Government

Bangladesh
Country name Conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh
Conventional short form: Bangladesh
Government Type Parliamentary democracy
Capital Dhaka
Legal system Based on English common law
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal
Legislative branch Unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies (the constitutional amendment reserving 30 seats for women over and above the 300 regular parliament seats expired in May 2001); members serve five-year terms

Geography

Bangladesh
Location Latitude from 20 degree 34' to 26 degree 38' north. Longitude from 88 degree 01' to 92 degree 41' east.
Boundary Bounded by India from the north, east and west, Myanmar(Burma) from the south-east and the Bay of Bengal from the south .
Area Total: 144,000 sq km
Land: 133,910 sq km
Water: 10,090 sq km
Land boundaries Total: 4,246 km
Border countries: Myanmar 193 km, India 4,053 km
Coastline 580 km
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

People

Bangladesh
Population 144,000,000 (2005 est.)
Age structure 0-14 years: 33.1% (male 24,590,000/female 23,162,000)
15-64 years: 63.5% (male 46,764,000/female 44,868,000)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 2,650,000/female 2,282,000) est.
Population growth rate 1.9% est.
Nationality noun: Bangladeshi(s)
adjective: Bangladeshi
Ethnic groups Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims
Religions Muslim 88.3%, Hindu 10.5%, others 1.2%
Languages Bangla (official, also known as Bengali) is the state language. English is also widely spoken and understood. Arabic is read and spoken for religious purposes.
Literacy Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 43.1%
male: 53.9%
female: 31.8%

Economy

Bangladesh
GDP (PPP) $361.4 billion (2007 IMF est.)
GDP - real growth rate 6% (2007 CIA Factbook est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,270 IMF 2007 est.
Agricultural 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
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold $3.45 billion (2005 est.)
External debt $21.25 billion (2005 est.)
Currency Taka (Code: BDT) 1 TAKA= 100 PAISA
Telephones - main lines in use 831,000 (2004)
Telephones - mobile cellular 28 million
Radio broadcast stations AM 12, FM 12, shortwave 2
Television broadcast stations 15 (including relay stations)
Internet country code .bd

Transportation

Bangladesh
Railways total: 2,706 km
broad gauge: 884 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (est.)
Highways total: 239,226 km
paved: 22,726 km
unpaved: 216,500 km (est.)
Sea Ports Chittagong and Mangla
Airports 16 (3 international)