Palau (2008) | Bangladesh (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 16 states; Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Hatohobei, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngarchelong, Ngardmau, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngeremlengui, Ngiwal, Peleliu, Sonsorol | 6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 26% (male 2,796/female 2,633)
15-64 years: 69.2% (male 7,767/female 6,665) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 465/female 516) (2007 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 | coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; fish | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry |
Airports | 3 (2007) | 16 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
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: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: 458 sq km
land: 458 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 144,000 sq km
land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Iowa |
Background | After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year, when the islands gained independence. | 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 | 17.7 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 29.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $72.07 million
expenditures: $72.43 million (FY04/05 est.) |
revenues: $6.633 billion
expenditures: $9.34 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | name: Melekeok
geographic coordinates: 7 29 N, 134 38 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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; hot and humid; wet season May to November | tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 1,519 km | 580 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1981 | 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: Republic of Palau
conventional short form: Palau local long form: Beluu er a Belau local short form: Belau former: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Palau District |
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 |
Death rate | 6.77 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.13 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $0 (FY99/00) | $19.59 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Charge d'Affaires Mark BEZNER
embassy: Koror (no street address) mailing address: P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940 telephone: [680] 488-2920, 2990 FAX: [680] 488-2911 |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Hersey KYOTA
chancery: 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 452-6814 FAX: [1] (202) 452-6281 consulate(s) general: Honolulu consulate(s): Tamuning (Guam) |
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 | maritime delineation negotiations continue with Philippines, Indonesia | 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 | $23.46 million; note - the Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, provides Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities (2005) | $1.321 billion (2005) |
Economy - overview | The economy consists primarily of tourism, subsistence agriculture, and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. Business and tourist arrivals numbered 63,000 in 2003. The population enjoys a per capita income roughly 50% higher than that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the key tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific, the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries, and the willingness of foreigners to finance infrastructure development. | 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 | - | 19.49 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | - | 21.35 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Ngerchelchuus 242 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging, illegal fishing practices, and overfishing | 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, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 69.9%, Filipino 15.3%, Chinese 4.9%, other Asian 2.4%, white 1.9%, Carolinian 1.4%, other Micronesian 1.1%, other or unspecified 3.2% (2000 census) | Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims) (1998) |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | taka per US dollar - 69.031 (2006), 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003), 57.888 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001); Vice President Camsek CHIN (since 1 January 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001); Vice President Camsek CHIN (since 1 January 2005) cabinet: NA elections: president and vice president elected on separate tickets by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008) election results: Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. reelected president; percent of vote - Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. 64%, Polycarp BASILIUS 33%; Elias Camsek CHIN elected vice president; percent of vote - Elias Camsek CHIN 70%, Sandra PIERANTOZZI 29% |
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 | $5.882 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | shellfish, tuna, copra, garments | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood (2001) |
Exports - partners | US, Japan, Singapore (2006) | US 25%, Germany 12.6%, UK 9.8%, France 4.9% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side | 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 - composition by sector | agriculture: 6.2%
industry: 12% services: 81.8% (2003) |
agriculture: 19.7%
industry: 28% services: 52.3% (2006 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2005 est.) | 6.4% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 7 30 N, 134 30 E | 24 00 N, 90 00 E |
Geography - note | westernmost archipelago in the Caroline chain, consists of six island groups totaling more than 300 islands; includes World War II battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands | 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 |
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 | - | transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries |
Imports | $107.3 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement |
Imports - partners | US, Singapore, Japan, South Korea (2006) | China 17.7%, India 12.5%, Kuwait 7.9%, Singapore 5.5%, Hong Kong 4.1% (2006) |
Independence | 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship) | 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, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar |
Infant mortality rate | total: 14.07 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.78 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 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) | 2.7% (2005 est.) | 6.8% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, ADB, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, IPU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO | 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 | 47,250 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Common Pleas; Land Court | Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 9,777 (2005) | 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: 20%
industry: NA% services: NA% (1990) |
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: 8.7%
permanent crops: 4.35% other: 86.95% (2005) |
arable land: 55.39%
permanent crops: 3.08% other: 41.53% (2005) |
Languages | Palauan 64.7% official in all islands except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official), Filipino 13.5%, English 9.4%, Chinese 5.7%, Carolinian 1.5%, Japanese 1.5%, other Asian 2.3%, other languages 1.5% (2000 census) | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English |
Legal system | based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Congress or Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) consists of the Senate (9 seats; members elected by popular vote on a population basis to serve four-year terms) and the House of Delegates (16 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008); House of Delegates - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held in November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 9; House of Delegates - percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 16 |
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: 70.71 years
male: 67.54 years female: 74.06 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 62.84 years
male: 62.81 years female: 62.86 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92% male: 93% female: 90% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 43.1% male: 53.9% female: 31.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India |
Map references | Oceania | 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 | - | 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 US; under a Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US, the US military is granted access to the islands for 50 years, but no military forces are stationed there (2005) | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Palau National Police (2008) | Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force (Bangladesh Biman Bahini, BAF) (2006) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.5% (2006) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 9 July (1979) | 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: Palauan(s)
adjective: Palauan |
noun: Bangladeshi(s)
adjective: Bangladeshi |
Natural hazards | typhoons (June to December) | droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season |
Natural resources | forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal |
Net migration rate | 1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,604 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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 | 20,842 (July 2007 est.) | 150,448,339 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 45% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.233% (2007 est.) | 2.056% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) | 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 | Roman Catholic 41.6%, Protestant 23.3%, Modekngei 8.8% (indigenous to Palau), Seventh-Day Adventist 5.3%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, Latter-Day Saints 0.6%, other 3.1%, unspecified or none 16.4% (2000 census) | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.062 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.165 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.901 male(s)/female total population: 1.124 male(s)/female (2007 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 - 680; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
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 | 6,700 (2002) | 1.134 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,000 (2002) | 19.131 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (cable) (2005) | 15 (1999) |
Terrain | varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs | mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 2.46 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.09 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.2% (2005 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) |