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Bangladesh
Profile |
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Geography |
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Area:
143,998
sq. km. (55,813 sq. mi.); about the size of Wisconsin.
Cities: Capital--Dhaka
(pop. 10 million). Other cities--Chittagong (2.8 million),
Khulna (1.8 million), Rajshahi (1 million).
Terrain: Mainly
flat alluvial plain, with hills in the northeast and
southeast.
Climate: Semitropical,
monsoonal. |
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People |
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Nationality:
Noun and
adjective--Bangladeshi(s).
Population:
Approximately
128 million.
Annual growth rate:
1.6%.
Ethnic groups:
Bengali
98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims.
Religions:
Muslim
88%; Hindu 11%; Christian, Buddhist, others 1%.
Languages:
Bangla
(official, also known as Bengali), English.
Education:
Attendance--75.1%
(primary school), 21.6% (secondary school).
Literacy:
50% for males;
27% for females, a total of 38.9% literacy.
Health:
Infant mortality rate--81/1,000. Life expectancy--58 years
(male), 58 years (female).
Work force:
(54.6
million): Agriculture--63%; industry--12%; services--25%.
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Government |
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Type:
Parliamentary
democracy.
Independence:
1971,
from Pakistan.
Constitution:
1972;
amended 1974, 1979, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1996.
Branches:
Executive--president
(chief of state), prime minister (head of government),
cabinet.
Legislative--unicameral Parliament (330 members).
Judicial--civil court system based on British model.
Administrative subdivisions:
Divisions,
districts, subdistricts, unions, villages.
Political parties:
30-40 active political parties.
Suffrage:
Universal
at age 18. |
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Economy |
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Annual
GDP growth rate (1998-99):
4.2%.
Per capita GDP (2000
projected):
$354.
Natural
resources:
Natural
gas, fertile soil, water.
Agriculture (30% of GDP):
Products--rice,
jute, tea, sugar, wheat. Land--cultivable area cropped at
rate of 176% in 1997; largely subsistence farming
dependent on monsoonal rainfall, but growing commercial
farming and increasing use of irrigation.
Industry (20% of GDP):
Types--garments
and knitwear, jute goods, frozen fish and seafood,
textiles, fertilizer, sugar, tea, leather, shipbreaking
for scrap, pharmaceuticals, ceramic tableware, newsprint.
Trade (1999):
Merchandise
exports--$5.4 billion: garments and knitwear, frozen fish,
jute and jute goods, leather and leather products, tea,
urea fertilizer, ceramic tableware.
Exports to U.S. (1999):
$1.918.
Merchandise imports--$8.6 billion: capital goods,
foodgrains, petroleum, textiles, chemicals, vegetable
oils. Imports from U.S. (1999)--$275 million. |
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Sources:
U.S. Department of State, March 2000
Bureau of South Asian Affairs |
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