and studies showed that salinized water from the Indian
Ocean was creeping inland. In 1976, despite Indian opposition,
Bangladesh managed to place the dispute on the agenda of the UN
General Assembly; this strategy resulted in a consensus statement
in which both parties agreed to resolve the issue according to
international law.
A bilateral agreement signed in 1977 set up a schedule for
sharing the dry-season flow of water controlled by the Farakka
Barrage, and it arranged for continuing consultations by the Joint
Rivers Commission. The mandate of the commission was to monitor the
water availability and needs of the two countries and to study
proposals for a more comprehensive plan for water control in
Bangladesh and northeast India. A Bangladeshi proposal concentrated
on the enormous potential of untapped rivers in Nepal; dams there,
it was argued, could provide adequate hydroelectric power well into
the twenty-first century and regulate water levels throughout
northeastern India and Bangladesh. The Indian proposal concentrated
on controlling the wild Brahmaputra River and called for a major
canal to divert water from the Brahmaputra to the Ganges, west of
the Farakka Barrage; this, the Indians claimed, would help to
regulate water levels throughout Bangladesh. India was slow to
involve Nepal in what it viewed as a bilateral issue, while
Bangladesh refused to agree to the construction of a large canal
that would obliterate valuable land and dislocate hundreds of
thousands of people. In the absence of an agreement on a
comprehensive plan, the two nations were forced to renew previous
agreements on the flow of the Ganges at Farakka for periods of six
months or two years at a time. In 1986, however, Indian negotiators
invited Nepali officials to tripartite planning conferences,
opening up the possibility of a future agreement.
Water-sharing disputes have arisen with regard to other rivers
as well. India has constructed and operated on the Tista River a
barrage similar to the one on the Ganges. India and Bangladesh drew
up interim agreements on the sharing of Tista River waters
beginning in July 1983. These agreements were renewed in 1985 and
1987, without a final allocation of waters to either party.
In 1974 the borders between India and Bangladesh were settled
in a treaty that became the Third Amendment to the Bangladesh
Constitution. Since that time, questions over small pieces of
territory not covered by the 1974 treaty--such as silt-formed
islands (chars) that have emerged in frontier waters and
Bangladeshi enclaves accessible only from India--have grown into
minor military confrontations
(see Security Environment
, ch. 5).
In the late 1980s, the unauthorized movement of people across
Indo-Bangladeshi borders continued to cause tensions. In 1979 two
days of communal rioting in the Indian state of West Bengal forced
20,000 Indian Muslims to flee into Kushtia District in Bangladesh.
Although they were later repatriated, the incident rekindled
transborder communal hatreds. During the 1980s, attempts by
Bangladesh military and paramilitary forces to pacify tribal groups
in the Chittagong Hills forced thousands of Chakmas to flee into
Indian territory
(see Ethnicity and Linguistic Diversity
, ch. 2).
Bangladesh accused India of sheltering tribal guerrilla forces and
preventing the voluntary return of the Chakmas. India, in turn,
accused Bangladesh of harboring guerrilla bands of the Tripura
National Volunteers, a secessionist organization fighting for
independence from India. A more significant long-term movement of
people across the Indo-Bangladeshi border has involved thousands of
Bangladeshis who have illegally moved to neighboring Indian states
in search of land and employment. By 1982 the steady influx of
Bangla speakers sparked a major ethnic backlash in the Indian state
of Assam, leading to the slaughter of thousands of non-Assamese. In
order to placate Assamese public opinion, the governments of Indira
and Rajiv Gandhi promised to stem illegal immigration, and in order
to do so India constructed barbed-wire fencing along the
Indo-Bangladeshi border in the area. The fence was seen as an
outrage among the Bangladeshi public, and the government of
Bangladesh has made repeated protests to the Indian government over
the matter
(see Insurgency in the Chittagong Hills
, ch. 5).
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
|
Area(sq km) | | total: 143,998 sq km land: 130,168 sq km water: 13,830 sq km
|
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
|
Coastline(km) | | 580 km
|
Climate | | tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)
|
Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m
|
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)
|
Irrigated land(sq km) | | 47,250 sq km (2003)
|
Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 1,210.6 cu km (1999)
|
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 79.4 cu km/yr (3%/1%/96%) per capita: 560 cu m/yr (2000)
|
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
|
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
|
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.)
|
Median age(years) | | total: 23.3 years male: 22.9 years female: 23.5 years (2009 est.)
|
Population growth rate(%) | | 1.292% (2009 est.)
|
Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 24.68 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 9.23 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
|
Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | -2.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
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.)
|
Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 60.25 years male: 57.57 years female: 63.03 years (2009 est.)
|
Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 2.74 children born/woman (2009 est.)
|
Nationality | | noun: Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
GDP (official exchange rate) | | $84.2 billion (2008 est.)
|
GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 5.8% (2008 est.) 6.2% (2007 est.) 6.4% (2006 est.)
|
GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $1,500 (2008 est.) $1,400 (2007 est.) $1,300 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
|
GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 19.1% industry: 28.6% services: 52.3% (2008 est.)
|
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.)
|
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.)
|
Population below poverty line(%) | | 45% (2004 est.)
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 4.3% highest 10%: 26.6% (2005)
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 33.2 (2005) 33.6 (1996)
|
Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 24.3% of GDP (2008 est.)
|
Budget | | revenues: $8.825 billion expenditures: $12.54 billion (2008 est.)
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 8.9% (2008 est.) 9.1% (2007 est.)
|
Stock of money | | $9.294 billion (31 December 2008) $8.444 billion (31 December 2007)
|
Stock of quasi money | | $37.98 billion (31 December 2008) $32.35 billion (31 December 2007)
|
Stock of domestic credit | | $47.03 billion (31 December 2008) $40.1 billion (31 December 2007)
|
Market value of publicly traded shares | | $6.671 billion (31 December 2008) $6.793 billion (31 December 2007) $3.61 billion (31 December 2006)
|
Economic aid - recipient | | $1.321 billion (2005)
|
Public debt(% of GDP) | | 39.4% of GDP (2008 est.) 43% of GDP (2004 est.)
|
Agriculture - products | | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry
|
Industries | | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar
|
Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 6.9% (2008 est.)
|
Current account balance | | $1.032 billion (2008 est.) $856.8 million (2007 est.)
|
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
|
Exports - partners(%) | | US 21%, Germany 13.2%, UK 8.6%, France 6.3%, Netherlands 4.7% (2008)
|
Imports | | $21.51 billion (2008 est.) $16.67 billion (2007 est.)
|
Imports - commodities(%) | | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement
|
Imports - partners(%) | | China 14.7%, India 14.7%, Kuwait 7.5%, Singapore 7.1%, Japan 4.1% (2008)
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $5.789 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $5.278 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
|
Debt - external | | $22.83 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $21.23 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | | $5.971 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $5.261 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | | $97 million (31 December 2008 est.)
|
Exchange rates | | taka (BDT) per US dollar - 68.554 (2008 est.), 69.893 (2007), 69.031 (2006), 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004)
|
Currency (code) | | taka (BDT)
|
Telephones - main lines in use | | 1.39 million (2009)
|
Telephones - mobile cellular | | 45.75 million (2009)
|
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)
|
Internet country code | | .bd
|
Internet users | | 556,000 (2008)
|
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)
|
Ports and terminals | | Chittagong, Mongla Port
|
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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