Andorra (2002) | Bangladesh (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 parishes (parroquies, singular - parroquia); Andorra la Vella, Canillo, Encamp, La Massana, Escaldes-Engordany, Ordino, Sant Julia de Loria | 6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 15.2% (male 5,456; female 4,951)
15-64 years: 71.9% (male 25,855; female 23,311) 65 years and over: 12.9% (male 4,425; female 4,405) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 33.1% (male 25,639,640/female 24,174,937)
15-64 years: 63.4% (male 48,659,087/female 46,712,687) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 2,818,638/female 2,443,350) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | small quantities of tobacco, rye, wheat, barley, oats, vegetables; sheep | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry |
Airports | none (2001) | 16 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 15
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: 468 sq km
land: 468 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 144,000 sq km
land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Iowa |
Background | For 715 years, from 1278 to 1993, Andorrans lived under a unique co-principality, ruled by the French chief of state and the Spanish bishop of Urgel. In 1993, this feudal system was modified with the titular heads of state retained, but the government transformed into a parliamentary democracy. Long isolated and impoverished, mountainous Andorra achieved considerable prosperity since World War II through its tourist industry. Many immigrants (legal and illegal) are attracted to the thriving economy with its lack of income taxes. | 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. A military-backed caretaker regime suspended planned parliamentary elections in January 2007 in an effort to reform the political system and root out corruption; the regime has pledged new democratic elections by the end of 2008. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development. |
Birth rate | 9.97 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 29.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $385 million
expenditures: $342 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
revenues: $7.078 billion
expenditures: $9.642 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Andorra la Vella | name: Dhaka
geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 24 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate; snowy, cold winters and warm, dry summers | tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 580 km |
Constitution | Andorra's first written constitution was drafted in 1991; approved by referendum 14 March 1993; came into force 4 May 1993 | 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972; suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986; amended many times |
Country name | conventional long form: Principality of Andorra
conventional short form: Andorra local long form: Principat d'Andorra local short form: Andorra |
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 |
Currency | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF); Spanish peseta (ESP) | - |
Death rate | 5.57 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.13 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $20.25 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Andorra; the US Ambassador to Spain is accredited to Andorra; US interests in Andorra are represented by the Consulate General's office in Barcelona (Spain); mailing address: Paseo Reina Elisenda, 23, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; telephone: (3493) 280-2227; FAX: (3493) 205-7705 | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Geeta PASI
embassy: Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212 mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone: [880] (2) 885-5500 FAX: [880] (2) 882-3744 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Jelena V. PIA-COMELLA
chancery: 2 United Nations Plaza, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 750-8064 FAX: [1] (212) 750-6630 |
chief of mission: Ambassador M. Humayun KABIR
chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183 FAX: [1] (202) 244-7830/2771 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York |
Disputes - international | border is undemarcated in sections | discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, exchange territory for 51 small Bangladeshi exclaves in India and 111 small Indian exclaves in Bangladesh, allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh resists India's attempts to fence or wall off high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; a joint Bangladesh-India boundary inspection in 2005 revealed 92 pillars are missing; dispute with India over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; 21,000 Burmese Rohingya Muslim refugees reside in two camps in Bangladesh |
Economic aid - recipient | none | $1.321 billion (2005) |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the mainstay of Andorra's tiny, well-to-do economy, accounts for roughly 80% of GDP. An estimated 9 million tourists visit annually, attracted by Andorra's duty-free status and by its summer and winter resorts. Andorra's comparative advantage has recently eroded as the economies of neighboring France and Spain have been opened up, providing broader availability of goods and lower tariffs. The banking sector, with its "tax haven" status, also contributes substantially to the economy. Agricultural production is limited - only 2% of the land is arable - and most food has to be imported. The principal livestock activity is sheep raising. Manufacturing output consists mainly of cigarettes, cigars, and furniture. Andorra is a member of the EU Customs Union and is treated as an EU member for trade in manufactured goods (no tariffs) and as a non-EU member for agricultural products. | The economy has grown 5-6% over the past few years despite inefficient state-owned enterprises, delays in exploiting natural gas resources, insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. Garment exports and remittances from Bangladeshis working overseas, mainly in the Middle East and East Asia, fuel economic growth. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 19.49 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | NA kWh | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh
