114,800,000 (average annual
rate of natural increase:
2.8%)
Density per square
mile:
2,063
Monetary Unit:
Taka
Principle languages:
Bengali (official),
English
Religions:
Islam, 83%; Hindu, 16%;
Member of Commonwealth of Nations
Economic:
principle products:
rice, jute, tea,
sugar, and wheat.: industry and commerce; major
industrial products: jute goods, textiles,
leather, sugar, fertilizer, paper,
pharmaceuticals. Natural resources: natural gas.
Exports:
jute goods, jute, tea, leather, garments.
Imports:
food grains, fuels, raw cotton,
fertilizer, manufactured goods.
Geography:
Bangladesh, on the northern coast of
the Bay of Bengal, is surrounded by India, with a
small common border with Myanmar(Burma) in the
southeast. It is approximately the size of
Wisconsin. The country is low-lying riverrine
land traversed by many branches and tributaries of
the Padma(Ganges)and Brahmaputra rivers.
Elevations averages less than 600 feet (183 m)
above sea level.
History
Bangladesh consists primarily of East Bengal (West Bengal is part of India and Its people are primarily Hindu) plus the Sylhet district of the Indian state of Assam. For almost 25 years after independence from Britain, its history was part of Pakistan.
