Introduction
Official Name: The People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Nationality: Bangalees as a nation and Bangladeshi as citizens
Weekends: Friday & Saturday, some govt and non-govt offices remain open on Saturdays
International Dialing Code: +880
Standard Time: BST (GMT +6 Hours)
Capital City: Dhaka
Historical Dates
Independence & National Day: 26th March
Victory Day: 16th December
Martyrs’ Day: 21st February (also recognized as the International Mother Language Day)
Demography
Population: 164.6 million (2018)
Gender Ratio (males per 100 females): 100.24
Male : 82.4 million
Female : 82.2 million
Literacy Rate: 73.9% (15+ year age)
Language: Bangla (national language) spoken by 99% and English is widely understood and spoken
Religion: Muslims – 88.4%, Hindus – 10.7%, Buddhists – 0.5%, Christians -0.3%, Others -0.1%.
Population Growth Rate: 1.37%
Fertility Rate: 2.05 children born/woman
Life expectancy: 72.3 years
Men: 70.8 years
Women: 73.8
Ethnic Groups:
Bengalis (98%) and other small ethnic groups (2%) including Chakma, Marma, Santal, Garo, Manipuri, Tripura, and Tanchangya
Geography
Geographical Location: Latitude between 20°34′ and 26°38′ North Longitude between 88°01′ and 92°41′ East
Area: 147,570 sq. km.
Boundaries
Land boundary:
North – India (West Bengal and Meghalaya) West – India (West Bengal) East – India (Tripura and Assam) and Myanmar South-Bay of Bengal. Total: 4,246 km (border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km) Coastline: 580 km
Maritime boundary: Contiguous zone: 18 nm Continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 12 nm
Terrain
Mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast
Administrative Units: 8 Divisions – Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barisal, Rangpur and Mymensingh 64 Districts 488 Subdistricts/Upazillas
Principal Rivers: Padma, Meghna, Jamuna, Surma, Brahmaputra, Karnaphuli, Teesta, Sitalakhya, Rupsha, Madhumati, Gorai, Mahananda etc.
Climate
Climate Variation: Sub-tropical monsoon
Average Temperature: Winter 11° C – 20° C (October – February) Summer 21° C – 38° C (March – September)
Rainfall : 1,100 mm to 3,400 mm (June – August)
Humidity: Highest 99% (July) Lowest 36% (December & January)
Economy
GDP (per capita): US$ 1,827 (2018-19)
GDP Growth Rate (%): 8.13% (2018-19)
Poverty Level: 12.9% (US$ 1.9 per day and 2011 PPP)
Merchandise Import: US$ 55.43 billion (2018-19)
Merchandise Export: US$ 40.53 billion (2018-19)
Remittance from Expatriates: US$ 16.41 billion (2018-19)
Foreign Exchange Reserve: US$ 32.09 billion (July 2019)
Currency:
US$ 1 = BDT (৳) 84.50 (Aug 2019)
Principal Crops: Rice, Jute, Tea, Wheat, Sugarcane, Pulses, Mustard, Potato, Vegetables.
Principal Industries: Garments & Textiles (2nd largest exporter in the world), Tea, Ceramics, Cement, Leather, Jute (2nd largest producer in the world), Chemicals, Fertilizer, Shrimp Processing, Sugar, Paper, Electric and Electronics, Medicine, Fishing.
Principal Exports: Garments, Knitwear, Frozen Shrimps, Tea, Leather and Leather products, Jute and Jute products, Ceramics, Ships, IT Outsourcing, etc.
Principal Imports: Wheat, Fertilizer, Petroleum, Cotton, Edible Oil etc.
Principal Minerals: Natural Gas, Coal, White Clay, Glass Sand etc.
Labour Force:
Total: 63.5 million; Male: 43.5 million; Female: 20 million (2016-17)
Distribution of Labor:
Agriculture: 40.6 percent
Industry: 20.4 percent
Others: 39.0 percent
Transportation Methods: Road, Air, Rail, Waterways
Export Processing Zones (EPZs): Dhaka, Uttara, Adamjee, Chittagong, Comilla, Ishwardi, Karnaphuli and Mongla.
Tourism
Places of Tourist Interest: Dhaka, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Kaptai, Rangamati, Khagrachari, Bandarban, Kuakata, Bogra, Khulna, the Sundarbans, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Dinajpur and Comilla.
Airports: Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Jessore, Rajshahi, Saidpur, Barisal and Cox’s Bazar
Information Technology (IT)
Country Domain: .bd
Internet Penetration: 96.19 million (58.43% of population) (June 2019)
Mobile Users: 161.77 million (98.28% of population) (June 2019)
Global Rankings of Bangladesh