note: most electricity supplied by Spain and France; Andorra generates a small amount of hydropower |
0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | - | 21.35 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Riu Runer 840 m
highest point: Coma Pedrosa 2,946 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; overgrazing of mountain meadows contributes to soil erosion; air pollution; wastewater treatment and solid waste disposal | many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Hazardous Wastes
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Spanish 43%, Andorran 33%, Portuguese 11%, French 7%, other 6% (1998) | Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims) (1998) |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997); Spanish pesetas per US dollar - 149.40 (1998), 146.41 (1997) | taka per US dollar - 69.893 (2007), 69.031 (2006), 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: French Coprince Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May 1995), represented by Frederic de SAINT-SERNIN (since NA); Spanish Coprince Episcopal Monseigneur Joan Marti ALANIS (since 31 January 1971), represented by Nemesi MARQUES OSTE (since NA)
head of government: Executive Council President Marc FORNE Molne (since 21 December 1994) cabinet: Executive Council or Govern designated by the Executive Council president elections: Executive Council president elected by the General Council and formally appointed by the coprinces for a four-year term; election last held 4 March 2001 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Marc FORNE Molne elected executive council president; percent of General Council vote - NA% |
chief of state: President Iajuddin AHMED (since 6 September 2002)
note: the country has a caretaker government until a general election is held; Iajuddin AHMED remains as President and Minister of Defense, and all other Cabinet portfolios are held by Caretaker Advisers (CAs); the Chief CA, Fakhruddin AHMED, is roughly equivalent to a prime minister elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election scheduled for 16 September 2002 was not held since Iajuddin AHMED was the only presidential candidate; he was sworn in on 6 September 2002 (next election NA); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Iajuddin AHMED declared president-elect by the Election Commission; he ran unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote - NA |
Exports | $58 million f.o.b. (1998) | 1,100 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | tobacco products, furniture | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood (2001) |
Exports - partners | France 34%, Spain 58% (1998) | US 24.9%, Germany 12.8%, UK 9.8%, France 5% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red with the national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; the coat of arms features a quartered shield; similar to the flags of Chad and Romania, which do not have a national coat of arms in the center, and the flag of Moldova, which does bear a national emblem | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.3 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 19%
industry: 28.7% services: 52.3% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.8% (2000 est.) | 6% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 42 30 N, 1 30 E | 24 00 N, 90 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; straddles a number of important crossroads in the Pyrenees | most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal |
Highways | total: 269 km
paved: 198 km unpaved: 71 km (1994 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 27.9% (2000 est.) |
Illicit drugs | - | transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries |
Imports | $1.077 billion (1998) | 81,010 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, food, electricity | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement |
Imports - partners | Spain 48%, France 35%, US 2.3% (1998) | China 17.7%, India 12.5%, Kuwait 7.9%, Singapore 5.5%, Hong Kong 4.1% (2006) |
Independence | 1278 (was formed under the joint suzerainty of the French count of Foix and the Spanish bishop of Urgel) | 16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 9.5% (2007 est.) |
Industries | tourism (particularly skiing), cattle raising, timber, tobacco, banking | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar |
Infant mortality rate | 4.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 59.12 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 60.13 deaths/1,000 live births female: 58.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.3% (2000) | 8.8% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | CCC, CE, ECE, ICAO, ICRM, IFRCS, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OSCE, UN, UNESCO, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | ADB, ARF, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 47,250 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Tribunal of Judges or Tribunal de Batlles; Tribunal of the Courts or Tribunal de Corts; Supreme Court of Justice of Andorra or Tribunal Superior de Justicia d'Andorra; Supreme Council of Justice or Consell Superior de la Justicia; Fiscal Ministry or Ministeri Fiscal; Constitutional Tribunal or Tribunal Constitucional | Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 33,000 (2001 est.) | 69.4 million
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $4.8 billion in 2005-06. (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1%, industry 21%, services 78% (2000 est.) | agriculture: 63%
industry: 11% services: 26% (FY95/96) |
Land boundaries | total: 120.3 km
border countries: France 56.6 km, Spain 63.7 km |
total: 4,246 km
border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.22%
