Muslim conversions and settlement in the region now referred to as Bangladesh began in the 10th century, primarily from Arab and Persian traders and preachers. Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area in the 16th century. Eventually the area known as Bengal, primarily Hindu in the western section and mostly Muslim in the eastern half, became part of British India. Partition in 1947 resulted in an eastern wing of Pakistan in the Muslim-majority area, which became East Pakistan. Calls for greater autonomy and animosity between the eastern and western wings of Pakistan led to a Bengali independence movement. That movement, led by the Awami League (AL), won independence for Bangladesh in 1971, with India's assistance and after the death of at least 300,000 civilians. The post-independence, AL government faced daunting challenges and in 1975 was overthrown by the military, triggering a series of military coups that resulted in a military-backed government and subsequent creation of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). That government also ended in a coup in 1981, followed by military-backed rule until democratic elections in 1991. The BNP and AL have alternated in power since then, with the exception of a military-backed, emergency caretaker regime that suspended parliamentary elections planned for January 2007 in an effort to reform the political system and root out corruption. That government returned the country to fully democratic rule in December 2008 with the election of the AL and Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA. With the help of international development assistance, Bangladesh has made great progress in food security since independence, and the economy has grown at an average of about 6 percent over the last two decades.

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

24 00 N, 90 00 E

Asia

slightly smaller than Iowa

580 km

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

mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast

natural gas, arable land, timber, coal

50,500 sq km (2003)

1,210.6 cu km (1999)

droughts; cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season

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

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

Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims) (1998)

Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English

Muslim 89.5%, Hindu 9.6%, other 0.9% (2004)

161,083,804 (July 2012 est.)

1.579% (2012 est.)

22.53 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

5.71 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

-1.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

DHAKA (capital) 14.251 million; Chittagong 4.816 million; Khulna 1.636 million; Rajshahi 853,000 (2009)

240 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

2.55 children born/woman (2012 est.)

3.4% of GDP (2009)

0.295 physicians/1,000 population (2007)

0.4 beds/1,000 population (2005)

urban: 56% of population

rural: 52% of population

total: 53% of population

urban: 44% of population

rural: 48% of population

total: 47% of population

less than 0.1% (2009 est.)

6,300 (2009 est.)

fewer than 200 (2009 est.)

41.3% (2007)

2.4% of GDP (2008)

parliamentary democracy

7 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Sylhet

16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan)

Independence Day, 26 March (1971); Victory Day; note - March 1971 is the date of the Awami League's declaration of an independent Bangladesh, and 16 December, known as Victory Day, memorializes the military victory over Pakistan and the official creation of the state of Bangladesh

enacted 4 November 1972; effective 16 December 1972; suspended following coup of 24 March 1982; restored 10 November 1986; amended many times

mixed legal system of mostly English common law and Islamic law

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats (45 reserved for women) elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies; members serve five-year terms

Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president)

Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Communist Party of Bangladesh or CPB [Manjurul A. KHAN]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA]; Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh or BDB [Badrudozza CHOWDHURY]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [multiple leaders]; Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh or JIB [Matiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Oli AHMED]

Advocacy to End Gender-based Violence through the MoWCA (Ministry of Women's and Children's Affairs); Ain o Salish Kendro (Law and Order Center); Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee or BRAC; Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity; Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry; Odikhar (Human Rights)

ADB, ARF, BIMSTEC, C, CD, CICA (observer), CP, D-8, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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

Bengal tiger

In real terms Bangladesh's economy has grown 5.8% per year since 1996 despite political instability, poor infrastructure, corruption, 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, 45% of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector with rice as the single-most-important product. Bangladesh's growth was resilient during the 2008-09 global financial crisis and recession. Garment exports, totaling $12.3 billion in FY09 and remittances from overseas Bangladeshis, totaling $11 billion in FY10, accounted for almost 12% of GDP.

$305.5 billion (2012 est.)

$288.1 billion (2011 est.)

$270.5 billion (2010 est.)

$118.7 billion (2012 est.)

6.1% (2012 est.)

6.5% (2011 est.)

6.4% (2010 est.)

$2,000 (2012 est.)

$1,900 (2011 est.)

