1987 Edition

Boundary disputes

India

Climate

tropical; cool, dry winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); cool, rainy monsoon (June to October)

Coastline

580 km

Comparative area

slightly smaller than Wisconsin

Contiguous zone

18 nm

Continental shelf

up to outer limits of continental margin

Environment

vulnerable to droughts; much of country routinely flooded during summer monsoon season; overpopulation; deforestation

Extended economic zone

200 nm

Land boundaries

2,535 km total

Land use

67% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures; 16% forest and woodland; 11% other; includes 14% irrigated

Special notes

almost completely surrounded by India; Joint River Commission on water sharing with upstream riparian

Terrain

mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

150 km Boundary representation ts not necessarily authoritative. “ae 8 Chittagong Bay of Bengal

144,000 km?; land area: 133,910 km?

Ethnic divisions

98% Bengali; 250,000 Biharis and fewer than one million tribals

Infant mortality rate

119.4/1,000 (1984)

Labor force

35.1 million (FY86); extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, and Kuwait; 74% of labor force is in agriculture, 15% services, 11% industry and commerce; unemployment and underemployment 40% (est.)

Language

Bangla (official), English widely used ;

Life expectancy

53.9

Literacy

23% (81% men, 16% women)

Nationality

noun—Bangladeshi(s); adjective—Bangladesh :

Population

107,087,586 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.70%

Religion

83% Muslim, about 16% Hindu, less than 1% Buddhist, Christian, and other

Administrative divisions

4 divisions, 21 regions, 64 districts, 495 thanas (rural townships consisting of 4,472 unions or village groupings)

Branches

constitution provides for unicameral legislature (Parliament), strong President; independent judiciary; President has substantial control over the judiciary

Capital

Dhaka

Communists

2,500 members (est.)

Elections

some local elections held in December 1983; higher local elections held in May 1985; last parliamentary elections held in May 1986; last presidential election held in October 1986 electing President to a full five-year term Political parties and leaders: Jatiyo Party, Hussain Mohammad Ershad; Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Begum Ziaur Rahman; Awami League, Sheikh Hasina Wazed; United People’s Party, Kazi Zafar Ahmed; Democratic League, Khondakar Mushtaque Ahmed; Muslim League, Khan A. Sabur; Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (National Socialist Party), M. A. Jalil; Bangladesh Communist Party (pro-Soviet), Mohammad Farhad; numerous small parties; political activity banned following March 1982 coup; ban lifted in March 1984, reimposed in March 1985, and lifted again in January

Government leaders

Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD, President (since December 1983, elected in October 1986); Mizanur Rahman CHOUDHURY, Prime Minister (since July 1986)

Legal system

civilian legal system suspended; traditionally based on English common law; constitution adopted December 1972, amended January 1975 to more authoritarian presidential system, and changed by proclamation in April 1977 to reflect Islamic character of nation; further change, by proclamation in December 1978, provided for the appointment of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and other Cabinet-rank ministers and defined the powers of the President

Member of

ADB, Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Organization, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB— Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, 10C, IRC, ITU, NAM, OIC, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WFTU, WMO, WTO

National holiday

National Day, 26 March; Victory Day, 16 December

Official name

People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Suffrage

universal over age 18

Type

republic; martial law lifted 10 November 1986

Voting strength

May 1986 parliamentary elections—Jatiya Party (progovernment) 206 seats, Awami League 80 seats, Awami League Allies 21 seats, Jamaat-E-Islami 10 seats, Independents 5 seats, Muslim League 4 seats, JSD (Socialist) 4 seats

Agriculture

large-scale subsistence farming, heavily dependent on monsoon rainfall; main crops are jute, tea, and rice; grain, cotton, and oilseed shortages

Budget

(FY87) current expenditures, $1.25 billion; capital expenditures, $1.59 billion

Electric power

1,212,000 kW capacity; 4,590 million kWh produced, 40 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$934 million (f.0.b., FY85); raw and manufactured jute, leather, tea

Fiscal year

] July-30 June

Fishing

production 751,000 metric tons (1984)

GNP

$13.9 billion (FY85, current prices), $140 per capita; 4.5% real growth (FY86); 11% inflation rate (FY86)

Imports

$2.6 billion (c.i.f., FY85); foodgrains, fuels, raw cotton, fertilizer, manufactured products

Major industries

jute manufactures, food processing, and cotton textiles

Major trade partners

exports—Middle East 19%, US 18%, Japan 7%, UK 5%, Italy 4.7%; imports—US 13.7%, Western Europe 11.5%, Middle East 11%, Japan 7% (FY85)

Monetary conversion rate

30.48 takas=US$1 (November 1986)

Natural resources

natural gas, uranium

Airfields

18 total, 13 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 7 with runways 1,220-2,489 m

Civil air

15 major transport aircraft

Highways

7,240 km total (1985); 3,840 km paved, 3,400 km unpaved

Inland waterways

5,150-8,046 km navigable waterways (includes 2,575-3,058 km main cargo routes)

Pipelines

650 km natural gas

Ports

2 sea (Chittagong, Chalna), 7 inland

Railroads

2,892 km total (1986); 1,914 km meter gauge, 978 km meter gauge; government owned

Telecommunications

adequate international radio communications and landline service; fair domestic wire and microwave service; fair broadcast service; 182,000 telephones (0.18 per 100 popl.); 9 AM, 6 FM, 11 TV stations; 2 satellite ground stations