elected unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote
- NA%
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
elections: last held 1 October 2001 (next to be held before October
2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance
partners 46%, AL 42%; seats by party - BNP 191, AL 62, JI 18, JP
(Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 2, JP (Naziur) 4, other 9; note - the
election of October 2001 brought a majority BNP government aligned
with three other smaller parties - Jamaat-i-Islami, Islami Oikya
Jote, and Jatiya Party (Naziur)
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 [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP
[Khaleda ZIA, chairperson]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul
Haq AMINI]; Jamaat-E-Islami or JI [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya
Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]; Jatiya Party
(Manzur faction) [Naziur Rahman MANZUR]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
AsDB, C, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt
(signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW,
SAARC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE,
UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Syed Hasan AHMAD
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
FAX: [1] (202) 244–5366
telephone: [1] (202) 244–0183
chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Ann PETERS
embassy: Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212
mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000
telephone: [880] (2) 8824700 through 8824722
FAX: [880] (2) 8823744
Flag description:
green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of center;
the red sun of freedom represents the blood shed to achieve
independence; the green field symbolizes the lush countryside, and
secondarily, the traditional color of Islam
Economy Bangladesh
Economy - overview:
Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve
economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a poor,
overpopulated, and ill-governed nation. Although 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. Progress also has been blocked by opposition
from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested
interest groups. The BNP government, led by Prime Minister Khaleda
ZIA, has the parliamentary strength to push through needed reforms,
but the party's political will to do so has been lacking in key
areas.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $238.2 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
4.8% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 35% industry: 19% services: 46% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: 35.6% (FY 95/96 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.9% highest 10%: 28.6% (1995–96 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
33.6 (FY 95/96)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.1% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
64.1 million
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman,
Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion
in 1998–99 (1998)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 63%, services 26%, industry 11% (FY 95/96)
Unemployment rate:
40% (includes underemployment) (2002 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $4.9 billion
expenditures: $6.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(FY99/00 est.)
Industries:
cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint,
cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar
Industrial production growth rate:
1.8% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production:
15.33 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 93.7% hydro: 6.3% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
14.25 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: