Country Facts - Bangladesh

The People

Nationality
Bangladeshi(s)

Ethnic Composition

Bengali	98%
Tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims	2%

Religious Composition

Muslim	83%
Hindu	16%
Other	1%

Languages Spoken

Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), and English

Education and Literacy

56% of the population over the age of 15 can read. By gender, 63% of the male population and 49% of the female population are literate. (2000)

Labor Force

Total: 64.1 million (1998)
Note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in 1998-99
By occupation:

Agriculture	63%
Services	26%
Industry	11%

(1996)

Geography

Land Mass Total

55,598 sq mi (144,000 sq km)

Land

51,702 sq mi (133,910 sq km)

Water

3,895 sq mi (10,090 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 2,638 mi (4,246 km)

Border countries: Burma 119 mi (193 km), India 2,518 mi (4,053 km)

Coastline

360 mi (580 km)

Maritime claim

Contiguous zone: 18 nm
Continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate/Weather

Tropical; cool, dry winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); cool, rainy monsoon (June to October).

Terrain

Flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Indian Ocean 0 ft/m
Highest: Keokradong 4,035 ft (1,230 m)

Natural Resources

Natural gas, arable land, timber, coal

Land use

Arable land	61%
Permanent crops	3%
Other	36%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely flooded during the summer monsoon season.

Environment - current issues

Many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; limited access to potable water; water-borne diseases prevalent; water pollution especially of fishing areas results from the use of commercial pesticides; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation; deforestation; severe overpopulation.

Geography Note

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

Demographics

Population

133,376,684 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	33.8%	Male: 23,069,242	Female: 21,995,457
15-64 years:	62.8%	Male: 42,924,778	Female: 40,873,077
65 years and over:	3.4%	Male: 2,444,314	Female: 2,069,816

(2002)

Growth Rate

1.59% (2002)

Life Expectancy

60.92 years (2002)
female: 60.74 years
male: 61.08 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$1,750 (2001)

Infant Mortality

68.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.06 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	1.18 male(s)/female
Total population:	1.05 male(s)/female

Net migration rate

-0.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and ill-governed nation. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single most important product. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Economic reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of government. Opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups has also blocked progress. The newly elected BNP government, led by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, has the parliamentary strength to push through needed reforms, but the party's level of political will to do so remains undetermined. GDP growth in 2002 was 4.4 percent, which is good by E.U. standards but not by Asian parameters. Growth is expected to move forward to 4.9 percent based mostly on a surge in the garment industry, a Bangladeshi stalwart and exports to China.

Unemployment

35% (2001)

Inflation Rate

5.8% (2000)

Industries

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

Exports

US$6.6 billion (2001)

Imports

US$8.7 billion (2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$230 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

US 31.8%, Germany 10.9%, UK 7.9%, France 5.2%, Netherlands 5.2%, Italy 4.42% (2000)

Top Import Partners

India 10.5%, EU 9.5%, Japan 9.5%, Singapore 8.5%, China 7.4% (2000)

Top Exports

Garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood

Top Imports

Machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, raw cotton, food, crude oil and petroleum products, cement

Debt - external

US$17 billion (2000)

Economic aid

US$1.575 billion (2000)

Fiscal Year:

July 1 to June 30

Business Workweek

	Sunday - Thursday	Friday - Saturday
Offices	9a.m. to 5p.m.	Closed
Retail	9a.m. to 5p.m.	Closed
Banks	9a.m. to 3p.m.	Closed
Government	9a.m. to 3p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Makara Sakranti¹	January 14 or 15	January 14 or 15	January 14 or 15
Sheheed Day	February 21	February 21	February 21
Festival of Sacrifice (Eid Al Adha)²	February 12	February 2	January 21
Islamic New Year³	March 5	February 22	February 10
Independence and National Day	March 26	March 26	March 26
Mesha Sakranti*¹	April 13	April 13	April 13
Bengali Solar Year	April 14	April 14	April 14
Labor Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad (Mawlid an Nabi)*²	May 14	May 2	April 21
Bank Holiday*³	July 7	July 5	July 7
National Mourning Day	August 15	August 15	August 15
Start of Ramadan)**¹	October 27	October 15	October 4
National Revolution Day	November 7	November 7	November 7
End of Ramadan (Eid al Fatir)**²	November 26	November 14	November 3
Victory Day	December 16	December 16	December 16
Christmas Day**³	December 25	December 25	December 25
Boxing Day	December 26	December 26	December 26
Bank Holiday	December 31	December 31	December 31

¹	Winter solstice in the Hindu Solar Calendar generally denotes the shortest day of the year. The calendar varies based on local customs, but the solstice generally falls on either January 14 or 15.
²	Culmination of the Haj or Holy Pilgrimage.
³	The lunar Islamic Hijara calendar is made up of 12 months, each month alternating between 29 and 30 days per month, culminating in a total of 354 days per year. The Hijra calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and annually moves 11 days backward through the seasons.
*¹	The vernal equinox in the Hindu Solar Calendar, denoting the Hindu New Year
*²	The Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the twelfth day in the month of Rabi'l of the Islamic calendar.
*³	Falls on the first Monday of July.
**¹	Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days. Dates for the start of Ramadan will vary from country to country, depending on the first appearance of the moon.
**²	Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for three days.
**³	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press