GeoFroggy

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Background

Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the region and it became part of British India. In 1947, West Pakistan and East Bengal (both primarily Muslim) separated from India (largely Hindu) and jointly became the new country of Pakistan. East Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955, but the awkward arrangement of a two-part country with its territorial units separated by 1,600 km left the Bengalis marginalized and dissatisfied. East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed Bangladesh. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development.

Location

Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India

Area Comparative

Slightly smaller than Iowa

Maritime Claims

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Contiguous zone: 18 nm

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin

Climate

Tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)

Natural Hazards

Droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season

Environment Current Issues

Many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation

Environment International Agreements

Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

Signed, but not ratified: None of the selected agreements

Geography Note

Most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal

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Map Reference

Asia

Irrigated Land 2003

47,250 sq km

Area 2006

Total

144,000 sq km
Land

133,910 sq km
Water

10,090 sq km

Coastline

580 km

Geographical Coordinates

24 00 N, 90 00 E

Land use 2006

Arable Land
55.39%
Permanent Crops
3.08%
Other
41.53%

Terrain

Mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast

Elevation

Lowest Point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Highest Point: Keokradong 1,230 m

Land Boundaries

Total
4,246 km
Burma
193 km
India
4,053 km

Natural Resources

Natural gas
Arable land

Timber
Coal

Bangladesh