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From the CIA World Factbook 2000. Not Wikified. |
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Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 when Bengali? [East Pakistan]? seceded from its union with [West Pakistan]?. A third of this desperately poor country annually floods during the monsoon rainy season, hampering normal economic development. Not Wikified. |
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* Transnational Issues Economy - overview: 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. The economy is largely agricultural, with the cultivation of rice the single most important activity in the economy. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, the inefficiency of state-owned enterprises, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), inadequate power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Prime Minister Sheikh HASINA Wajed's Awami League government has made some headway improving the climate for foreign investors and liberalizing the capital markets; for example, it has negotiated with foreign firms for oil and gas exploration, better countrywide distribution of cooking gas, and the construction of natural gas pipelines and power plants. Progress on other economic reforms has been halting because of opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups. The especially severe floods of 1998 increased the country's reliance on large-scale international aid. So far the East Asian financial crisis has not had major impact on the economy. GDP: purchasing power parity - $187 billion (1999 est.) GDP - real growth rate: 5.2% (1999 est.) GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,470 (1999 est.) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 30% industry: 17% services: 53% (1999 est.) Population below poverty line: 35.6% (FY95/96 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 4.1% highest 10%: 23.7% (1992) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9% (FY98/99 est.) Labor force: 56 million (1995-96) note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Malaysia, and Singapore Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 63%, services 26%, industry 11% (FY95/96) Unemployment rate: 35.2% (1996) Budget: revenues: $4.3 billion expenditures: $6.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) Industries: cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar Industrial production growth rate: 2.5% (1997 est.) Electricity - production: 12.5 billion kWh (1999 est.) Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 98% hydro: 2% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) Electricity - consumption: 11.039 billion kWh (1998) Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999) Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999) Agriculture - products: rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes; beef, milk, poultry, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit Exports: $5.1 billion (1998) Exports - commodities: garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood Exports - partners: US 33%, Germany 10%, UK 9%, France 6%, Italy 5% (1997) Imports: $8.01 billion (1998) Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, raw cotton, food, crude oil and petroleum products, cement Imports - partners: India 12%, China 9%, Japan 7%, Hong Kong 6%, South Korea 6% (1997) Debt - external: $16.5 billion (1998) Economic aid - recipient: $1.475 billion (FY96/97) Currency: 1 taka (Tk) = 100 poisha Exchange rates: taka (Tk) per US$1 - 51.000 (January 2000), 49.085 (1999), 46.906 (1998), 43.892 (1997), 41.794 (1996), 40.278 (1995) Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 470,000 (1998) Telephones - mobile cellular: 41,000 (1998) Telephone system: domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 12, shortwave 2 (1999) Radios: 6.15 million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 15 (1999) Televisions: 770,000 (1997) Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 6 (1999) Transportation Railways: total: 2,745 km broad gauge: 923 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (1998 est.) Highways: total: 201,182 km paved: 19,112 km unpaved: 182,070 km (1997 est.) Waterways: 5,150-8,046 km navigable waterways (includes 2,575-3,058 km main cargo routes) Pipelines: natural gas 1,220 km Ports and harbors: Chittagong, Dhaka, Mongla Port Merchant marine: total: 36 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 284,489 GRT/405,845 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 28, container 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off 2 (1999 est.) Airports: 16 (1999 est.) Airports - with paved runways: total: 16 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 6 (1999 est.) Military Military branches: Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, paramilitary forces (includes Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Ansars, Village Defense Parties, National Cadet Corps), Armed Police battalions Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 34,683,414 (2000 est.) Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 20,565,193 (2000 est.) Military expenditures - dollar figure: $559 million (FY96/97) Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.8% (FY96/97) Transnational Issues Disputes - international: a portion of the boundary with India is indefinite; dispute with India over South Talpatty/New? Moore Island Illicit drugs: transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries |
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* Foreign relations ** Transnational Issues |
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