Bangladesh

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Bangladesh

General Information
Geography
Government
Economy
Population
Health
Communications and media
Chronology


GENERAL INFORMATION

National name Gana Prajatantri Bangladesh/People's Republic of Bangladesh Area 144,000 sq km/55,598 sq mi Capital Dhaka Language Bengali (official), English Religion Muslim 88%, Hindu 11%; Islam is the state religion Time difference GMT +6 Major holidays 21 February, 26 March, 1 May, 1 July, 7 November, 16, 25, 31 December; variable: Eid-ul-Adha, end of Ramadan, New Year (Bengali), New Year (Muslim), Prophet's Birthday, Jumat-ul-Wida (May), Shab-e-Barat (April), Buddah Purnima (April/May), Shab-I-Qadr (May), Durga-Puza (October)


GEOGRAPHY

Major towns/cities Rajshahi, Khulna, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rangpur, Narayanganj Major ports Chittagong, Khulna Physical features flat delta of rivers Ganges (Padma) and Brahmaputra (Jamuna), the largest estuarine delta in the world; annual rainfall of 2,540 mm/100 in; some 75% of the land is less than 3 m/10 ft above sea level; hilly in extreme southeast and northeast Airports three international airports and eight other airports; total passengers carried: 1.6 million (2003 est) Railways total length: 2,745 km/1,706 mi; total passenger journeys: 32.7 million (1999) Roads total road network: 239,226 km/148,648 mi, of which 9.5% paved (2003 est); passenger cars: 1.1 per 1,000 people (1999 est)


GOVERNMENT

Head of state Iajuddin Ahmed from 2002 Head of government Fakhruddin Ahmed from 2007 Political system emergent democracy Political executive parliamentary Administrative divisions 64 districts within four divisions Political parties Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Islamic, right of centre; Awami League (AL), secular, moderate socialist; Jatiya Dal (National Party), Islamic nationalist Death penalty retained and used for ordinary crimes Armed forces 125,500; plus paramilitary forces of 126,200 (2006 est) Conscription military service is voluntary Defence spend (% GDP) 1.1 (2005 est) Education spend (% GDP) 2.4 (2003 est) Health spend (% GDP) 1.1 (2004)


ECONOMY

Currency taka GDP (US$) 60 billion (2005 est) Real GDP growth (% change on previous year) 6.2 (2006 est) GNI (US$) 66.2 billion (2005 est) GNI per capita (PPP) (US$) 2,090 (2005 est) Consumer price inflation 6.8% (2006 est) Unemployment 2.5% (2005 est) Labour force 51.7% agriculture, 13.7% industry, 34.6% services (2003) Foreign debt (US$) 22.7 billion (2005 est) Major trading partners USA, India, Germany, China, Japan, Singapore, Kuwait, UK, Italy, France Resources natural gas, coal, limestone, china clay, glass sand Industries textiles, food processing, industrial chemicals, petroleum refineries, cement Exports clothing, raw jute and jute goods, tea, leather and leather products, fish and prawns. Principal market: USA 24.2% (2005) Imports capital goods, textiles, petroleum and petroleum products, cereal and dairy products, iron and steel, pharmaceuticals, machinery and transport equipment. Principal source: India 14.7% (2005) Arable land 55.4% (2006 est) Agricultural products rice, jute, wheat, tobacco, tea; fishing and fish products


POPULATION

Population 144,437,100 (2006 est) Population growth rate 1.8% (2005–10) Population density 1.8% (2005–10) Urban population (% of total) 25 (2005 est) Age distribution (% of total population) 0–14 36%, 15–59 59%, 60+ 6% (2005 est) Ethnic groups 98% of Bengali descent, quarter of a million Bihari, and around 1 million belonging to ‘tribal’ communities Life expectancy 64 (men); 66 (women) (2005–10) Child mortality rate (under 5, per 1,000 live births) 77 (2004) Education (compulsory years) 5 Literacy rate 50% (men); 31% (women) (2004 est)


HEALTH

Physicians (per 10,000 people) 2.3 (2004 est) Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) 0.3 (2002 est) HIV infection (% of population aged 15–49) <0.1 (2005 est) AIDS deaths <500 (2005 est) Access to drinking-water source (% of total population) 82 (urban); 72 (rural) (2002)


COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Landline telephones (per 100 people) 0.8 (2005 est) Mobile phone subscribers (per 100 people) 6.4 (2005 est) Radios (per 1,000 people) 49 (2001 est) TV sets (per 1,000 people) 83 (2004 est) Personal computer users (per 100 people) 1.2 (2005 est) Internet users (per 100 people) 0.2 (2005 est)


