President: Zillur Rahman Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina Wajed
Population
313,847,465
161,083,804
Life Expectancy
78.490 years
70.060 years
Capital City
Washington, DC
Dhaka
Largest city
New York City (population: 8,008,280)
Dhaka (population: 10,356,500)
Human Development Index
0.95
0.524
GDP per capita
$49,000 US
$1,700 US
Literacy Rate
99%
43.1%
Corruption Perception Index
7.3
2.1
Percentage of Women in Parliament
16.6%
0%
Wealthiest Citizens
William Gates III ($40.0bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
9.000%
5.000%
Death Penalty
Legal
Legal
Political System
Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
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
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998)
Languages
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood
External Debt
$14,710,000,000,000 $
$25,220,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
taka (BDT) per US dollar - 68.554 (2008 est.), 69.893 (2007), 69.031 (2006), 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.060%
1.300%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
110
0
Location
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India
Area
9,826,675 km sq
143,998 km sq
Coastline
19,924 km
580 km
Climate
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)
