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
18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991
Religions
Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)
Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%
Languages
Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English
German
Exports
garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood
machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles
External Debt
$36,210,000,000 $
$5,624,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
taka (BDT) per US dollar - 68.554 (2008 est.), 69.893 (2007), 69.031 (2006), 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004)
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.400%
1.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
41
Location
Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Area
143,998 km sq
357,022 km sq
Coastline
580 km
2,389 km
Climate
tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)
temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
