Bangladesh at a Glance

  • Official Name: The People’s Republic of Bangladesh
  • State Language: Bangla
  • State Religion: Islam but other main religions namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity are practiced in peace and harmony.
  • National Anthem: The first ten lines of “Amar Sonar Bangla” written by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
  • National Flag: Consists of a circle coloured red throughout its area, resting on a green rectangular background. The length to width ratio of the rectangle is 10:6 and the circle has a radius of one fifth of the length.
  • National Emblem: The national flower “Shapla” (nymphea-nouchali) resting on water, having on each side an ear of paddy and being surmounted by three connected leaves of jute with two stars on each side of the leaves.
  • Capital: Dhaka
  • Nationality: Bangladeshi
  • Name of Currency: Taka (TK)

Geographical Location: Between 20°34′ and 26°38′ north latitude and between 88°01′ and 92°41′ east longitude.

  • Boundary:
    • North: India
    • West: India
    • South: Bay of Bengal
    • East: India and Myanmar
  • Area: 56977 sq. miles or 147570 sq. km.
  • Territorial Water: 200 nautical miles.
  • Economic performance:

Despite political agitation early in 2015 that adversely affected transport services, exports, and private investment, growth in Bangladesh held up well because of brisk domestic demand, boosted by higher worker remittances, private sector wages, and public investment.

Inflation moderated in FY2015 much as forecast in ADO 2015 from 7.4% a year earlier, reflecting large public stocks of food grains, normal weather, a supportive monetary policy, and lower global food and commodity prices that a steady exchange rate allowed to passed through.

Export growth was 3.3% in FY2015, down significantly from 12.1% in FY2014. Garments—accounting for about 80% of total exports— grew slowly by 4.1%, reflecting supply chains disrupted by political demonstrations in early 2015, soft demand from the European Union and the US, and a marked decline in prices for cotton, a major input cost that can affect pricing. Imports rose by 11.2%, accelerating from 8.9% growth in FY2014. Larger imports of food grains, machinery, fertilizer, and industrial raw materials helped to propel the expansion. As exports grew significantly more slowly than imports, the trade deficit widened markedly.

Source:

Asian Development Outlook 2015Asian Development Outlook 2015 Update

Statistical Pocketbook of Bangladesh – 2013