|
|
| Country | Bangladesh | | | Flag |  | | | Capital | name: Dhaka geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 25 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) | | | Population | 150,448,339 (July 2007 est.) | | | GMT | +6 | | | Location | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
see map | | | Area | total: 144,000 sq km land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km | | | 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 | | | Government type | parliamentary democracy | | | 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 | | | Background | Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the region and it became part of British India. In 1947, West Pakistan and East Bengal (both primarily Muslim) separated from India (largely Hindu) and jointly became the new country of Pakistan. East Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955, but the awkward arrangement of a two-part country with its territorial units separated by 1,600 km left the Bengalis marginalized and dissatisfied. East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed Bangladesh. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development. | | Internet country code | .bd | |
|