Montserrat (2004) | Bangladesh (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter | 6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.3% (male 1,092; female 1,062)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 2,889; female 3,162) 65 years and over: 11.2% (male 543; female 497) (2004 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 | cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers, livestock products | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry |
Airports | 1 (2003 est.) | 16 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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: 102 sq km
land: 102 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 144,000 sq km
land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Iowa |
Background | Much of this island was devastated and two-thirds of the population fled abroad because of the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano that began on 18 July 1995. | 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. |
Birth rate | 17.63 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 29.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $31.4 million
expenditures: $31.6 million, including capital expenditures of $8.4 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $6.633 billion
expenditures: $9.34 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Plymouth (abandoned in 1997 due to volcanic activity; interim government buildings have been built at Brades Estate, in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat) | name: Dhaka
geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 24 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation | tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 40 km | 580 km |
Constitution | present constitution came into force 19 December 1989 | 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: none
conventional short form: Montserrat |
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 | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | - |
Death rate | 7.36 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 8.13 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.9 million (1997) | $19.59 billion (2006 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 |
Disputes - international | none | 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 | As of 31 March 2003, UK's DFID had provided about $328 million in economic relief from volcanic activity, and by 31 March 2006, DFID aid is expected to total $411 million. | $1.321 billion (2005) |
Economy - overview | Severe volcanic activity, which began in July 1995, has put a damper on this small, open economy. A catastrophic eruption in June 1997 closed the airports and seaports, causing further economic and social dislocation. Two-thirds of the 12,000 inhabitants fled the island. Some began to return in 1998, but lack of housing limited the number. The agriculture sector continued to be affected by the lack of suitable land for farming and the destruction of crops. Prospects for the economy depend largely on developments in relation to the volcano and on public sector construction activity. The UK has launched a three-year $122.8 million aid program to help reconstruct the economy. Half of the island is expected to remain uninhabitable for another decade. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.325 million kWh (2001) | 19.49 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 2.5 million kWh (2001) | 21.35 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chances Peak (in the Soufriere Hills volcanic complex) 914 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m |
Environment - current issues | land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation | 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: 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 | black, white | Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims) (1998) |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | taka per US dollar - 69.031 (2006), 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003), 57.888 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Deborah Barnes JONES (since 10 May 2004)
head of government: Chief Minister John OSBORNE (since 5 April 2001) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, the chief minister, three other ministers, the attorney general, and the finance secretary elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually becomes chief minister |
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 | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | electronic components, plastic bags, apparel, hot peppers, live plants, cattle | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood (2001) |
Exports - partners | US, Antigua and Barbuda | US 25%, Germany 12.6%, UK 9.8%, France 4.9% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross | 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 - $29 million (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5.4%
industry: 13.6% services: 81% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 19.7%
industry: 28% services: 52.3% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,400 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | -1% (2002 est.) | 6.4% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 45 N, 62 12 W | 24 00 N, 90 00 E |
Geography - note | the island is entirely volcanic in origin and contains seven active volcanoes | 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: 227 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: volcanic eruptions beginning in 1995 destroyed most of the road system (2003) |
- |
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 | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe | transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement |
Imports - partners | US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada | China 17.7%, India 12.5%, Kuwait 7.9%, Singapore 5.5%, Hong Kong 4.1% (2006) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 | 7.2% (2006 est.) |
Industries | tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 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) | 2.6% (2002 est.) | 6.8% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom, CDB, ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, UPU | 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 |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 47,250 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia, one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court) | Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 4,521 ; note - lowered by flight of people from volcanic activity (2000 est.) | 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.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA | agriculture: 63%
industry: 11% services: 26% (FY95/96) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,246 km
border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km |
Land use | arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 0% other: 80% (2001) |
arable land: 55.39%
permanent crops: 3.08% other: 41.53% (2005) |
Languages | English | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English |
Legal system | English common law and statutory law | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (11 seats, 9 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms)
note: expanded in 2001 from 7 to 9 elected members with attorney general and financial secretary sitting as ex-officio members elections: last held April 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPLM 7, NPP 2 note: in 2001, the Elections Commission instituted a single constituency/voter-at-large system whereby all eligible voters cast ballots for all nine seats of the Legislative Council |
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) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.53 years
male: 76.39 years female: 80.78 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 62.84 years
male: 62.81 years female: 62.86 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 43.1% male: 53.9% female: 31.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
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 | none | 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 the UK | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force | Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force (Bangladesh Biman Bahini, BAF) (2006) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.5% (2006) |
National holiday | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) | 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: Montserratian(s)
adjective: Montserratian |
noun: Bangladeshi(s)
adjective: Bangladeshi |
Natural hazards | severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (Soufriere Hills volcano has erupted continuously since 1995) | droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season |
Natural resources | negligible | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,604 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | National Progressive Party or NPP [Reuben T. MEADE]; New People's Liberation Movement or NPLM [John A. OSBORNE] | 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 | 9,245
note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; some have returned (July 2004 est.) |
150,448,339 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 45% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.03% (2004 est.) | 2.056% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Plymouth (abandoned), Little Bay (anchorages and ferry landing), Carr's Bay | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 15, FM 13, shortwave 2 (2006) |
Railways | - | total: 2,768 km
broad gauge: 946 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.09 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 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: NA international: country code - 1-664 |
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 | NA | 1.134 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 70 (1994) | 19.131 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 15 (1999) |
Terrain | volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland | mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.79 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 3.09 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (1998 est.) | 2.5% (includes underemployment) (2006 est.) |
Waterways | - | 8,370 km
note: includes up to 3,060 km main cargo routes; network reduced to 5,200 km in dry season (2006) |