President: Zillur Rahman Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina Wajed
Population
21,481,334
161,083,804
Life Expectancy
75.940 years
70.060 years
Capital City
Colombo
Dhaka
Largest city
Colombo (population: 648,034)
Dhaka (population: 10,356,500)
Human Development Index
0.742
0.524
GDP per capita
$5,700 US
$1,700 US
Literacy Rate
90.7%
43.1%
Corruption Perception Index
3.2
2.1
Percentage of Women in Parliament
5.8%
0%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
4.200%
5.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished in practice
Legal
Political System
republic
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
4 February 1948 (from UK)
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
Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data)
Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)
Languages
Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8% note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population
Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English
Exports
textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish
garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood
External Debt
$22,810,000,000 $
$25,220,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Sri Lankan rupees (LKR) per US dollar - 108.33 (2008), 110.78 (2007), 103.99 (2006), 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (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
2.600%
1.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
Area
65,610 km sq
143,998 km sq
Coastline
1,340 km
580 km
Climate
tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)
