Bangladesh (2001) | Saint Kitts and Nevis (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 5 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi; note - there may be one additional division named Sylhet | 14 parishes; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Capesterre, Saint John Figtree, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capesterre, Saint Paul Charlestown, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
35.04% (male 23,550,607; female 22,451,006) 15-64 years: 61.6% (male 41,432,123; female 39,434,633) 65 years and over: 3.36% (male 2,389,639; female 2,011,852) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.2% (male 5,472/female 5,218)
15-64 years: 64.9% (male 12,779/female 12,752) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 1,300/female 1,828) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry | sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish |
Airports | 18 (2000 est.) | 2 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
15 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
144,000 sq km land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km |
total: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)
land: 261 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Wisconsin | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 when Bengali East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan. About a third of this extremely poor country annually floods during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development. | First settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Nevis continues in its efforts to try and separate from Saint Kitts. |
Birth rate | 25.3 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.89 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$4.9 billion expenditures: $6.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $89.7 million
expenditures: $128.2 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | Dhaka | name: Basseterre
geographic coordinates: 17 18 N, 62 43 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October) | tropical, tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) |
Coastline | 580 km | 135 km |
Constitution | 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended many times | 19 September 1983 |
Country name | conventional long form:
People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh former: East Pakistan |
conventional long form: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis |
Currency | taka (BDT) | - |
Death rate | 8.6 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.16 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $17 billion (2000) | $314 million (2004) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Mary Ann PETERS embassy: Road 27, House 110, Banani, Dhaka mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone: [880] (2) 8824700 through 8824722 FAX: [880] (2) 8823744 |
the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Kitts and Nevis |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate A. Tariq KARIM chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Izben Cordinal WILLIAMS
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 686-2636 FAX: [1] (202) 686-5740 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | a portion of the boundary with India is indefinite; exchange of 151 enclaves along border with India subject to ratification by Indian parliament; dispute with India over South Talpatty/New Moore Island | joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.575 billion (2000 est.) | $3.52 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains one of the world's poorest, most densely populated, and least developed nations. 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. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of government. Even so, Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA's Awami League government has made some headway improving the climate for foreign investors and liberalizing the capital markets. Progress on other economic reforms has been halting because of opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups. | Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the Saint Kitts economy until the 1970s. Following the 2005 harvest, the government closed the sugar industry after decades of losses of 3-4% of GDP annually. To compensate for employment losses, the government has embarked on a program to diversify the agricultural sector and to stimulate other sectors of the economy. Activities such as tourism, export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking have assumed larger roles in the economy and have contributed to the recent robust growth. Tourism revenues are now the chief source of the islands' foreign exchange; about 341,800 tourists visited Nevis in 2005. The current government is constrained by a high debt burden, public debt reached 190% of GDP by the end of 2005, largely attributable to public enterprise losses. |
Electricity - consumption | 11.216 billion kWh (1999) | 116.3 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 12.06 billion kWh (1999) | 125 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
93.7% hydro: 6.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998) | predominantly black; some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese |
Exchange rates | taka per US dollar - 54.000 (January 2001), 52.142 (2000), 49.085 (1999), 46.906 (1998), 43.892 (1997), 41.794 (1996) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Shahabuddin AHMED (since 9 October 1996); note - the president's duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to the constitution ("Caretaker Government Amendment"), the president's role becomes significant at times when Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at presidential direction - to supervise the elections head of government: Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA (since 13 July 1996) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 24 July 1996 (next to be held by NA October 2001); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Shahabuddin AHMED elected president without opposition; percent of National Parliament vote - NA% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Cuthbert Montraville SEBASTIAN (since 1 January 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS (since 6 July 1995); Deputy Prime Minister Sam CONDOR (since 6 July 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general in consultation with the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | $5.9 billion (2000) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood | machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco |
Exports - partners | US 31.2%, Germany 9.95%, UK 8.06%, France 5.82%, Italy 4.42% (1999) | US 62%, Canada 9.4%, Netherlands 6.6%, Azerbaijan 5% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of center; the red sun of freedom represents the blood shed to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush countryside, and secondarily, the traditional color of Islam | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad black band bearing two white, five-pointed stars; the black band is edged in yellow; the upper triangle is green, the lower triangle is red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $203 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
30% industry: 18% services: 52% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 25.8% services: 70.7% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,570 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.3% (2000 est.) | 6% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 00 N, 90 00 E | 17 20 N, 62 45 W |
Geography - note | - | with coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic islands are separated by a three-km-wide channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of long, baseball bat-shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister island |
Highways | total:
