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
31 May 1910 (Union of South Africa formed from four British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State); 31 May 1961 (republic declared) 27 April 1994 (majority rule)
Religions
Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)
Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%, other 2.3%, unspecified 1.4%, none 15.1% (2001 census)
Languages
Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English
IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% (2001 census)
Exports
garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood
gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment
External Debt
$36,210,000,000 $
$47,560,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
taka (BDT) per US dollar - 68.554 (2008 est.), 69.893 (2007), 69.031 (2006), 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004)
rand (ZAR) per US dollar - 7.9576 (2008 est.), 7.05 (2007), 6.7649 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.400%
1.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
1
Location
Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa
Area
143,998 km sq
1,219,090 km sq
Coastline
580 km
2,798 km
Climate
tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)
mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
