Bangladesh
|
| Basic Facts |
| 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 |
| Gevernment type | parliamentary democracy |
| Capital |
name: Dhaka
geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 25 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| 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 |
| Currency | taka (BDT) |
| Internet country code | .bd |
| Ports and terminals | Chittagong, Mongla Port |
| Agriculture products | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry |
| Industries | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar |
| Geography |
| Location | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India |
| Coordinates | 24 00 N, 90 00 E |
| Continent | Asia |
| Area |
total: 144,000 sq km
land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km |
| Boundaries |
total: 4,246 km
border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km |
| Coastline | 580 km |
| Climate | tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October) |
| Terrain | mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast |
| Natural resources | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal |
| Natural hazards | droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season |
| People |
| Population | 147,365,352 (July 2006 est.) |
| Ethnic groups | Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998) |
| Religions | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998) |
| Languages | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English |
