Compare Bangladesh (2006) - British Virgin Islands (2002)

Compare Bangladesh (2006) z British Virgin Islands (2002)

	Bangladesh (2006)	British Virgin Islands (2002)

Administrative divisions	6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Age structure	0-14 years: 32.9% (male 24,957,997/female 23,533,894) 15-64 years: 63.6% (male 47,862,774/female 45,917,674) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 2,731,578/female 2,361,435) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 22.4% (male 2,401; female 2,351) 15-64 years: 72.7% (male 7,962; female 7,509) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 565; female 484) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products	rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry	fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish
Airports	16 (2006)	3 (2001)
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 (2006)	total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)
Area	total: 144,000 sq km land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km	total: 153 sq km land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Iowa	about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC
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.	First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.
Birth rate	29.8 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	15.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget	revenues: $5.993 billion expenditures: $8.598 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $121.5 million expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997)
Capital	name: Dhaka geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 25 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Road Town
Climate	tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)	subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds
Coastline	580 km	80 km
Constitution	4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972; suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986; amended many times	1 June 1977
Country name	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	conventional long form: none conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI
Currency	-	US dollar (USD)
Death rate	8.27 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external	$20.63 billion (2005 est.)	$36.1 million (1997)
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia A. BUTENIS 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	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Shamsher Mobin CHOWDHURY chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183 FAX: [1] (202) 244-5366 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, exchange 162 miniscule enclaves in both countries, 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; Burmese Muslim refugees strain Bangladesh's meager resources	none
Economic aid - recipient	$1.575 billion (2000 est.)	NA
Economy - overview	Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although 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. Progress also has been blocked by opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups. The BNP government, led by Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA, has the parliamentary strength to push through needed reforms, but the party's political will to do so has been lacking in key areas. One encouraging note: growth has been a steady 5% for the past several years.	The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959.
Electricity - consumption	16.2 billion kWh (2003)	39.1 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - production	17.42 billion kWh (2003)	42 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Sage 521 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	limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments)
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	-
Ethnic groups	Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998)	black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed
Exchange rates	taka per US dollar - 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003), 57.888 (2002), 55.807 (2001)	the US dollar is used
Executive branch	chief of state: President Iajuddin AHMED (since 6 September 2002); 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 Khaleda ZIA (since 10 October 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president 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 to be held by 2007); 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 by the Election Commission elected unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote - NA	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002) head of government: Chief Minister Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 15 May 1995) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor
Exports	NA bbl/day	$6.2 million
Exports - commodities	garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood (2001)	rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand
Exports - partners	US 23.6%, Germany 13.5%, UK 9.4%, France 6.4% (2005)	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	1 April - 31 March
Flag description	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	blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful)
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $311 million (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 19.9% industry: 19.8% services: 60.3% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 2% industry: 6% services: 92% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.4% (2005 est.)	4.4% (2000 est.)
Geographic coordinates	24 00 N, 90 00 E	18 30 N, 64 30 W
Geography - note	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	strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
Highways	-	total: 177 km paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000)
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 narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center
Imports	NA bbl/day	$230 million (2000 est.)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement (2000)	building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery
Imports - partners	India 14.1%, China 13.5%, Kuwait 8.5%, Singapore 6.2%, Japan 4.1%, Hong Kong 4.1% (2005)	Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US
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	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Industrial production growth rate	6.7% (2005 est.)	4% (1985)
Industries	cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar	tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center
Infant mortality rate	total: 60.83 deaths/1,000 live births male: 61.87 deaths/1,000 live births female: 59.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	19.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	7% (2005 est.)	3.3% (2000)
International organization participation	ARF, AsDB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	Caricom (associate), CDB, ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	16 (2000)
Irrigated land	47,250 sq km (2003)	NA sq km
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president)	Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction
Labor force	66.6 million note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in 1998-99 (2005 est.)	4,911 (1980)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 63% industry: 11% services: 26% (FY95/96)	agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries	total: 4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 55.39% permanent crops: 3.08% other: 41.53% (2005)	arable land: 20% permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (1998 est.)
Languages	Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English	English (official)
Legal system	based on English common law	English law
Legislative branch	unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies (the constitutional amendment reserving 30 seats for women over and above the 300 regular parliament seats expired in May 2001); members serve five-year terms elections: last held 1 October 2001 (next to be held no later than January 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance partners 41%, AL 40%; 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 a majority BNP government aligned with three other smaller parties - JI, IOJ, and Jatiya Party (Manzur)	unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 17 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - VIP 7, CCM 1, NDP 5
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 62.46 years male: 62.47 years female: 62.45 years (2006 est.)	total population: 75.85 years male: 74.9 years female: 76.84 years (2002 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 43.1% male: 53.9% female: 31.8% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA%
Location	Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India	Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico
Map references	Asia	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM
Merchant marine	total: 42 ships (1000 GRT or over) 341,733 GRT/485,840 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 29, container 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3 foreign-owned: 1 (China 1) registered in other countries: 10 (Antigua and Barbuda 4, Comoros 1, Malta 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Singapore 1) (2006)	total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 70,285 GRT/6,946 DWT ships by type: passenger 1 (2002 est.)
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the UK
Military branches	Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force (Bangladesh Biman Bahini, BAF) (2006)	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$1.01 billion (2005 est.)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.8% (2005 est.)	-
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	Territory Day, 1 July
Nationality	noun: Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi	noun: British Virgin Islander(s) adjective: British Virgin Islander
Natural hazards	droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season	hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October)
Natural resources	natural gas, arable land, timber, coal	NEGL
Net migration rate	-0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	10.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines	gas 2,604 km (2006)	-
Political parties and leaders	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 [Motiur 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]	Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	147,365,352 (July 2006 est.)	21,272 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line	45% (2004 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	2.09% (2006 est.)	2.16% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Road Town
Radio broadcast stations	AM 15, FM 13, shortwave 2 (2006)	AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios	-	9,000 (1997)
Railways	total: 2,768 km broad gauge: 946 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)	0 km
Religions	Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)	Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 2%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.16 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.17 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 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: country code - 880; satellite earth stations - 6; international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2005)	general assessment: worldwide telephone service domestic: NA international: submarine cable to Bermuda
Telephones - main lines in use	1.07 million (2005)	10,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular	9 million (2005)	NA
Television broadcast stations	15 (1999)	1 (plus one cable company) (1997)
Terrain	mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast	coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly
Total fertility rate	3.11 children born/woman (2006 est.)	1.72 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate	2.5% (includes underemployment) (2005 est.)	3% (1995)
Waterways	8,372 km note: includes 5,635 km main cargo routes; network reduced to 5,200 km in dry season (2005)	none

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.