Compare Bangladesh (2007) - Sao Tome and Principe (2005)

Compare Bangladesh (2007) z Sao Tome and Principe (2005)

	Bangladesh (2007)	Sao Tome and Principe (2005)

Administrative divisions	6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet	2 provinces; Principe, Sao Tome note: Principe has had self-government since 29 April 1995
Age structure	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.)	0-14 years: 47.6% (male 45,145/female 44,007) 15-64 years: 48.6% (male 43,996/female 47,011) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 3,333/female 3,918) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry	cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, copra, cinnamon, pepper, coffee, bananas, papayas, beans; poultry; fish
Airports	16 (2007)	2 (2004 est.)
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)	total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)	-
Area	total: 144,000 sq km land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km	total: 1,001 sq km land: 1,001 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Iowa	more than five 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.	Discovered and claimed by Portugal in the late 15th century, the islands' sugar-based economy gave way to coffee and cocoa in the 19th century - all grown with plantation slave labor, a form of which lingered into the 20th century. Although independence was achieved in 1975, democratic reforms were not instituted until the late 1980s. Though the first free elections were held in 1991, the political environment has been one of continued instability with frequent changes in leadership and coup attempts in 1995 and 2003. The recent discovery of oil in the Gulf of Guinea is likely to have a significant impact on the country's economy.
Birth rate	29.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	40.8 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $6.633 billion expenditures: $9.34 billion (2006 est.)	revenues: $27.94 million expenditures: $43.91 million, including capital expenditures of $54 million (2004 est.)
Capital	name: Dhaka geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 24 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Sao Tome
Climate	tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)	tropical; hot, humid; one rainy season (October to May)
Coastline	580 km	209 km
Constitution	4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972; suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986; amended many times	approved March 1990, effective 10 September 1990
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: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe conventional short form: Sao Tome and Principe local long form: Republica Democratica de Sao Tome e Principe local short form: Sao Tome e Principe
Death rate	8.13 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	6.68 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$19.59 billion (2006 est.)	$318 million (2002)
Diplomatic representation from the US	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	the US does not have an embassy in Sao Tome and Principe; the Ambassador to Gabon is accredited to Sao Tome and Principe on a nonresident basis and makes periodic visits to the islands
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador M. Humayun KABIR 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	Sao Tome and Principe does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a Permanent Mission to the UN, headed by First Secretary Domingos Augusto FERREIRA, located at 400 Park Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10022, telephone [1] (212) 317-0580
Disputes - international	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	none
Economic aid - recipient	$1.321 billion (2005)	$200 million in December 2000 under the HIPC program
Economy - overview	Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, 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. 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. Opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups also have blocked progress. 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. On an encouraging note, growth has been a steady 5-6% for the past several years.	This small poor island economy has become increasingly dependent on cocoa since independence in 1975. Cocoa production has substantially declined in recent years because of drought and mismanagement, but strengthening prices helped boost export earnings in 2003. Sao Tome has to import all fuels, most manufactured goods, consumer goods, and a substantial amount of food. Over the years, it has had difficulty servicing its external debt and has relied heavily on concessional aid and debt rescheduling. Sao Tome benefited from $200 million in debt relief in December 2000 under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program, but lacking a formal poverty reduction program with the IMF, it has not benefited from subsequent HIPC debt reductions. Sao Tome's external debt stands at over $300 million. Considerable potential exists for development of a tourist industry, and the government has taken steps to expand facilities in recent years. The government also has attempted to reduce price controls and subsidies. Sao Tome is optimistic about the development of petroleum resources in its territorial waters in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea. The first production license was sold to a consortium led by US-based oil firms. Much of the 2005 budget is dependent upon the sale of additional production licenses.
Electricity - consumption	19.49 billion kWh (2005)	15.81 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	21.35 billion kWh (2005)	17 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico de Sao Tome 2,024 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	deforestation; soil erosion and exhaustion
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, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims) (1998)	mestico, angolares (descendants of Angolan slaves), forros (descendants of freed slaves), servicais (contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde), tongas (children of servicais born on the islands), Europeans (primarily Portuguese)
Exchange rates	taka per US dollar - 69.031 (2006), 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003), 57.888 (2002)	dobras per US dollar - 9,900.4 (2004), 9,347.6 (2003), 9,088.3 (2002), 8,842.1 (2001), 7,978.2 (2000)
Executive branch	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	chief of state: President Fradique DE MENEZES (since 3 September 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Maria do Carmo SILVEIRA (since 7 June 2005); Damiao Vaz DE ALMEIDA resigned 2 June 2005 cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 29 July 2001 (next to be held July 2006); prime minister chosen by the National Assembly and approved by the president election results: Fradique DE MENEZES elected president in Sao Tome's third multiparty presidential election; percent of vote - NA%
Exports	NA bbl/day	NA
Exports - commodities	garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood (2001)	cocoa 80%, copra, coffee, palm oil
Exports - partners	US 25%, Germany 12.6%, UK 9.8%, France 4.9% (2006)	Netherlands 35.9%, China 12.3%, Belgium 7.4%, Germany 6.3%, Poland 5.1%, France 4.8%, Thailand 4.1% (2004)
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	calendar year