201,182 km paved: 19,112 km unpaved: 182,070 km (1997) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.9% highest 10%: 28.6% (1995-96 est.) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; some money-laundering activity |
Imports | $8.1 billion (2000) | 871.6 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, raw cotton, food, crude oil and petroleum products, cement | machinery, manufactures, food, fuels |
Imports - partners | India 12.2%, Singapore 7.8%, Japan 6.7%, China 6.4%, US 5.3% (1999) | US 48.9%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.1%, Spain 4.6%, UK 4.5% (2006) |
Independence | 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 | 19 September 1983 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.1% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar | tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 69.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 13.74 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.44 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.8% (2000 est.) | 8.7% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 10 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 31,000 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis) |
Labor force | 64.1 million (1998)
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in 1998-99 |
18,170 (June 1995) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 63%, services 26%, industry 11% (FY95/96) | - |
Land boundaries | total:
4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
73% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 15% other: 5% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 19.44%
permanent crops: 2.78% other: 77.78% (2005) |
Languages | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English | English |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on English common law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad (330 seats; 300 elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies, 30 seats reserved for women; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 12 June 1996 (next to be held before 13 October 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - AL 33.87%, BNP 30.87%; seats by party - AL 178, BNP 113, JP 33, JI 3, other 3; note - the elections of 12 June 1996 brought to power an Awami League government for the first time in twenty-one years; held under a neutral, caretaker administration, the elections were characterized by a peaceful, orderly process and massive voter turnout, ending a bitter two-year impasse between the former BNP and opposition parties that had paralyzed National Parliament and led to widespread street violence |
unicameral National Assembly (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 25 October 2004 (next to be held by 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - SKNLP 7, CCM 2, NRP 1, PAM 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
60.54 years male: 60.74 years female: 60.33 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.66 years
male: 69.81 years female: 75.69 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 56% male: 63% female: 49% (2000 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97.8% male: NA% female: NA% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India | Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Asia | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
18 NM continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | total:
35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 268,566 GRT/375,110 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 25, container 3, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 104 ships (1000 GRT or over) 465,056 GRT/663,511 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 66, chemical tanker 8, container 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 15, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 2 foreign-owned: 76 (Belgium 1, Egypt 2, Estonia 1, Greece 2, India 1, Iran 1, Latvia 4, Monaco 1, Romania 1, Russia 14, Spain 1, Syria 5, Tanzania 1, Turkey 13, Ukraine 5, UAE 22, Yemen 1) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, paramilitary forces (includes Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Ansars, Village Defense Parties, National Cadet Corps), Armed Police battalions | Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force (includes Coast Guard), Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $559 million (FY96/97) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (FY96/97) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
36,005,553 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
21,362,279 (2001 est.) |
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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 | Independence Day, 19 September (1983) |
Nationality | noun:
Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi |
noun: Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s)
adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian |
Natural hazards | droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season | hurricanes (July to October) |
Natural resources | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal | arable land |
Net migration rate | -0.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -3.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 1,250 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIAur Rahman]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Azizol HAQ]; Jamaat-E-Islami or JI [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD] | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Vance AMORY]; Nevis Reformation Party or NRP [Joseph PARRY]; People's Action Movement or PAM [Lindsay GRANT]; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party or SKNLP [Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 131,269,860 (July 2001 est.) | 39,349 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 35.6% (FY95/96 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.59% (2001 est.) | 0.623% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chittagong, Dhaka, Mongla Port, Narayanganj (2001) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 12, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2003) |
Radios | 6.15 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
2,745 km broad gauge: 923 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2000) |
total: 50 km
narrow gauge: 50 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts for tourists (2006) |
Religions | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998) | Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.19 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.049 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.002 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.711 male(s)/female total population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
totally inadequate for a modern country domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2000) |
general assessment: good inter-island and international connections
domestic: inter-island links via Eastern Caribbean Fiber Optic cable; construction of enhanced wireless infrastructure launched in November 2004 international: country code - 1-869; with the East Caribbean Fiber Optic System (ECFS) and Southern Caribbean fiber optic system (SCF) submarine cables providing connectivity, international calls are carried either by submarine cable or Intelsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 500,000 (2000) | 25,000 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 283,000 (2000) | 10,000 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 15 (1999) | 1 (plus 3 repeaters) (2003) |
Terrain | mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast | volcanic with mountainous interiors |
Total fertility rate | 2.78 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.29 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 35.2% (1996) | 4.5% (1997) |
Waterways | up to 8,046 km depending on season
note: includes 3,058 km main cargo routes |
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