President: Zillur Rahman Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina Wajed
Population
10,767,827
161,083,804
Life Expectancy
80.050 years
70.060 years
Capital City
Athens
Dhaka
Largest city
Athens (population: 729,137)
Dhaka (population: 10,356,500)
Human Development Index
0.947
0.524
GDP per capita
$26,600 US
$1,700 US
Literacy Rate
96%
43.1%
Corruption Perception Index
4.7
2.1
Percentage of Women in Parliament
14.7%
0%
Wealthiest Citizens
Spiro Latsis & family ($3.8bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
17.300%
5.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Legal
Political System
parliamentary republic
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
1829 (from the Ottoman Empire)
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
Religions
Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%
Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)
Languages
Greek 99% (official), other 1% (includes English and French)
Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English
Exports
food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles
garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood
External Debt
$583,300,000,000 $
$25,220,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
taka (BDT) per US dollar - 68.554 (2008 est.), 69.893 (2007), 69.031 (2006), 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.300%
1.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
4
0
Location
Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey
Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
Area
131,957 km sq
143,998 km sq
Coastline
13,676 km
580 km
Climate
temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers
tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)
