Niue (2001) | Bangladesh (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages each with its own village council whose members are elected and serve three-year terms | 5 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi; note - there may be one additional division named Sylhet |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 18 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
260 sq km land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
144,000 sq km land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Wisconsin |
Background | Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to 2,100 in 2000) with substantial emigration to New Zealand. | 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. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | 25.3 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues:
$4.9 billion expenditures: $6.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Alofi | Dhaka |
Climate | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds | tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 64 km | 580 km |
Constitution | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) | 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: Niue former: Savage Island |
conventional long form:
People's Republic of Bangladesh conventional short form: Bangladesh former: East Pakistan |
Currency | New Zealand dollar (NZD) | taka (BDT) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 8.6 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $17 billion (2000) |
Dependency status | self-governing in free association with New Zealand; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) | 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 |
Disputes - international | none | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.3 million (1995) | $1.575 billion (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration of Niueans to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.8 million kWh (1999) | 11.216 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 3 million kWh (1999) | 12.06 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
93.7% hydro: 6.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m |
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m |
Environment - current issues | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture | 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 signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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 |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) | Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998) |
Exchange rates | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.2502 (January 2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8629 (1998), 1.5082 (1997), 1.4543 (1996) | taka per US dollar - 54.000 (January 2001), 52.142 (2000), 49.085 (1999), 46.906 (1998), 43.892 (1997), 41.794 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000) head of government: Premier Sani LAKATANI (since 1 April 1999) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 19 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2002) election results: Sani LAKATANI elected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - NA% |
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% |
Exports | $117,500 (f.o.b., 1989) | $5.9 billion (2000) |
Exports - commodities | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood |
Exports - partners | NZ 89%, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia | US 31.2%, Germany 9.95%, UK 8.06%, France 5.82%, Italy 4.42% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.5 million (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $203 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture:
30% industry: 18% services: 52% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,800 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,570 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 19 02 S, 169 52 W | 24 00 N, 90 00 E |
Geography - note | one of world's largest coral islands | - |
Highways | total:
234 km paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (106 km of which is access and plantation road) (2001) |
total:
201,182 km paved: 19,112 km unpaved: 182,070 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
3.9% highest 10%: 28.6% (1995-96 est.) |
Illicit drugs | - | transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries |
Imports | $4.1 million (c.i.f., 1989) | $8.1 billion (2000) |
Imports - commodities | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, raw cotton, food, crude oil and petroleum products, cement |
Imports - partners | NZ 59%, Fiji 20%, Japan 13%, Samoa, Australia, US | India 12.2%, Singapore 7.8%, Japan 6.7%, China 6.4%, US 5.3% (1999) |
Independence | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand | 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% | 6.1% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, handicrafts, food processing | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar |
Infant mortality rate | NA deaths/1,000 live births | 69.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (1995) | 5.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, ESCAP (associate), FAO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO, WMO | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 10 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 31,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue | Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 450 (1992 est.) | 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 |
Labor force - by occupation | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board | agriculture 63%, services 26%, industry 11% (FY95/96) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
4,246 km border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km |
Land use | arable land:
19% permanent crops: 8% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 19% other: 50% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
73% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 15% other: 5% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Polynesian closely related to Tongan and Samoan, English | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English |
Legal system | English common law | based on English common law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 19 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 9, independents 11 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
NA years male: NA years female: NA years |
total population:
60.54 years male: 60.74 years female: 60.33 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 56% male: 63% female: 49% (2000 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India |
Map references | Oceania | Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone:
18 NM continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | 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.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand | - |
Military branches | Police Force | Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, paramilitary forces (includes Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Ansars, Village Defense Parties, National Cadet Corps), Armed Police battalions |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $559 million (FY96/97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.8% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
36,005,553 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
21,362,279 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) | 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:
Niuean(s) adjective: Niuean |
noun:
Bangladeshi(s) adjective: Bangladeshi |
Natural hazards | typhoons | droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season |
Natural resources | fish, arable land | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | -0.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | natural gas 1,250 km |
Political parties and leaders | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Sani LAKATANI] | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 2,124 (July 2001 est.) | 131,269,860 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 35.6% (FY95/96 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.5% (2001 est.) | 1.59% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; offshore anchorage only | Chittagong, Dhaka, Mongla Port, Narayanganj (2001) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 12, FM 12, shortwave 2 (1999) |
Radios | 1,000 (1997) | 6.15 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
2,745 km broad gauge: 923 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2000) |
Religions | Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 75%, Latter-Day Saints 10%, other 15% (mostly Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist) | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
primitive system domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island international: NA |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 376 (1991) | 500,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1991) | 283,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 15 (1999) |
Terrain | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau | mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 2.78 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 35.2% (1996) |
Waterways | none | up to 8,046 km depending on season
note: includes 3,058 km main cargo routes |