Background: The modern history of the riverine deltaic region now known as Bangladesh dates back to 1199 when Bengal fell to Muslim forces from western India. It was brought under the rule of Sultans of Delhi. At the departure of the British from the subcontinent in 1947 the region constituted East Pakistan. In 1971 the people of the region fought a glorious and bloody fight to emerge as Bangladesh. The country is the ninth largest populous nation in the world. Bangladesh is an agrarian economy. Rice, jute, potato, sugarcane and myriads of tropical fruits and vegetables grow abundantly in the country. Livestock and fisheries sectors are ever expanding. Agro-based industries are gradually coming up to bridge the production and marketing linkages. 

Location: Bangladesh, the riverine delta of Southeast Asia is bordered by India to the north-east and west, Myanmar to the south-east, and the bay of Bengal to the south.

Geographic coordinates:   24 00 N, 90 00 E

Area:  147,570 sq km

Administrative divisions: Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal, Sylhet

Population:  137 million

Literacy rate:  62 per cent 

Climate:  tropical; cool, dry winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); rainy monsoon (June to October)

Irrigated land:  3533425 hectare 

GDP (at FY 96 constant product prices) - Tk 2555.30 b

GDP - per capita:  Tk 26898 (FY05)

GDP - composition by sector:  agriculture: 21.91% industry:  28.44 percent services: 49.65 percent  (FY05)

Labor force: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Malaysia, Singapore

Industries: garments, cotton textiles, jute, tea processing, paper, newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar, agro-based industries.

Agricultural products:  rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, beef, milk, poultry, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruits & vegetables.

Currency:  1 Taka (Tk) = 100 poisha

Exchange rates: US $1 = Tk 61.4 (June 2005)