permanent crops: 0% other: 97.78% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 55.39%
permanent crops: 3.08% other: 41.53% (2005) |
Languages | Catalan (official), French, Castilian, Portuguese | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English |
Legal system | based on French and Spanish civil codes; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council of the Valleys or Consell General de las Valls (28 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, 14 from a single national constituency and 14 to represent each of the 7 parishes; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 4 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - PLA 46.1%, PSD 30%, PD 23.8%, other 0.1%; seats by party - PLA 15, PSD 6, PD 5, independents 2 |
unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies; members serve five-year terms; note - parliament not in session during the extended caretaker regime
elections: last held 1 October 2001 (the scheduled January 2007 election has been postponed till late 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance partners 41%, AL 40%, other 19%; seats by party - BNP 193, AL 58, JI 17, JP (Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 2, JP (Manzur) 4, other 12; note - the election of October 2001 brought to power a majority BNP government aligned with three other smaller parties - JI, IOJ, and Jatiya Party (Manzur) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 83.48 years
male: 80.58 years female: 86.58 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 62.84 years
male: 62.81 years female: 62.86 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 100% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 43.1% male: 53.9% female: 31.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southwestern Europe, between France and Spain | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India |
Map references | Europe | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 18 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 41 ships (1000 GRT or over) 328,530 GRT/468,509 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 27, container 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4 foreign-owned: 1 (China 1) registered in other countries: 9 (Comoros 1, Honduras 1, Malta 3, Panama 1, Singapore 2, St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France and Spain | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces, but there is a police force | Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force (Bangladesh Biman Bahini, BAF) (2008) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.5% (2006) |
National holiday | Our Lady of Meritxell Day, 8 September (1278) | 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 |
Nationality | noun: Andorran(s)
adjective: Andorran |
noun: Bangladeshi(s)
adjective: Bangladeshi |
Natural hazards | avalanches | droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season |
Natural resources | hydropower, mineral water, timber, iron ore, lead | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal |
Net migration rate | 6.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,644 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party or PD (formerly part of National Democratic Group or AND) [leader NA]; Liberal Party of Andorra or PLA [Marc Forne MOLNE] (used to be Liberal Union or UL); National Democratic Initiative or IDN [Vincenc MATEU Zamora]; New Democracy or ND [Jaume BARTOMEU Cassany]; Social Democratic Party or PSD (formerly part of National Democratic Group of AND) [leader NA]; Union of the People of Ordino (Unio Parroquial d'Ordino) or UPO [Simo DURO Coma]
note: there are two other small parties |
Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul Haq AMINI]; Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh or JIB [Matiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]; Jatiya Party (Manzur faction) [Naziur Rahman MANZUR]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Badrudozza CHOWDHURY and Oli AHMED] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 68,403 (July 2002 est.) | 150,448,339 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 45% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.11% (2002 est.) | 2.056% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 15, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 15, FM 13, shortwave 2 (2006) |
Radios | 16,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 2,768 km
broad gauge: 946 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic (predominant) | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 1.09 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.061 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.042 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.154 male(s)/female total population: 1.052 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: modern system with microwave radio relay connections between exchanges international: landline circuits to France and Spain |
general assessment: totally inadequate for a modern country; fixed-line telephone density of less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of 13 per 100 persons
domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: country code - 880; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-4 fiber-optic submarine cable system that provides links to Europe, the Middle East and Asia; satellite earth stations - 6; international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 32,946 (December 1998) | 1.134 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 14,117 (December 1998) | 19.131 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 15 (1999) |
Terrain | rugged mountains dissected by narrow valleys | mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.26 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.09 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 2.5% (includes underemployment) (2007 est.) |
Waterways | none | 8,370 km
note: includes up to 3,060 km main cargo routes; network reduced to 5,200 km in dry season (2006) |