Bangladesh
Background
| 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. A military-backed, emergency caretaker regime suspended parliamentary elections planned for January 2007 in an effort to reform the political system and root out corruption. In contrast to the strikes and violent street rallies that had marked Bangladeshi politics in previous years, the parliamentary elections finally held in late December 2008 were mostly peaceful. Sheikh HASINA Wajed was reappointed prime minister. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development. |  |
People
Population: 156,050,883Ethnic groups: Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims)
Religions: Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1%
Languages: Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English
Government
Executive
Chief of state: President Zillur RAHMAN (since 12 February 2009)
Head of government: Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA Wajed (since 6 January 2009)
Elections: President elected by National Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); last election held on 11 February 2009 (next scheduled election to be held in 2014)
Head of government: Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA Wajed (since 6 January 2009)
Elections: President elected by National Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); last election held on 11 February 2009 (next scheduled election to be held in 2014)
Legislative
Unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies; members serve five-year termsJudicial
Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president)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 BangladeshEconomy
The economy has grown 5-6% per year since 1996 despite inefficient state-owned enterprises, delays in exploiting natural gas resources, insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. 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. Garment exports and remittances from Bangladeshis working overseas, mainly in the Middle East and East Asia, fuel economic growth. In 2008 Bangladesh pursued a monetary policy aimed at maintaining high employment, but created higher inflation in the process.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Information from The World Factbook