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	three horizontal bands of green (top), yellow (double width), and green with two black five-pointed stars placed side by side in the center of the yellow band and a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 19.7% industry: 28% services: 52.3% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 16.5% industry: 15.4% services: 68.1% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6.4% (2006 est.)	6% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	24 00 N, 90 00 E	1 00 N, 7 00 E
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	the smallest country in Africa; the two main islands form part of a chain of extinct volcanoes and both are fairly mountainous
Highways	-	total: 320 km paved: 218 km unpaved: 102 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 3.7% highest 10%: 27.9% (2000 est.)	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries	-
Imports	NA bbl/day	NA
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement	machinery and electrical equipment, food products, petroleum products
Imports - partners	China 17.7%, India 12.5%, Kuwait 7.9%, Singapore 5.5%, Hong Kong 4.1% (2006)	Portugal 52.3%, Germany 9.5%, US 6%, Netherlands 4.8%, South Africa 4.3%, Belgium 4.1% (2004)
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	12 July 1975 (from Portugal)
Industrial production growth rate	7.2% (2006 est.)	NA
Industries	cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar	light construction, textiles, soap, beer; fish processing; timber
Infant mortality rate	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.)	total: 43.11 deaths/1,000 live births male: 45.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 41.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	6.8% (2006 est.)	14% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ARF, AsDB, 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, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land	47,250 sq km (2003)	100 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president)	Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the National Assembly)
Labor force	68 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. (2006 est.)	NA
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 63% industry: 11% services: 26% (FY95/96)	population mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture and fishing note: shortages of skilled workers
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: 6.25% permanent crops: 48.96% other: 44.79% (2001)
Languages	Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English	Portuguese (official)
Legal system	based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on Portuguese legal system and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies; members serve five-year terms elections: last held 1 October 2001 (the scheduled January 2007 election has been postponed) 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)	unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (55 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 3 March 2002 (next to be held March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - MLSTP 39.6%, Force for Change Democratic Movement 39.4%, Ue-Kedadji coalition 16.2%; seats by party - MLSTP 24, Force for Change Democratic Movement 23, Ue-Kedadji coalition 8
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 62.84 years male: 62.81 years female: 62.86 years (2007 est.)	total population: 66.99 years male: 65.43 years female: 68.59 years (2005 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: 79.3% male: 85% female: 62% (1991 est.)
Location	Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India	Western Africa, islands in the Gulf of Guinea, straddling the Equator, west of Gabon
Map references	Asia	Africa
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	measured from claimed archipelagic baselines territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
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)	total: 15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 79,490 GRT/97,077 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 11, chemical tanker 2 foreign-owned: 2 (Egypt 1, Greece 1) (2005)
Military - note	-	Sao Tome and Principe's army is a tiny force with almost no resouces at its disposal and would be wholly ineffective operating unilaterally; infantry equipment is considered simple to operate and maintain but may require refurbishment or replacement after 25 years in tropical climates; poor pay and conditions have been a problem in the past, as has alleged nepotism in the promotion of officers, as reflected in the 1995 and 2003 coups; these issues are being addressed with foreign assistance as intial steps towards the improvement of the army and its focus on realistic security concerns; command is excersized from the president, through the Minister of Defense, to the Chief of the Armed Forces staff (2005)
Military branches	Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force (Bangladesh Biman Bahini, BAF) (2006)	Armed Forces of Sao Tome and Principe (FASTP): Army, Coast Guard, Presidential Guard (2004)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$700,000 (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.5% (2006)	0.8% (2004)
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, 12 July (1975)
Nationality	noun: Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi	noun: Sao Tomean(s) adjective: Sao Tomean
Natural hazards	droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season	NA
Natural resources	natural gas, arable land, timber, coal	fish, hydropower
Net migration rate	-0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-2.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 [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]	Democratic Renovation Party [Armindo GRACA]; Force for Change Democratic Movement [leader NA]; Independent Democratic Action or ADI [Carlos NEVES]; Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe-Social Democratic Party or MLSTP-PSD [Manuel Pinto Da COSTA]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Aldo BANDEIRA]; Ue-Kedadji coalition [leader NA]; other small parties
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	150,448,339 (July 2007 est.)	187,410 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	45% (2004 est.)	54% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate	2.056% (2007 est.)	3.16% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Sao Tome
Radio broadcast stations	AM 15, FM 13, shortwave 2 (2006)	AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2002)
Railways	total: 2,768 km broad gauge: 946 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)	-
Religions	Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)	Catholic 70.3%, Evangelical 3.4%, New Apostolic 2%, Adventist 1.8%, other 3.1%, none 19.4% (2001 census)
Sex ratio	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.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	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)	general assessment: adequate facilities domestic: minimal system international: country code - 239; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	1.134 million (2006)	7,000 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	19.131 million (2006)	4,800 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	15 (1999)	2 (2002)
Terrain	mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast	volcanic, mountainous
Total fertility rate	3.09 children born/woman (2007 est.)	5.71 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	2.5% (includes underemployment) (2006 est.)	NA
Waterways	8,370 km note: includes up to 3,060 km main cargo routes; network reduced to 5,200 km in dry season (2006)	-

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