Country name

conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh
conventional short form: Bangladesh
former: East Pakistan

Government type

parliamentary democracy

Capital

Dhaka

Administrative divisions

6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, and Sylhet

National holiday

Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Location

Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India

Geographic coordinates

24 00 N, 90 00 E

Map references

Asia

Area

total: 144,000 sq km
land: 133,910 sq km
water: 10,090 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Iowa

Land boundaries

total: 4,246 km
border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km

Coastline

580 km

Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions)

territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin
contiguous zone: 18 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

Climate

tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)

Terrain

mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m

Natural resources

natural gas, arable land, timber, coal

Land use

arable land: 60.7%
permanent crops: 2.61%
other: 36.69% (1998 est.)

GDP

purchasing power parity - $275.7 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

4.9% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 21.2%
industry: 27.1%
services: 51.7% (2004 est.)

Labor force

65.49 million
Note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in 1998-99 (2004 est.).

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 63%
industry 11%
services 26% (FY95/96).

Industries

cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar

Agriculture - products

rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry

Exports

$7.478 billion (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities

garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood (2001)

Exports - partners

US 22.7%, Germany 14.5%, UK 10.8%, France 6.7% (2004)

Imports

$10.03 billion (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities

machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement (2000)

Imports - partners

India 14.6%, China 11.7%, Singapore 7.8%, Japan 5.8%, Hong Kong 4.8% (2004)

Currency

taka (BDT)

Currency code

BDT

Exchange rates

taka per US dollar - 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003), 57.888 (2002), 55.807 (2001), 52.142 (2000)

Fiscal year

1 July - 30 June