Introducing Bangladesh

 

Overview
Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the region and it became part of British India. In 1947, West Pakistan and East Bengal (both primarily Muslim) separated from India (largely Hindu) and jointly became the new country of Pakistan. East Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955, but the awkward arrangement of a two-part country with its territorial units separated by 1,600 km left the Bengalis marginalized and dissatisfied. East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed Bangladesh. A military-backed, emergency caretaker regime suspended parliamentary elections planned for January 2007 in an effort to reform the political system and root out corruption. In contrast to the strikes and violent street rallies that had marked Bangladeshi politics in previous years, the parliamentary elections finally held in late December 2008 were mostly peaceful and Sheikh HASINA Wajed was reelected prime minister. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development.

Official Name : The People's Republic Of Bangladesh
Location : Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India. Latitude between 20 degree 34' and 26 degree 39' north. Longitude between 88 degree 00' and 92 degree 41' east.
Area : 144,000 sq. km.
Climate : Main seasons : Winter (Nov - Feb), Summer (Mar - Jun), Monsoon (Jul - Oct). Temp : Max 34 degree Celsius, Min 8 degree Celsius.
Rainfall : Lowest 47" and highest 136"
Capital : Dhaka (Present area 414 sq. km. Master plan 777 sq.km.)
Population : 158,065,841 (July 2010 est.)
State Language : Bangla. English is also widely spoken and understood
National Days : National Martyrs Day - February 21 Independence Day - March 26 Victory Day - December 16
Principal Rivers: Padma, Meghna, Jamuna, Brahmaputra, Madhumati, Surma and Kushiara
Principal Crops : Jute, rice, tobacco, tea, sugarcane, vegetables, potato, pulses, etc.
Major Industries : Jute, sugar, paper, textiles, fertilizers, cigeratte, cement, steel, natural gas, oil-refinery, newsprint, power generation, rayon, matches, fishing and food processing, leather, soap, carpet, timber, ship-building, telephone, etc.
Sea Ports : Chittagong and Mongla
Airports : Zia international airport, Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet, domestic airports at Chittagong, Jessore, Sylhet, Cox's Bazar, Rajshahi and Saidpur

Main Tourist Attractions : Colorful tribal life, longest sea beach, centuries' old archeological sites, home of the Royal Bengal Tiger, largest tea gardens, interesting riverine life, etc.

Currency : The unit of currency is the Taka. Notes are in denominations of 1,2,5,10,20,50,100 and 500 Taka. Coins are 1,5,10,25,50 and 100 Paisa (100 Paisa = 1 Taka)

Government Type: Parliamentary democracy
Executive Branch:
Chief of State: President Zillur RAHMAN (since 12 February 2009)
Head of Government: Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA Wajed (since 6 January 2009)
Cabinet: Cabinet selected by the Prime Minister and appointed by the President
Elections: President elected by National Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); last election held on 11 February 2009 (next to be held in 2014)
Legislative Branch: Unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies; members serve five-year terms.
Elections: Last held on 29 December 2008 (next to be held in 2013)
Judicial Branch: Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president)
Political Parties and Leaders: Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Manjurul A. KHAN]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA]; Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh or BDB [Badrudozza CHOWDHURY]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul Haq AMINI]; 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]
Economy | Overview
The economy has grown 5-6% 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, about 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 $9.7 billion in FY09 accounted for almost 25% of GDP.