Western Sahara (2005) | Bangladesh (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | 6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry |
Airports | 11 (2004 est.) | 16 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (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 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 144,000 sq km
land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly smaller than Iowa |
Background | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. | 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 | NA births/1,000 population | 29.8 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $5.993 billion
expenditures: $8.598 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | none | name: Dhaka
geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 25 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 580 km |
Constitution | - | 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: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
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 | NA deaths/1,000 population | 8.27 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $20.63 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none | 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 |
Disputes - international | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $1.575 billion (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 83.7 million kWh (2002) | 16.2 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (2002) | 17.42 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m |
Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | 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: none of the selected agreements
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, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Berber | Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998) |
Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.6256 (2000) | taka per US dollar - 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003), 57.888 (2002), 55.807 (2001) |
Executive branch | none | 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 |
Exports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood (2001) |
Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | US 23.6%, Germany 13.5%, UK 9.4%, France 6.4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 19.9%
industry: 19.8% services: 60.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 6.4% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 24 00 N, 90 00 E |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | 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: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
- |
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 | NA | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement (2000) |
Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | India 14.1%, China 13.5%, Kuwait 8.5%, Singapore 6.2%, Japan 4.1%, Hong Kong 4.1% (2005) |
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 |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 6.7% (2005 est.) |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 7% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | none | 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 |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 47,250 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 12,000 | 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.) |
Labor force - by occupation | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% | agriculture: 63%
industry: 11% services: 26% (FY95/96) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
total: 4,246 km
border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
arable land: 55.39%
permanent crops: 3.08% other: 41.53% (2005) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English |
Legal system | - | based on English common 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) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: 62.46 years
male: 62.47 years female: 62.45 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 43.1% male: 53.9% female: 31.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India |
Map references | Africa | Asia |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | 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: 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) |
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 |
Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Bangladeshi(s)
adjective: Bangladeshi |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal |
Net migration rate | - | -0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 273,008 (July 2005 est.) | 147,365,352 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 45% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | NA | 2.09% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, 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 (2005) |
Religions | Muslim | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998) |
Sex ratio | NA | 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.) |
Suffrage | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 1.07 million (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 9 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 15 (1999) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 3.11 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 2.5% (includes underemployment) (2005 est.) |
Waterways | - | 8,372 km
note: includes 5,635 km main cargo routes; network reduced to 5,200 km in dry season (2005) |