CHRONOLOGY

c. 1000 BC Arrival of Bang tribe in lower Ganges valley, establishing the kingdom of Banga (Bengal). 8th–12th centuries AD Bengal was ruled successively by the Buddhist Pala and Hindu Senha dynasties. 1199 Bengal was invaded and briefly ruled by the Muslim Khiljis from Central Asia. 1576 Bengal was conquered by the Muslim Mogul emperor Akbar. 1651 The British East India Company established a commercial factory in Bengal. 1757 Bengal came under de facto British rule after Robert Clive defeated the nawab (ruler) of Bengal at Battle of Plassey. 1905–12 Bengal was briefly partitioned by the British Raj into a Muslim-dominated east and Hindu-dominated west. 1906 The Muslim League (ML) was founded in Dhaka. 1947 Bengal was formed into an eastern province of Pakistan on the partition of British India, with the ML administration in power. 1954 The opposition United Front, dominated by the Awami League (AL) and campaigning for East Bengal's autonomy, trounced the ML in elections. 1955 East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan. 1966 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of AL announced a Six-Point Programme of autonomy for East Pakistan. 1970 500,000 people were killed in a cyclone. The pro-autonomy AL secured an electoral victory in East Pakistan. 1971 Bangladesh emerged as independent nation after bloody civil war; 10 million refugees fled to India as troops from West Pakistan were defeated with Indian assistance. 1974 Hundreds of thousands died in famine; state of emergency declared. 1975 Martial law imposed. 1978–79 Elections held and civilian rule restored. 1982 Martial law reimposed after military coup. 1986 Elections held but disputed. Martial law ended. 1987 State of emergency declared in response to demonstrations and violent strikes. 1988 Assembly elections boycotted by main opposition parties. State of emergency lifted. Islam made state religion. Monsoon floods left 30 million people homeless and thousands dead. 1991 Cyclone killed around 139,000 people and left 10 million homeless. Parliamentary government restored. 1996 Power handed to neutral caretaker government. General election won by AL, led by Sheikh Hasina Wazed; Shahabuddin Ahmed appointed president; BNP boycotted parliament. Agreement with India on sharing of River Ganges water. 1998 BNP ended boycott of parliament. Two-thirds of Bangladesh devastated by floods; 1,300 people killed. Opposition-supported general strikes sought removal of Sheikh Hasina's government. 2000 Ex-president Hussain Mohammad Ershad fined $1 million and sentenced to five years' imprisonment for corruption. Pakistani diplomat expelled after placing number of dead in 1971 war at 26,000, instead of nearly three million Bangladesh claimed were killed. Country requested apology from Pakistan for alleged genocide carried out by its troops during war. 2001 Four separate bomb attacks killed at least 47 people and injured hundreds. Three Bangladeshi and 16 Indian soldiers killed in border clashes. Hasina resigned, handing power to caretaker authority. Khaled Zia's Nationalist Party coalition group won October elections. 2002 President Chowdhury resigned; replaced by Iajuddin Ahmed. On visit to Dhaka, Pakistani President Musharraf expressed regret over excesses committed by his country's forces in 1971 war. Seventeen were killed and hundreds injured in bomb attacks in two cinemas north of Dhaka. 2004 Opposition called 21 general strikes during year as part of antigovernment campaign. Constitution amended to reserve 45 seats for female members. Bomb attack on Muslim shrine killed two and injured UK High Commissioner and 50 others. Grenade attack on opposition Awami League rally killed 22 people. Worst flooding in six years killed nearly 800 people and left millions homeless or stranded. 2005 Awami League politician Shah AMS Kibria killed in attack at rally; party called general strike in protest. Around 350 small bombs exploded in towns and cities nationwide during August, killing two people and injuring over 100. Responsibility for attacks claimed by banned Islamic group. Another spate of bombings, also blamed on Islamic militants, struck Gazipur and Chittagong. 2006 Awami League ended year-long parliamentary boycott. Violent protests over choice of caretaker administration to take over when Zia's term ended; President Ahmed assumed caretaker role until elections. Awami alliance threatened to boycott polls; country paralysed by blockade aimed at devastating parliamentary elections. 2007 Violence mounted in run-up to elections. State of emergency declared and president postponed the poll. Fakhruddin Ahmed became chief of caretaker administration. Sheik Hasina charged with murder; Begum Khaled Zia put under house arrest; several other politicians held in wide-ranging anticorruption drive. Government eased restrictions on the two former prime ministers. Curfew imposed on six cities, including the capital, following violent clashes between police and students protesting against emergency rule.


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