$1,800 (2010 est.)

77 million

5% (2012 est.)

5% (2011 est.)

31.51% (2010 est.)

33.2 (2005)

33.6 (1996)

25.1% of GDP (2012 est.)

11.8% of GDP (2012 est.)

-4.8% of GDP (2012 est.)

32% of GDP (2012 est.)

33.9% of GDP (2011 est.)

8.8% (2012 est.)

10.7% (2011 est.)

5% (31 December 2010 est.)

5% (31 December 2009 est.)

13.3% (31 December 2012 est.)

13.25% (31 December 2011 est.)

$14.1 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$13.19 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$66.84 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$66.14 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$80.81 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$68.57 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$23.55 billion (31 December 2011)

$15.68 billion (31 December 2010)

$7.068 billion (31 December 2009)

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

7.4% (2011 est.)

-$941.9 million (2012 est.)

$243.6 million (2011 est.)

$25.79 billion (2012 est.)

$24.56 billion (2011 est.)

garments, knitwear, agricultural products, frozen food (fish and seafood), jute and jute goods, leather

US 19.4%, Germany 16.5%, UK 10%, France 7.3%, Italy 4.4%, Spain 4.2%, Netherlands 4.2% (2011)

$35.06 billion (2012 est.)

$32.58 billion (2011 est.)

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

China 18.2%, India 13.5%, Malaysia 4.9% (2011)

$10.19 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$9.192 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$36.21 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$33.84 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$7.849 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$6.85 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$93.9 million (31 December 2012 est.)

$92.9 million (31 December 2011 est.)

taka (BDT) per US dollar -

82.17 (2012 est.)

74.152 (2011 est.)

69.649 (2010 est.)

69.04 (2009)

68.554 (2008)

1 July - 30 June

35.7 billion kWh (2009 est.)

34.83 billion kWh (2009 est.)

0 kWh (2010 est.)

0 kWh (2010 est.)

5.819 million kW (2009 est.)

95.8% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

4% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0.3% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

5,200 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

26,460 bbl/day (2009 est.)

28 million bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

24,790 bbl/day (2008 est.)

108,900 bbl/day (2011 est.)

2,928 bbl/day (2010 est.)

77,340 bbl/day (2008 est.)

20.13 billion cu m (2010 est.)

20.13 billion cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

183.7 billion cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

56.74 million Mt (2010 est.)

977,700 (2011)

84.369 million (2011)

state-owned Bangladesh Television (BTV) operates 1 terrestrial TV station, 3 radio networks, and about 10 local stations; 8 private satellite TV stations and 3 private radio stations also broadcasting; foreign satellite TV stations are gaining audience share in the large cities; several international radio broadcasters are available (2007)

.bd

71,164 (2012)

617,300 (2009)

18 (2012)

3 (2012)

gas 2,714 km (2010)

8,370 km (includes up to 3,060 km of main cargo routes; the network is reduced to 5,200 km in the dry season) (2011)

Chittagong, Mongla Port

the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial waters of Bangladesh remain a high risk for armed robbery against ships; attacks against vessels increased in 2010 for the second consecutive year; 23 commercial vessels were attacked both at anchor and while underway; crews were robbed and stores or cargoes stolen

Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army (Sena Bahini), Bangladesh Navy (Noh Bahini, BN), Bangladesh Air Force (Biman Bahini, BAF) (2010)

17-19 years of age for voluntary enlisted military service; Bangladeshi birth and 10th grade education required; intial obligation 15 years (2012)

1.3% of GDP (2009)

Bangladesh referred its maritime boundary claims with Burma and India to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea; Prime Minister Singh's September 2011 visit to Bangladesh resulted in the signing of a Protocol to the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh, which had called for the settlement of longstanding boundary disputes over undemarcated areas and the exchange of territorial enclaves, but which had never been implemented; Bangladesh struggles to accommodate 29,000 Rohingya, Burmese Muslim minority from Arakan State, living as refugees in Cox's Bazar; Burmese border authorities are constructing a 200 km (124 mi) wire fence designed to deter illegal cross-border transit and tensions from the military build-up along border

transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries