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Bangladesh |
Located
in the Indian Sub-continent, Bangladesh has been described as a
new state in an ancient land. It is bounded to the north,
northwest and east by India and the southeast by Myanmar. The coastline
on the Bay of Bengal is formed by the deltas of the
three main rivers in the country. The Ganges, the Jamuna (which
is the Brahmaputra in India) and the Meghna form a network
of navigable rivers on a mostly alluvial plain except for the
hills in the southeast with bamboo forests.
Dhaka,
the capital city, lies on the north bank of the Buriganga River
roughly in the heart of the country. It was a significant
Moghul trading centre and the panorama of river life between the
two main water transport terminals, Sadarghat and Badam
Tole is captivating. There are several old buildings along the waterfront,
including the unfinished 17th-century Lalbagh Fort,
the old baroque-style palace museum, Ahsan Manzil and the Chhota
Katra. The National Museum is north of the Old City
and has displays of Bangladesh’s Hindu, Buddhist and Moghul
past as well as an extensive collection of fine folk
art and handicrafts.
In
the southwest of the country, the Sundarbans National Park is the
largest mangrove belt in the world. The mangrove swamps
stretch 80 kilometres into the coast. The Sundarbans have been a
wildlife sanctuary since 1966 – they are home
to the Royal Bengal tiger and spotted deer among other animals.
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| Joined
Commonwealth |
1972 |
| Capital |
Dhaka |
| Population |
133,376,684
(July 2002) |
| Age
structure (15-64 years) |
62.8%
(male: 42,924,778; female: 40,873,077) |
| Youth
Population (15-24) |
30,152,850
(2000) |
| Youth
Population (15-24) in % |
23.5%
(2000) |
| HIV/AIDS
(adult prevalence rate) |
0.02%
(1999) |
| HIV/AIDS
(people living with HIV/AIDS) |
13,000
(1999) |
| HIV/AIDS
deaths |
1,000
(1999) |
| Literacy
(age 15 and over can read and write) |
56%
(male: 63%; female: 49%) (2000) |
| GDP
p.c. growth |
3.0%
p.a. 1990-2000 |
| Currency |
taka
(Tk) |
| Official
language |
Bangla |
| Time |
GMT
plus 6 hours |
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| History |
In
1947 East Bengal and Sylhet came to independence out of the UK’s
Indian Empire, as the eastern part of Pakistan. Political
control, language and economic policy were among the main areas
of disagreement with West Pakistan. By the mid-1960s
there was increasing belief that East Pakistan needed greater
autonomy over its own resources, development priorities
and politics. In 1970, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, leader of the Awami
League of East
Pakistan was prevented from becoming Prime Minister despite
winning an electoral majority. Civil war resulted after
Mujib’s arrest by the Pakistani army in 1971. After
military intervention from India, the separate state of
Bangladesh emerged and Sheikh Mujib became Prime Minister
of the new state.
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| Constitution |
Bangladesh
is a republic with a non-executive president. There is a parliamentary
system with the unicameral parliament elected by universal
adult franchise. Executive power is with the Prime Minister, who
appoints a council of ministers.
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