Basic Facts on Bangladesh
Bangladesh, located in the eastern part of South-Asia, emerged as a sovereign independent country in 1971 following a nine-month long War of Liberation. Being one of the largest deltas of the world, Bangladesh constitutes a small country in terms of geographical border with great potential for industrial development and economic growth as well as offers lucrative opportunities for investment:
| Official Name: | People’s Republic of Bangladesh |
| Political system: | Parliamentary Democracy Head of State: President and Head of the Government: Prime Minister |
| Independence: | 26 March 1971 |
| Capital: | Dhaka |
| Time Zone: | GMT + 6 hours |
| Administrative Units: | The country is divided into 8 Administrative Divisions: Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Barisal, Sylhet, Rangpur and Mymensingh. |
| Districts: | 64 |
| Upzilla: | 493 |
| Working hours: | 9:00 am to 5:00 pm; Sunday to Thursday. Friday and Saturday are weekly holidays |
| Language: | Official Language is Bangla and English is widely spoken as second language. |
| Literacy rate: | 74.40% [Male: 76.5%, Female: 72.3%] (2019) |
| Principal industries: | RMG, pharmaceuticals, cements, garment accessories, chemicals, fertilizers, newsprint, leather and leather goods, ship breaking, ship-building, paper, sugar, jute, oil refining, light engineering, toiletries, processed foods, electrical and electronics, assembling and manufacturing of refrigerator, freezer, LCD and LED television and computers and assembling of jeeps, buses and trucks. |
| Principal exports: | RMG, pharmaceuticals, frozen foods (shrimps), leather, leather products, jute, jute products, tea, ceramic, textile fabrics, home textile, chemical products, handicrafts, newsprint, computer software, IT solutions, light engineering products including bi-cycle, toiletries, processed foods, ocean going vessels (below 10,000 tons) etc. |
| Best tourist season: | October – March of the year |
| Places of tourist interest: | Dhaka, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Kaptai,Rangamati, Khagrachari, Bandarban, Kuakata, Bogra, Khulna, the Sundarbans, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Dinajpur and Comilla |
| International airports: | Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet |
| Domestic airports: | Cox’s Bazar, Jessore, Rajshahi, Syedpur, Barisal, Iswardi, Comilla and Thakurgaon |
| Seaports: | Chittagong and Mongla |
| Radio stations: | Bangladesh Betar and Private radio channels: 25 |
| Television stations: | State owned: 3 and Private: 23 |
Geography
| Location | Between 200 34′ and 260 38′ north latitude and between 880 01′ and 92041′ east longitude. |
| Boundary: | North: India West: India South: Bay of Bengal East: India and Myanmar |
| Area: | 147,570 sq. Km |
| Territorial water: | 12 nautical miles |
| Maritime economic zone: | 200 nautical miles |
| Main seasons: | Spring (February-March), Summer (April-June), Monsoon (July-September), Autumn (October-November) and Winter (December-January) |
| Principal seasonal crops and fruits: | Rice, jute, wheat, tobacco, pulses, sugarcane, oil seeds, spices, vegetables, potatoes, jack-fruit, banana, mango, coconut, pineapple, etc. |
| Natural resources: | Natural gas, coal, limestone, white clay, hard rock, glass sand, etc. |
| Principal rivers: | Padma (Ganges), Meghna, Jamuna, Brahmaputra, Teesta, Surma and Karnaphuli |
Demographic information:
| Population: | 169.11 million est. [January 2021] Male: 50.41% and Female: 49.59% |
| Population growth rate: | 1.37% (2021) |
| National poverty level: | 20.5% (2019) |
| Life expectancy: | 72.6 years (2021) |
| Labour force: | 56.5% |
Economy Overview:
| GDP | US$ 324.24 billion [FY2019-20] |
| GDP growth rate (%): | 8.15% FY2018-19] |
| GDP per capita: | US$ 2227 ( Sept. 2021) |
| GDP Composition by sector: | Agriculture – 15.1% Industry- 26.5% Services- 53.5% |
| Total exports: | US$ 38.75 billion (2021) |
| Major export partners: | USA, Germany, UK, France, Netherlands and Spain |
| Main export commodities: | Garments, knitwear, agricultural products, frozen food (fish and seafood), jute and jute goods, leather and leather goods. |
| Total imports: | US$ 65.59 billion |
| Major import partners: | China, India, Indonesia, USA and Japan |
| Main import commodities: | Cotton, machinery and equipment, chemical, iron, steel and foodstuff |
| Total FDI: | US$ 2.56 billion (2020) |
| Remittances: | U$ 24.77 billion (2021) |
| Foreign reserves: | U$ 46.39 billion (June 2021) |
| Currency: | BDT (1 USD= BDT 84.60) Dec. 2018 |