degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria are high risks in some locations water contact disease: leptospirosis animal contact disease: rabies note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)
Nationality:
noun: Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi
Ethnic groups:
Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims) (1998)
Religions:
Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)
Languages:
Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 43.1% male: 53.9% female: 31.8% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 8 years male: 8 years female: 8 years (2004)
Education expenditures:
2.7% of GDP (2005)
Government
Bangladesh
Country name:
conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh local long form: Gana Prajatantri Banladesh local short form: Banladesh former: East Bengal, East Pakistan
Government type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
name: Dhaka geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 24 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet
Independence:
16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh
National holiday:
Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh
Constitution:
4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972; suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986; amended many times
Legal system:
based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Iajuddin AHMED (since 6 September 2002) note: the country has a caretaker government until a general election is held; Iajuddin AHMED remains as President and Minister of Defense, and all other Cabinet portfolios are held by Caretaker Advisers (CAs); the Chief CA, Fakhruddin AHMED, is roughly equivalent to a prime minister elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election scheduled for 16 September 2002 was not held since Iajuddin AHMED was the only presidential candidate; he was sworn in on 6 September 2002 (next election NA); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Iajuddin AHMED declared president-elect by the Election Commission; he ran 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; members serve five-year terms; note - parliament not in session during the extended caretaker regime elections: last held 1 October 2001 (the scheduled January 2007 election has been postponed until 29 December 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance partners 41%, AL 40%, other 19%; seats by party - BNP 193, AL 58, JI 17, JP (Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 2, JP (Manzur) 4, other 12; note - the election of October 2001 brought to power a majority BNP government aligned with three other smaller parties - JI, IOJ, and Jatiya Party (Manzur)
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]; 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]; Jatiya Party
(Manzur faction) [Naziur Rahman MANZUR]; Liberal Democratic Party or
LDP [Badrudozza CHOWDHURY and Oli AHMED]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Advocacy to End Gender-based Violence through the MoWCA (Ministry of Women's and Children's Affairs) other: environmentalists; Islamist groups; religious leaders; teachers; union leaders
International organization participation:
ADB, ARF, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt
(signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT,
MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO,
UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador M. Humayun KABIR chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244–0183 FAX: [1] (202) 244–7830/2771 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador James F. MORIARTY embassy: Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212 mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone: [880] (2) 885–5500 FAX: [880] (2) 882–3744
Flag description:
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
Economy
Bangladesh
Economy - overview:
The economy has grown 5–6% over the past few years despite inefficient state-owned enterprises, delays in exploiting natural gas resources, 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, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. Garment exports and remittances from Bangladeshis working overseas, mainly in the Middle East and East Asia, fuel economic growth.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$208.3 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$72.42